PCB Repair, Seek compact pro or Infiray T2S Plus thermal camera？

[Krist-win]

PCB debugging . I don't think the surface indicates any problem.  With the help of a thermal camera, it's easy to tell the difference between each components. But thermal image of T2S plus is sharp, anyone know the reason?
- Seek compact pro:320*240, 9Hz
- InfiRay T2S Plus: 256*192,25Hz

[DaneLaw]

what do you mean with "surface indicates" any problems".. it looks like you're looking at two different parts of the PCB, so not even sure you can compare one to the other...

and generally, you need to dial in your settings for a crisp picture on Seek.. on the Seek, you can adjust your span, so you can see exactly which part of a component is heating up and the thermal heat flow..
btw that adapter you're using on your Seek pro is that simply for plug compatibility inside Android.. like MicroUSB to TypeC plug or vice versa.. or is it a Seek iOS you perhaps found an adapter that had the right pin-out to let a Seek iOS dongle be used on Android devices, as it seems some people are able to do that.. iOS handshake chip or not...

You can get solid PCB macro shots with a Seek Pro, as the resolution is quite high..
this is my Seek Pro Fast Frame 20hz looking at some PCB components.

[Ultrawipf]

@DaneLaw those pictures look really good. I am currently also deciding between the seek thermal pro ff + macro lens and the infiray t2s+.

Overall most videos i see about the seek look quite noisy and choppy while the infiray seems a lot clearer and smoother despite the lower resolution.
Which settings and tools did you use to get this quality or was this mostly a matter of having a high difference between warm and cold spots?
Is this actually a reasonably achievable image quality with the seek or just a special case?

[All Seeing Eye]

Seek not a serious product,NETD virtual label or not,terrible blurred image.Infiray t2s is better.

[DaneLaw]

Seek not a serious product,NETD virtual label or not,terrible blurred image.Infiray t2s is better.

Nonsense..Seek ain't a model as per se, its a maker that has numerous models, where some are better than others, and some are limited to 9hz and some ain't, and will peak around 20hz (usually referred to as FF fast frame variants).

at the end of the day, an Infiray T2S is worse - as the T2S only has 43k pixels (240x180), whereas a Seek Compact Pro delivers almost +80% more pixels (77k) 320x240.
on these thermal dongles.. one thing matters the most, and that's the app, and as far as I can tell that is quite a weak area of the Infiray 2-series line, and to an extent that Seek's (critised) app, actually looks quite a bit better' in regards to the app(s) we are seeing from these Chinese variants.
I reckon the T2S with only 240x180 is not ideal, as you can get one with 192x256 resolution for the same money, like T2L, or T2S+.
and you also get a tad better accuracy on T2L and T2S+ with +/-2 degrees vs 3' on T2S.
Resolution matters.

   

 

[DaneLaw]

@DaneLaw those pictures look really good. I am currently also deciding between the seek thermal pro ff + macro lens and the infiray t2s+.

Overall most videos i see about the seek look quite noisy and choppy while the infiray seems a lot clearer and smoother despite the lower resolution.
Which settings and tools did you use to get this quality or was this mostly a matter of having a high difference between warm and cold spots?
Is this actually a reasonably achievable image quality with the seek or just a special case?

These are some of the better-enhanced shots, and most of them are with manual span adjustment - a feature I use a lot, so you  preserve the details in the subject you are interested in, and not get it blown out.. its such a helpful feature as you don't need to rely on huge thermal difference when you can adjust your temperature-span to fit a narrow temp-variable and still obtain full palette-range in that narrow temperature span.. It makes a huge difference in obtaining temperature-grading details and it puzzles me if such a  critical feature is missing amongst these dongles from China and most of their corresponding app's.
also quite fund of the palette called "Tyrian from Seek.. (its a black / purple palette, the one used in the two last picture above)

If you judging between Seek's lower product line (not Pro) and versus fx Infiray like T2L or T2S+ (models with 256x192).. I would go with an infiray like the T2L, as it can be had around 250 US with EU vat incl.
If you're looking at the Seek Compact Pro-FF models and anywhere around its MSRP price, I don't think that makes sense in 2022, when you can get models from Infirays 3-serie line for not much more, and with even more resolution 110k pixels (384x288) than Seek pro's 77k pixels (320x240), and I got the impression - that the app for the 3-series are better then the app for the 2-series, plus you also have third-party apps for PC, etc, where I believe you can work with the radiometric values.. I also reckon you can do this with fx the T2L but I'm not sure.

I got my Seek Pro FF back in 2016/2017 from eBay from a shady US seller at 300US (that also sold completely new Bushnell rangefinders to like under half of MSRP but I somewhat I doubt he was in the US, even though the product came from there), only model for iOS, so also had to purchase an Apple device (went for a Ipad 8gen, a suppresingly good tablet for the price) - but this world-of-thermal, is highly addictive and since been in the market for a 512x640 dongle but they are sadly very sparse after Infiray didn't put their intended VGA dongle onto market and Therm-App is more or less goodbeiruth and seems to have other prioties.
- and sadly haven't seen that price drop I had hoped for in regards to VGA-res thermal dongles.
Just taken the plunge on a T2L a few weeks back (still in transit) when Banggood had them for around 250US with incl. 25% VAT -  to get a new gadget and be more familiar with Infirays-products.

Attaching a cheap macro lens is straightforward on these dongles with manual focus, as you can more or less always find the focus to the extent you prefer with the main lens, so aspets like focal length etc, does not mean a lot if it's attached to a manual focus-lens, as you got a lot of wiggle room from simply turning the main lens that will balance the focal lens on the attach macro lens.
I don't see much difference' if I use ZnSE, the US variant or the cheaper China versions or if I use GaAs lens.
these IR transparent macro-lenses for thermal dongles' are quite cheap from the far-east CN, like 5 to 15 bucks delivered and you can stack them to your heart's desire..for fx extreme macro.

 

Focal length and lensmateriel. (all from CN)

   

[Rambo Sonny]

new T2S+ in hand. three weeks, work well until now.

[Mechatrommer]

i bought "smartphone dependent" seek thermal compact about 4 years ago because there was no standalone thermal imager that came close to the price. now we have many standalone options and forms from china at the cost of my compact. when looking Infiray C210 review and ads, i thought this must be much more better than my compact! it has different color schemes, smoother image, faster fps, and especially comes with normal camera that can be overlapped with thermal, this imho is a big plus. if i have extra money to waste, i'll get the C210, but i cannot justify atm since my usage on thermal imaging is very seldom, i'll wait until i need it urgently or wait if more new and better unit coming out. looking at T2S+, its missing visible light camera, price about the same as C210, so i wonder what justification OP has to get that "phone dependent" unit compared to more featured stand alone C210?

[tautech]

After a bit of study here and finding Fraser's favourable comments of INFIRAY I find myself about ready to finally dive into this rabbit hole with a InfiRay T2S Plus for IOS. 



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001922347538
Any advice oh learned friends ?

Then just now finding this a little cheaper:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003686685913
Color: T2S PLUS(IOS)