Another smartphone thermal imager from i3

[encryptededdy]

I haven't heard from them since november when they said that international release date will be in december...
They were suppose to release it in Q3, but I guess that will be Q3 in 2016. 


Edit:
And the only change on the website in the last 3 weeks is this page with android app user manual which you can't download...
http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/support/android-app

That link now works, links to the ThermalExpert.apk app.

[encryptededdy]

Some screenshots I took from inside the app.
http://imgur.com/a/Yg3mO

[frenky]

There is a bunch of new changes on their site:

They have split product to "Basic" and "Pro" model. The only difference seems to be the housing color and temp range.
Pro is red and has -10*C ~ 250*C range, while Basic is gray and has a range of -10*C ~ 150*C.

Pro:

http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/product/thermal-expert-pro

Basic:

http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/product/thermal-expert-basic

Wide and narrow lens:
http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/blog/archives/853?cat=10

Some extra equipment:
http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/product/thermal-expert-accessories
http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/blog/archives/871?cat=10

[schlafli]

  Less than 24h after I complete my order they announce a "new" device. Then again, I would have still gone for the basic model. Although I must say I really like the red trim.

For anyone wondering, I paid $880 ($820 + $60 shipping).

It should arrive on Friday, but I'm away till Sunday. So you can expect a mini review Sunday evening (GMT).

[frenky]

Great! I'm looking forward to your review. 

They also posted this official notification:

The release of Thermal Expert

We have started to sell the product on Nov. 2015 in Korea, and Dec. 2015 internationally.

If you have any inquiries against our product, please ask us through the below e-mail.

http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/qa?uid=14&mod=document

[frenky]

And please take some thermal images that are similar to the ones here:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/therm-app-users/pool/

This will let us compare ThermalExpert and Therm-App. (Not totally valid comparison but still better than nothing...)

[frenky]

New sections on the i3 site have appeared:

Lens options:
http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/product/thermal-expert-lens

Analysis Software Tool
http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/support/analysis-software-tool

[frenky]

@schlafli:
Did you get the i3 module? If yes, what is the first impression? 

[schlafli]

@schlafli:
Did you get the i3 module? If yes, what is the first impression? 

Yup, got it about 2 hours ago  . The performance is great!

Unfortunately I'm working from home and won't have time for a proper play/review for another few hours.

[schlafli]

Okay, quick review time!

I've had a bit of a play with the camera and overall I'm very pleased.

The camera itself is tiny. It's much smaller than a Flir One G2. Here it is compared to a 2 pence and 2 euro coin:


The close-up capabilities of this camera are great:






The camera will focus down to about 7cm but at that point depth of field becomes a big issue (as you can see in the final image above).

For anyone wanting a camera for close-up PCB work, this thing is great. I took a bunch of pictures of an old internet modem (BT homehub 5). For reference, here is a picture of the pcb and the various sections I took pictures of:


Section 1:



Section 2:



Section 3 - I'm not sure what package this IC is but it's an Atheros QCA9880 measuring 11x11mm with ~112 pins giving a 0.4mm pitch:




Section 4 - Note the RJ45 connectors:





For anyone worried about the temperature range, it happily measured the wick of this candle at 303C (577f):


It's also pretty good at showing the studs in the drywall:


Just like the Therm-app, this camera does not need a shutter for NUC, it comes calibrated from the factory with the NU information. However my unit seems to have 1 pixel miss calibrated. Luckily the app has the functionality to take a new flat-field image to use for NUC. (The app tells you to put on the lens cap or point the camera at a uniform surface).

Here is an example of an image before and after manual NUC. (Note the single pixel bright spot in the middle that disappears in the second image):



Finally, here is an image of my radiator with a few of the different colour palettes:







Bonus sink hot water swirl:



Here is the album with a few more images in it: https://imgur.com/a/hOQO3
As an aside, how can I stop the images taking up so much space in the thread? fixed

[frenky]

Wow! The amount of details on the images is just creazy.
Tnx for the quick review.

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

[miguelvp]

That's really nice, what is the approximate frame rate? does it stutter, not that it's that important since the stills are really clear and that's really its main usage.

[encryptededdy]

Looks to be on-par with the Therm-App, except at a lower price 

Although, I see it's giving a reading of 303 C when it's specified max temp is 150C. This could be like the Therm-App - it'll display higher temperatures but the further you go from the calibrated maximum (150C), it begins to get wildly inaccurate. It would be much better if they displayed like a ~ symbol or something that lets you know it's out of the calibrated range.

The sensor in the ThermalExpert is supposed to be <50mK NETD, which should technically be better than the <70mK of the PICO384P used in the Therm-App.

[marshallh]

Balls. How do I get one?

[frenky]

I believe that currently the only way to get one is to order it directly from i3system in Korea:

We have started to sell the product on Nov. 2015 in Korea, and Dec. 2015 internationally.

