Combined with its 15Hz refresh rate (many are only 9Hz), it can easily be used to spot animals or people in the dark, or through dense foliage. There’s also a 300-lumen LED light, should you want to surprise someone you’ve spotted in the dark. The simple menu system provides access to other useful features too, such as Level and Span adjustments (a little like manual exposure, allowing you to isolate a thermal range), and Emissivity adjustments (manual or pre-sets). The camera's default setting combines images from both cameras, so you can see an “outline” of a real-world object colored in with the temperature information. You can choose to view just the IR or visible light images. These settings can be selected in the FLIR One app, which is available for iOS and Android. This app controls the camera and keeps a library of saved images and video; no data is stored on the camera itself. This easy-to-use app allows you to control how the sensors’ temperature measurements are displayed in the images and videos, either by marking the hottest and coldest spots with crosshairs or setting up to three spots in the image to be continuously measured, which is especially useful in video mode. Although there are several of us on the team, including me (Adam Juniper), we generally test thermal cameras by using them in day-to-day tasks like inspecting ventilation/insulation, heating equipment (radiators, boilers) and plumbing (hot water pipes and taps). We also test any special claims made by the manufacturer about individual products, as well as the overall experience. For cloud storage, imaging processing, and reporting, the FLIR ONE Edge Pro benefits from a rich set of Teledyne FLIR software including Tools Mobile, Ignite cloud, and FLIR Thermal Studio desktop software. This allows users to easily share Edge thermal photos with clients and seamlessly integrate them into professional reports. Note: the older CAT S61, still available in places, had a lower resolution IR camera, but offered laser measuring, offering an alternative with even more flexibility.

The camera is more rugged than the Flir One and Flir One Pro, but only slightly. Its solid, rubber-coated form is rated to survive a 6.6-foot drop compared with a 5.0-foot drop for the other cameras. It also meets an IP54 rating so it can handle drips and splashes, though it isn’t designed to be rinsed off under a faucet or submerged. Both versions have a 3-inch touchscreen and can store around 500 images onboard to transfer via Micro USB. The ability to type notes via a touch keyboard can be handy, too. If you can stretch to it, the FLIR C5 model adds more analysis features and Wi-Fi so you can get images to your phone and to your software. The FLIR C3-X and FLIR C5 are good-looking compact thermal imagers that are well suited to DIYers and contractors.With a rugged body that’ll survive a bit of workplace rough-and-tumble, both have two cameras and a 5-megapixel optical lens. The IR maxes out at 160 x 120 on the pricier C5, allowing it to take advantage of Flir’s MSX technology. This patented method uses an edge-detection algorithm on the higher-resolution visual light image, overlaying this with the IR image to make the picture easier to comprehend.Thermal imaging works in the dark, or through smoke, but can be fooled by the reflectiveness (emissivity) of a surface. Because IR is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, like visible light, it also has similar properties when it encounters lenses or rain. For professional use, it pays to read up a bit on understanding thermograms, but you’ll understand the basics the moment you power on your thermal camera. Depending on the software, you can also take retrospective measurements from the thermal JPEGs. How we test thermal cameras The ergonomic advantage in this instance isn’t enough to make up for the shortcomings of the wireless connection that make it possible. I found the live video feed to be laggy and jerky, forcing me to wait seconds at a time when trying to position the camera at a good angle. The thermal imager only scans 8.7 times per second and must occasionally “hiccup” to calibrate the temperature range. The lag I saw with the Edge Pro, however, went far beyond these technically necessary quirks, particularly in comparison with the Flir One and Flir One Pro. Offering effective image quality and processing to deliver results, the FLIR ONE Edge Pro features a 160×120 resolution radiometric Lepton ® thermal imaging camera paired with a visible camera. Along with VividIRÔ, which combines multiple image frames to deliver one sharper, final image, the cameras are brought together via MSX ®. The MSX patented image enhancement feature overlays the edge detail of the visible camera onto the thermal image without sacrificing any thermal data within the image, providing greater context and clarity to improve decision support. The FLIR ONE Edge Pro is designed with a spring-loaded clip, and that means that it's totally brand and device-agnostic – allowing users (and companies with several workers) to attach the camera to many types of mobile phones and tablets.

