I have been hat of in with my P2 Pro
Beyond using it just to inspect PCB’s, I have been looking into other uses for this tiny camera dongle. The cameras small size makes it extremely versatile and I can forgive some eliminations in its imaging compared to my much more expensive pro-sumer and professional cameras
I cannot thank Bostwickenator enough for designing the tripod mount ‘cube’ for the P2. That 3D printable camera mount has enabled me to attach the tiny P2 to all manner of useful and exotic mounting solutions. I bought various USB C direction adapters and extension cables to provide maximum deployment versatility, and it has been great fun thinking up different ways to deploy the camera. It is the small size of this unit that continues to impress me. It may not be small enough to be called a borescope camera, but add it to a simple ‘selfie stick’ or long camera monopod, and USB C extension cable, and you have a very useful ‘probing’ device for thermal imaging in hard to reach or inaccessible areas. I have a pile of different mounting options on the table for the P2 and I will include details of these in a annex to my P2 Pro review. Just as I did with the DYT CA10 review, I will add plenty of sample images and uses as annexes to the main review. This will demonstrate the versatility of the tiny camera module.
My thoughts on the P2 in précis ? Well I have never been a great fan of dongle type thermal cameras and always preferred the ‘all in one’ designs that do not rely on a mobile phone. I can honestly say that the P2 Pro has changed my view of dongle cameras. When made well and made small, they can be very useful tools. The ability to separate the camera head from the viewing device offers advantages over ‘all in one’ camera designs. We live in the real World and miniaturisation of this technology does not come without some compromises. Whilst the P2 Pro performs very well in my use cases, it’s App is a little basic for my tastes and there is some patterning on the image that I am not used to seeing on much more expensive cameras. Does this stop the P2 Pro performing well in many varied thermal imaging scenarios ? I am pleased to say, no it does not. I really like this little camera for what it can offer me above and beyond my larger units
If only I could convince my DYT Spectrum Owl 2.0 PCB analysis PC software to recognise it ! We cannot have everything we want though
To those who might ask whether the P2 Pro (Tiny1 core) or the T2 series (S0 core) cameras are recommended for them to buy….I say, if you want an affordable thermal,imaging dongle solution, I recommend both camera series. The P2 and P2 Pro definitely deliver decent thermal imaging and fixed focus in a very small package. The T2 series use the larger S0 core that does perform better than the miniature Tiny1 core,. The manual focus will always provide sharper imaging than a fixed focus lens. Manual focus does not suit some use scenarios and can become a drawback, rather than an advantage, if using the camera head remotely from the phone and users easy reach. I make no secret of the fact that that I love the Infiray S0 camera core, and cameras that use it perform well. The DYT CA-10 uses the S0 core. The Tiny1 offers another level of miniaturisation though and it’s smaller lens does reduce performance a little. In the world of miniaturisation, we are always battling physics !
Fraser