If you have any inquiries against our product, please ask us through the below e-mail.

E-mail: thermal_expert@i3system.com

http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/qa?uid=14&mod=document

[efahrenholz]

Thanks for the mini review. This pushed me towards a purchase. I had already been in contact with them and they sent me a basic layout of accessories and an additional lens. I went ahead and pulled the trigger and told them to send me a quote. Did they ask you to do a direct bank transfer? Mine will have to travel all the way to the US, so i might not get it as fast as you did.

[schlafli]

That's really nice, what is the approximate frame rate? does it stutter

It seems to be quite smooth. Unfortunately I think this may be limited by my phone which starts thermal-throttling after a few minutes. As soon as I start recording video, the frame rate drops to 1-2 per second. The phone I have is a Yotaphone 2 with a Snapdragon 800. I'll see if I can record some video from a different phone soon.

Balls. How do I get one?

As Frenky mentioned, you can order directly from them. Just email them and they respond quickly (the timezone difference is the only issue).

Did they ask you to do a direct bank transfer? Mine will have to travel all the way to the US, so i might not get it as fast as you did.

Yes, I did a direct transfer. For anyone in the UK I can really recommend http://www.ukforex.co.uk/. I opened an account Monday morning at 7am, went through all the verification and the money was in the recipient account at 4pm uk time. Plus the fees were minimal (mid-market rate was £605 and I paid £614).

DHL picked up the camera on Friday and I had it Monday, so technically next business day! They also made paying the import duties very easy; I got an email from DHL Friday with a link to pay online (this was before the item even landed in the UK).

Although, I see it's giving a reading of 303 C when it's specified max temp is 150C. This could be like the Therm-App - it'll display higher temperatures but the further you go from the calibrated maximum (150C), it begins to get wildly inaccurate. It would be much better if they displayed like a ~ symbol or something that lets you know it's out of the calibrated range.

That's a good point. At least it doesn't simply cap the temperature at 150 like the Flir One G2. It does show that the camera is clearly capable of measuring relative temperature differences above the 150C spec. One interesting thing is that it does limit the lower temperature. It simply ends up saying "< -30". However as you can see in the following image, it can clearly detect quite a bit below that.





In keeping with the EEVBlog motto, here are some teardown pictures!

[efahrenholz]

Ooooo are those exposed test pads I see??

[efahrenholz]

I'm attempting to do the USForex version of what you used, am I correct to assume they are receiving the money in Korean WOT?

[schlafli]

I'm attempting to do the USForex version of what you used, am I correct to assume they are receiving the money in Korean WOT?

No, the receiving account is a USD account. Make sure you transfer the money as USD otherwise there may be some conversion fees on the other end. (That is assuming you got the invoice in USD)

Ooooo are those exposed test pads I see??

Unfortunately I don't have a logic analyzer but I can always have a poke with the oscilloscope and hope one of the pins is serial port. It may be the weekend before I have time to do that though.

[tomas123]

an impressive sensor/chip size and must be harder to temperature stabilize (FFC, uniform image) in this small case as a Lepton chip
I see many insulating material ;-)

http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/product

Array format : 384 x 288
Pixel Pitch : 17 um
NETD : < 50mK
Wavelength band : 8~ 14 um

Lepton 3 with 160x120 pixel:
http://media.wix.com/ugd/53cdb6_5191be73d1c943d78d2e1a095cb7f3b8.pdf

Dimensions: 10.5 x 11.7 x 6.4 mm
Spectral range Longwave infrared, 8 um to 14 um
Array format 160 × 120, progressive scan
Pixel size 12 um
Thermal sensitivity <50 mK

Lepton 1 with 80x60 pixel

Dimensions: 8.5 x 11.7 x 5.6 mm
Spectral range Longwave infrared, 8 um to 14 um
Array format 80 × 60, progressive scan
Pixel size 17 um
Thermal sensitivity <50 mK (0.050° C)

[OrBy]

Two screws to open and a beefy metal case - looks like it's built to reasonably solid! The window over the die looks massive compared to a Lepton.  Thanks for the pics!

[Fraser]

Large, decent lens combined with nice large microbolometer. Very nice.

BUT having seen the internal construction it was surprising to see the PCB embedded in that putty material and some rough looking thermal pads either side of the lens. These are likely to be for thermal conduction to the case in order to aid thermal stability. Not sure how I feel about the putty material and rough cut thermal pads though.

Lovely high quality images. Overall I am very impressed with the images shown here.

If I had the spare money I would buy one, but I cannot justify such a purchase now.

Thanks for the pictures and for opening the camera.

Fraser

[Thermo Andy]

It is to have at some point in Germany ?

[marshallh]

How secure is the USB connection? Does it fall out or wobble at all?

The Opgal one seems like it has the edge there with the snap-on aluminum bracket.