Looking for Mid-Range Thermal Camera for HVAC & Electrical Work – Any Insights? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: camello
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 04, 2025, 03:41:07 am
content: Hi everyone,First post here – I’ve been browsing the forum for a while and finally decided to jump in.I work mostly in HVAC and light electrical (both residential and some light commercial), and I’ve recently started exploring thermal imaging as a more effective way to spot airflow issues, electrical hot spots, and insulation problems.I've used borrowed FLIR tools before, which were great but a bit over my current budget. I recently came across a unit called the Thor001 from a brand called Thermal Master. Specs look decent – 3.5" screen, up to 1022°F range, image fusion mode, 32GB card included. Has anyone here tested it or heard anything credible?I’m not doing high-end R&D or PCB-level diagnostics—just need something rugged, accurate, and reasonably priced for daily field use.Would appreciate any feedback or alternative suggestions in the sub-$700 range. I know FLIR and Seek are the big names, but curious what else is out there that delivers solid value.Thanks in advance!

author: kite31
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 04, 2025, 03:54:29 am
content: Whether price and specs meet what you need, I suggest not ignoring Testo in your comparisons.

author: Sideways
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 04, 2025, 07:41:59 am
content: I bought a FLIR on ebay for domestic use sorting out cold spots. A little while later I came across the Hikmicro Pocket 2, a small camera that appeared to be modelled on it. The Hikmicro was selling new for the same price I paid for a good used Flir, and the spec was v comparable at a glance.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 04, 2025, 07:44:36 am
content: Quote from: kite31 on August 04, 2025, 03:54:29 amtesto is a joke when it comes to it cameras.We have tens of devices from Testo, including their IR camera.Since we have also Flir cameras, we for sure don’t use testo anymore.First, they don’t make it themselves, secondly: they don’t bring firmware updates or even stop making them available after 2 years.

author: kite31
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 04, 2025, 09:01:43 am
content: I have an 875-1i joke with the jitter-res feature, with high sensitivity, fast refresh and manual focus. It has been laughing along with me since 2012 and we have both enjoyed the experience.I will let camello make up their own mind based on review of their needs against the full brand spread on the market, as would I if I were looking for a new one.

author: camello
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 06, 2025, 02:04:18 am
content: Thanks for all the replies so far! I’ve been checking out some of the suggestions, and it looks like even entry-level thermal cameras are more affordable than I expected.I was thinking they were all super expensive lab gear, but some seem pretty compact and plug into a phone or USB.Still wondering though — for PCB work, is resolution the main thing to look for, or is refresh rate also important?

author: JOSDHO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2025, 02:28:41 am
content: I'd say resolution matters more—you need to actually see what you're looking at. That said, refresh rate can't be too low either or it'll feel laggy. I’ve been using the Thor001 for a bit now and honestly, I’m pretty happy with it. Both the resolution and refresh rate are good. Worth checking out, in my opinion.

author: camello
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 07, 2025, 02:40:40 am
content: Do you have any of the thermal images he captured? I'd like to take a look

author: W3KW
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2025, 12:30:44 am
content: Late to the conversation, but I was using my FLIR TG267 today, which isn't cheap ($465 ish on TEQuipment.com), and realized I don't have the focus distance or resolution to indicate the temperature of small electronic components like resistors. I mean 3W, through-hole puppies. Ugh. Obviously, you can identify components that are hot, but you cannot compare two like-components to determine if one is much hotter than the other. Yes, it speeds diagnostic work, but that limitation is annoying at the least, especially given this price point. I wish I knew that going in. What do I need to spend to allow indicating temps of a specific component?Today, it glitched and froze up on the start screen. And hold the phone. I just found a photo I downloaded using the FLIR which clearly shows the temp of a group of three resistors? I'll attach it. Clearly, the FLIR has reliability issues. Look elsewhere (at least to a different model).WesW3KW

author: RRtheone
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2025, 03:28:46 am
content: May be you can use some CO2 laser focus ZnSe lenses，they are cheap and can be used for DIY close-up lenses.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2025, 09:20:45 am
content: The TG267 is a hybrid “IR Thermometer with thermal camera” combination. The temperature measurement section is the IR thermometer whilst the imaging section is using a Lepton thermal imaging core. Regretably, such a device is totally unsuited to PCB component level temperature measurement due to the use of an IR thermometer technology for the measurements and it is offset from the thermal camera lens.IR thermometers require very careful use to get any sort of accurate measurement on small targets and PCB components are generally too small to fill the thermometers FOV.With regard to better alternatives…. basically any camera that uses the microbolometer to both image the target and measure individual pixel temperatures within the scene. I recommend a resolution of 256 x 192 pixels as that is now very common and affordable. Do not be fooled by cameras that claim higher resolutions than the actual microbolometer provides. These use interpolation to upscale the image. Examples of this are the HikMicro ECO series that upscale a 96 x 96 pixel image to 240. X 240 pixels. HikMicro state this in their specification. Be very suspicious of cameras that have a 1:1 aspect ratio or seem to be a bargain price. They will likely use the HikMicro 96 x 96 pixel microbolometer module but few are honest about the upscaling !The cheaper hybrid multimeter-thermal cameras are a classic case of “too cheap” to be the claimed specification. The cheap models use the low resolution microbolometer and upscale its output to impressive figures.You cannot go far wrong with makes like TOPDON, UNI-Trend, HikMicro, Guide Sensmart and Thermal Master provided you buy the 256x192 pixel models and not the cheapest economy models.There is plenty of discussion of good models on this forum to help you make a decision.Fraser