Affordable PCB thermal camera - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: blueskull
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 06:30:00 pm
content: I'm looking into buying a relatively low cost thermal camera that is specialized for short focus imaging. I've listed a few requirements, and I'd like to hear the suggestions from thermal gurus here:1. Standalone. No smartphone cameras.2. Card sized. No gun-type.3. Export friendly. No >9Hz.4. Short focus. Minimum focal length <=15cm.5. Blending. Must have visual+IR with adjustable distance.6. Wide temperature range. Upper range should exceed 300C.7. Affordable. No more than $1k.So far, I found the new Fluke PTi210 pretty convincing, but the 150C upper limit is annoying and since I will use it to study PCB reflow profiles, I need at least 300C upper limit.Some Chinese imagers fit the bill, but I have no idea on what sensor technology they are using and how usable their firmwares are.Seek Shot Pro looks promising, and is around the same price as similarly specced Chinese 320*240 units, but my experience from an old Android Seek Pro is horrible. The 288p image looked worse than Flir's 80*60.So, with all limitations, which one do you guys think is most worth buying?

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 06:49:57 pm
content: I could always sell you a used FLIR ETS320 and save you some searching and adaption workFraser

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 06:59:09 pm
content: Totally open to offers and nothing like the daft price FLIR ask ! Feel free to think about it, no hurry and just let me know what such a unit would be worth to you. I can say that I would hope to raise a bit more than $1K though. I am open to negotiation on price thoughFraser

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 07:12:22 pm
content: HiNo worries at all.Sadly I do not have anything else suitable as my scientific and Industrial cameras for close-up work are all large and expensive 😔 They are also high frame rate so no good to you.Sorry I do not have an off-the-shelf solution that I can offer.Fraser

author: Vipitis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 10:28:26 pm
content: Thermal Expert Q1 in the Pro option or a used E40 if you find it. I think going for visual overlay at close focus is impossible due to the parallax

author: Dackgo
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 08, 2019, 03:10:04 am
content: I think it's worth testing

author: Max Planck
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2019, 01:37:29 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on June 19, 2019, 07:06:30 pmIs it really a problem? Whay not using an additional filter/trasmission window to attenuate radiation + calibration, thus extending the effective temperature range?Max

author: IwuzBornanerd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 08:42:58 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on July 15, 2019, 05:13:29 pmSo the comment in your original post about your horrible experience with a Seek Pro was due to not being able to focus close enough? Have you considered popping the lid off & removing the focus-restricting pin to enable focusing closer? I expect the result would be similar to that with the XR, allowing you to get as close as 5 or 6cm. And there would be no need to re-calibrate temperature readings.You can see what this involves by looking at the Seek Thermal Lens Repair threadhttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/seek-thermal-lens-repair/

author: IwuzBornanerd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2019, 07:23:09 am
content: I thought in your original post and in reply #10 you were talking about a SeekCompactPro.No, I would not have suggested trying the mod on a Shot since I have not seen one in person & I expect it would not be such a simple mod since the thing does not have variable focus to begin with.The 2 non-pro compacts I have opened up have a pin that restricts it to one turn of focus range and with the pin removed I can get it another turn farther out for closer focus. The total range is about 5 turns so some people may find it harder to find the correct focus point. As you crank it out the lens mount tends to hit the shroud before it comes out of the threads in the bayonet but it doesn't have much farther to go...

author: IwuzBornanerd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2019, 10:32:20 pm
content: Ah, so the old one doesn't have adjustable focus either. Bummer. That plus the extra high noise explains the "horrible" comment. Double bummer.

author: all_repair
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2019, 04:23:31 am
content: I have 2 thermal cam now, E4 and the first seek mobile phone addon. If I am buying new, I would not get a mobile phone add-on. I would get a pocket standalone thermal cam:a. a Htti Ht-A2https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=575691112833&spm=a1z0k.7385981.1997993937.d4919309d4919309.735d6beb3UfXvK&_u=t2dmg8j26111b. and put a lens holder over the A2https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.0.0.189d2e8dp11XAa&id=568555390584&_u=jnn7hn897d9

author: all_repair
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2019, 07:23:44 am
content: The idea is to use the holder and replace the lens to your liking.with that spare usd100, you can get some DIY type, not as high resolution nor as pretty for field use. I am trying to justify to get one myself :-) I bought the first Seek for field use, but not a successful experiment.

author: pinchies
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 01:59:15 am
content: Another option: I saw there's a guy in the UK on ebay making macro adapter lenses for the Flir One Pro 3 series for about $100.

author: BH3XON
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 06:08:53 am
content: Maybe you need T3PRO

author: IwuzBornanerd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 07:03:53 am
content: Quote from: blueskull on July 19, 2019, 09:51:54 pmExcellent!But I am puzzled that you still need(?) the CO2 lens. Even closer focus or just more crisp focus?? Can you post sample images showing improvements of each mod? And maybe one of the setup?

author: IwuzBornanerd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 07:54:41 am
content: Okay, wow, you must be less than an inch away then. One cm??Attached is what I get of the crystal & some resistors on the back of my Pi3B with the non-XR focused as close as I can get (1-1.5 inches). The resistors would be more crisp if I could hold the thing still while tapping my "save" button.

author: IwuzBornanerd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 22, 2019, 10:13:36 pm
content: That IS close; dangerously close! If that's the sort of view you need I'd say what you really need is a "long" lens with close-focus capability; sort of the opposite of what you are getting there. I have several long lenses but my "focus" has been on long distance shots, such as the moon so I have not tried it for closeups. So I gave it a try and put my 1 inch ZnSe lens back on the camera and focused on some .5mm QFP pins. It was a pain finding the focusing point for the lens. For these shots the lens element is about 1.4" from the sensor! WAY out there! I had to have the thing screwed IN all the way to focus on the moon & for these shots it's several turns out PLUS the outer sleeve on my lens tube is almost off the inner sleeve (with tape to hold it). I had no idea it would take that much.The first 2 shots attached are with the lens on a newer, lower noise "Compact", the 3rd shot is with the lens on the old noisy XR and the last shot shows my "imitation Seek Shot" looking at the QFP on a USB audio device with the lens to subject distance of about 4". That should be far enough to avoid most obstructions.