Flir one question or recommendation

[grouchobyte]

My Flir thermal camera has seen better days and I am keen on getting a new thermal camera that is adequate for pcb and circuit/component thermal measurement and documentation. Could someone here point me to a thread or review of the Flir One for say, an iphone or ipad, that connects to the lightning port and provides decent resolution and utility for making spot measurements with decent dynamic range.

I have several iphones and ipads kicking around and that would be quite convenient in my apple ecosystem.
What I dont know is just how good they are for electronics work.

@grouchobyte

[Fraser]

Simple answer for you..... The FLIR One Gen 2 is a toy compared to FLIRs other thermal cameras. It was designed for the consumer market that wanted the simplest of thermal cameras for party pictures and maybe light duty observation tasks such as a hot coffee cup !

It is not, IMHO, a good replacement for a prosumer or high end consumer grade thermal camera. I own a lot of thermal cameras and a pair of FLIR One Gen 2 cameras so I can speak from real world xperience on this.

A FLIR E4 that has been upgraded to 320x240 resolution is a far superior choice if your budget and requirements suit its specifications. Next up the range are the EXX cameras with removable lenses and better optics. These come at significantly higher cost however.

What model of thermal camera are you currently using please ? I repair and restore thermal cameras so may be able to help ?

Fraser

[Fraser]

Further to my last, you did not specify whether you use a thermal camera for commercial of hobbyist tasks.

If it is purely for hobby type applications a FLIR ONE Gen2 may meet a simple need to see which components on a PCB are getting hotter than expected, or to do very basic PCB thermal profiling. Do not expect an F1G2 to be great for the task though and you will need to place an auxiliary lens in front of the fixed focus objective to obtain close focus. There is much written on this forum regarding ZnSe close up lenses. One will cost you around $30 from China.

Fraser

[grouchobyte]

@fraser

I think its similar to a very early version of an E4. It was a functional engineering prototype given to me by my friend who was a FLIR engineering manager for a development group in the Boston area several years ago. The nomenclature or markings are non-standard  and would only make sense to someone who works at FLIR.

Thanks for your quick reply and tips. My instinct was validated by your sage insights. Indeed, it is good to hear it from someone like you who has some hands on experience with these things. FYI I am not a hobbiest, but a successful consultant with over 35 years experience in the hardware design/electronics industry

@grouchobyte

[Fraser]

Ah the E4 'torch' format camera. I know it well. It was FLIR's first attempt at an affordable thermal camera range at around £8K in the UK. Nice quality lens and microbolometer but sadly the mechanical design left something to be desired and it was not very robust.

The modern equiva!lent is a camera from the Exx range. The E4 is only a good choice if you are comfortable with using a acked unit in your work. A consultant using hacked kit can lead to some awkward questions from customers if they find out.

In your case I can definitely recommend against a FLIR ONE Gen 2. Even my non technical builder discounted it when I showed him the upgraded E4 along side the F1G2. He went for an E4 for checking plumbing, heated floors, stud positions etc.

Fraser