Budget 256x192 thermal imager

[freebil]

Hello, I am interested in buying a 256x192 thermal camera and I need it to be as cheap as possible. I would like to be able to take photos and videos for post processing.

I saw the following choices:

1.) GW256 from Ali. It has very good reviews both on Ali and on Amazon. Is it ok for the money?
2.) Uni-t UTi260B. I read about problems updating firmware.
3.) Topdon tc002c for mobile.

Do you have any other recommendations? I am new to this category of equipment.

[Bill W]

I am not sure I would believe many of the reviews, as a native English speaker many of them read like AI generated spam.

In addition the product images are often faked, for example the Amazon GW256 has the screen changing aspect ratio and text showing well above 320x240 resolution.

Most use the same sensor/core anyway so should be little to choose apart from form factor

[EEEnthusiast]

I had seen good reviews for the TOPDON TC001 and have placed an order for it. It will be with me in a couple of days. I will post some pictures and test results here for that.

[artag]

I don't really like the phone plugin devices but I do have two of the Topdon ones. They're awkward to use on a phone but as cameras they're good value and seem a more economical and flexible option than the gun-style handhelds. Very much depends on how you want to use them but it's much more feasible to use the infiray devices as a thermal webcam than it was the flir and other devices.

They mostly don't have video out. It would be nice if they did but it looks feasible to use a raspberry pi as a translater.
 

[nidlaX]

Still waiting to get a Guide PC210. If you value fast startup time, I'm not sure there's a better option available (someone correct me if I'm wrong please).

[thephil]

I have an A-BF RX-500. It was cheap and certainly isn't a Flir cam but it does the job and performs ok.

Potential drawbacks:

• No Tripod mount
• No manual range setting
• Does not act as a webcam. So you need to store on internal memory
• Boot is a little slow
• frequently pauses image for a second or so (can be seen in the video on my blog)

I can totally live with those limitations and did not regret buying it. I wrote a little post about it on my blog (German only, but Google translate should suffice):

https://techbotch-org.translate.goog/blog/thermal%20camera/index.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

[nzlamb]

I'm in the same position and ended up ordering a a GW256 last week. I will let you know what it's like once it arrives.

A friend of mine bought a Victor 328B last year and is very happy with it. I was quite impressed myself and almost ended up buying one but the GW256 was the same price and spec and has the advantage of being self-contained rather than relying on a phone connection so I thought I'd try it. I suspect it will share many common internal parts with the 328B.

[EEEnthusiast]

I just got my TC001. Overall seems to do a decent job. Not so sure of the accuracy of the readings, but the resolution seems to be great.
Few sample pics.

My WD cloud storage followed by the soldering station

[nidlaX]

Got my Guide PC210 today. Camera works great, and startup time is very quick as advertised. Main downside is lack of ability to record videos, but you could buy the E2 / E2+ if you want that.

UVC works on PC but not with most common Android apps.

[freebil]

I'm in the same position and ended up ordering a a GW256 last week. I will let you know what it's like once it arrives.

A friend of mine bought a Victor 328B last year and is very happy with it. I was quite impressed myself and almost ended up buying one but the GW256 was the same price and spec and has the advantage of being self-contained rather than relying on a phone connection so I thought I'd try it. I suspect it will share many common internal parts with the 328B.

I ended up buying GW256 too. I received it today, but every 12 seconds I hear a clicky sound. Does this happen to yours too? Maybe color recalibration?

Is there any mac os software to post process the jpegs that it creates? If anyone have any question about this thermal camera let me know.

[DaneLaw]

I'm in the same position and ended up ordering a a GW256 last week. I will let you know what it's like once it arrives.

A friend of mine bought a Victor 328B last year and is very happy with it. I was quite impressed myself and almost ended up buying one but the GW256 was the same price and spec and has the advantage of being self-contained rather than relying on a phone connection so I thought I'd try it. I suspect it will share many common internal parts with the 328B.

I ended up buying GW256 too. I received it today, but every 12 seconds I hear a clicky sound. Does this happen to yours too? Maybe color recalibration?

Is there any mac os software to post process the jpegs that it creates? If anyone have any question about this thermal camera let me know.

Its the non uniformity correction (NUC) its a common calibration process for many uncooled VOx microbolometer sensors.

[Grzegorz]

I bought gw256, I have temperature measurement in steps of 17.7 18.8 19.7 20.9. others have every 0.1. what can I do?
for example I can't measure between 17.7 and 18.8

[FantaBH]

There is plenty nice camera mentioned here , but I would add HTi HT-203U mobile usb C thermal camera , it supports imaging and video recording, however many are concerned about its app that in near future could lose support and app is not available on playstore as it coming from China. But it have resolution you asking, it have auto focus, 25 FPS  and it cost around 130$ . Source AliExpress , eBay, Temu.

[Silicium81]

I ordered an HT 203U-i (256x192) that connects to a smartphone via USB. Although I already own a Uti690b, I couldn't resist an offer for less than €115 delivered. I appreciated the compactness of my Flir One Gen2 (160x120), which unfortunately showed disastrous reliability and no longer works.
I'll give my opinion when I receive it.

[Silicium81]

I received the thermal imaging camera I ordered on Aliexpress (in 5 days! A record from China).
I tested it a bit, and since I'm already familiar with the sensor, having also used it on my other UTi690B camera, I'll be able to compare the two.
Well, the 'small' HT-203U-i camera works very well. The Android app works perfectly on my S25 smartphone and responds well. You can take photos as well as videos.
I've currently used it to mark the location of a hole to be made in a ceiling by placing a hot water bottle above it, in the attic, between two joists.

This is the image of the heat 'spot' as seen from the room.