But now anyone can access thermal imaging, whether you want to spot heat sources in dark places – ideal for wildlife spotting – or identify where heat is being lost from your property. If you simply want to measure temperatures, you may prefer our guide to the best infrared thermometers, but for HVAC, electronics, and plumbing these are now essential. Teledyne FLIR, a Teledyne Technologies company, is a world leader in intelligent sensing solutions for defense and industrial applications with approximately 4,000 employees worldwide. Founded in 1978, the company creates advanced technologies to help professionals make better, faster decisions that save lives and livelihoods. For more information, please visit www.teledyneflir.com or follow @flir. Earlier I mentioned the two temperature range settings: -4 to 248 and 32 to 752. So if you point the camera at an object with a temperature that's outside the range you've selected, you don’t get a warning. It just displays the temperature at the end of the selected range. For example, when I set the camera to the lower range and pointed it at a gas flame, it showed the max temperature at about 266 degrees. But when I switched the camera to its higher range, the temperature reading of the flame rose to over 700. While the FLIR C-Series produces useful images in good light via MSX, this camera can do so at any time, since it doesn’t rely on visual light to boost its resolution. For our money, that makes it the best thermal-imaging camera for night use today. The “RESNET” compliant and IP54-rated FLIR ONE Edge Pro has a spring-loaded clip designed to allow operators to attach the camera to many types of mobile phones and tablets. Thanks to the combined Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection, users can operate the Edge Pro up to 30 meters away from their mobile device, providing the flexibility to effectively inspect hard-to-reach places or those scenarios requiring greater standoff distances to maintain operator safety.

Wireless Isn't Worth it

A rectangular bump near the top of the One Edge Pro contains the two cameras, which include a circular cutout for the thermal core and a more conventional smartphone-style camera for visuals. A power button positioned below the bump turns the camera on and off, and three LEDs indicate the camera’s status. A USB-C port on the right side is for charging. Flir estimates battery life runs up to one and a half hours. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s longer than the Flir One Pro’s single hour of battery life. IP54-rated, the rugged thermal imaging camera can measure temperatures up to 400°C (752°F) and it has a maximum 1.5-hour battery life. Unlike previous models, the FLIR ONE Edge Pro doesn't charge up from the smartphone and instead needs to be charged separately. The FLIR One Edge Pro performs well but is not perfect. The fact that captured videos are limited to a jerky nine frames per second is frustrating. To be fair, that isn’t the company’s fault: The US government doesn’t allow higher-frame-rate cameras to be exported to other countries without an export license. When clipped onto my Samsung Fold 4, the FLIR One Edge Pro stayed firmly in place, but it felt like it could slip off at an inopportune moment. I found myself instinctively keeping a firm hold on both the camera and the phone.

It is nevertheless a noticeably higher resolution than the device’s immediate predecessor, the IR0102, which had a 32 x 32-pixel resolution. As a low-priced device, adding this to your toolkit is a lot less painful than some of the devices on this list, and with fuel prices on the rise, locating leaks (an ideal task for this adapter) could cover the cost surprisingly soon. How thermal imaging cameras work The thermal core on the One Edge Pro is identical to the one used by the Flir One Pro. It has a resolution of 160 by 120 pixels and two selectable temperature ranges of -4 to 248 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to 120 degrees Celsius) and 32 to 752 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to 400 degrees Celsius). It’s accurate to within 3 degrees Celsius, or 5%.

Product Range Selector (ONE Edge Series)

Additionally, app developers have access to the FLIR ONE software development kit (SDK) to create custom applications for exclusive use with the FLIR ONE Edge Pro. This thermal-imaging camera also connects to your phone but provides more resolution (320 x 240 pixels) as well as higher sensitivity (-40˚F to 626˚F) than the Flir One – even the Pro version. And while that pushes up the price, it does make it a great choice for contractors, engineers, inspectors, and others looking for more detailed images. GOLETA, Calif. – Nov. 10, 2022 ― Teledyne FLIR, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, today announced its FLIR ONE ® Edge Pro, a wireless thermal-visible camera for mobile devices. Unlike previous models, the reimagined FLIR ONE Edge Pro doesn’t need to be physically connected to its companion mobile device nor does it have separate models for specific operating systems, providing maximum flexibility for thermal inspections. With adjustable focus, the lens can be set on subjects as far as 550m (1,800ft). That’s not only handy for outdoor pursuits but allows you to take full advantage of the relatively high resolution to get sharp thermal images at any distance.