iPhone thermal camera - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: JOSDHO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2025, 06:33:53 am
content: Hi everyone,I’m considering picking up a thermal camera that can plug into my iPhone 14 Pro (so Lightning or USB-C with adapter is fine). Budget is under $400, and I don’t want something with super low resolution.Anyone here using something they’d actually recommend? Curious to hear what’s working well for others.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2025, 06:41:41 am
content: Quote from: JOSDHO on June 05, 2025, 06:33:53 amForget about these toys, they are worthless.What exactly do you want to do with a thermal camera?

author: JOSDHO
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2025, 07:15:28 am
content: Mainly for checking circuit boards

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2025, 02:04:30 pm
content: JOSDHO,My review if the Infiray P2 Pro May be of interest. I include ways in which such a miniature dongle camera may be mounted for PCB work. This little camera has a well deserved good reputation amongst the user community. It is fixed focus but a close-up lens is provided with the PRO model. You will find the P2 Pro sold under the Thermal Master brand now.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/review-infiray-p2-pro-thermal-camera-dongle-for-android-mobile-phones/https://thermalmaster.com/products/thermal-master-p2-pro-worlds-smallest-thermal-camera?srsltid=AfmBOopPQJKxxWr8yhK5LglX0HDUTwdTkobEJyAXqWhhlvnw1jO76hld&variant=49530258850076There are dedicated PCB analysis solutions available as well. Some have fixed focus/close-up lenses whilst others have manual focus lenses that make them more versatile. The P2 Pro is a decent compromise if a small, well made dongle thermal camera is desired for both general and PCB inspection roles. The dongle cameras tend to use imaging cores from FLIR (Lepton), Infiray (Tiny1) and Guide Sensmart (TIMO256). The Chinese 256x192 pixel imaging cores (Tiny1 and TIMO256) dominate the marketplace and produce very useable imagery of PCB’s if a close-up lens of ~50mm FL is added in front of the cameras built-in lens. Such a close-up lens costs around $20 for a DIY solution or some manufacturers offer OEM close-up lenses for purchase at reasonable cost.I have tested dedicated PCB analysis thermal imaging systems and the Dianyang CA-10 performed very well. It uses a Infiray S0 256x192 pixel manual focus imaging core. My review of it is here…..https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/review-dianyang-technology-ca10-circuit-board-thermal-analyzer-repair-rd/My review of a fixed focus Dianyang CA-09 revealed the drawbacks of using a fixed focus camera with a close-up lens for PCB thermal analysis.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/dianyang-technology-(dyt)-ca-09b-pcb-thermal-analyzer-mini-review/One of the advantages of going down the iPhone path is that the APP has to go through the Apple approval process and host compatibility is assured. A drawback of this same choice is that there is less choice in the market for iOS users and less 3rd party Application development. Many users opt for an Android or PC host for PCB analysis work as this offers a good choice of cameras and a range of useable Applications from various venders. A used semi-faulty (SIM slot fault/Network comms fault) Android phone is relatively inexpensive in the used marketplace. With such a used phone, a dedicated PCB inspection system may be created on the benchI recently bought a Qianli “Fire Eye” manual focus PCB thermal analysis system that I will be testing soon. It cost me £150 used but is “as-new”. It uses the Infiray Tiny1 core but has an excellent manual focus lens. I think it is Android host only though.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/qianli-fire-eye-pro-pcb-thermal-analyzer-for-the-repair-workbench/Fraser