TOPDON Thermal Camera TC001, Thermal Imaging Camera Android 256x192 Resolution, -20℃-550℃ Testing Range, 40mk Heat Sensitivity, Error Less Than 2℃, for Smartphones and Tablets

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How come its competitors are limited in this regard? The thermal cameras that are made in the US can be exported without a license as long as they has the frame rate less or equal to 9Hz. Since both Topdon and AGM are built outside the US, they can push the refresh rate a lot higher and it shows. I have captured a video of both AGM Glory Pro and the Topdon TC001 side by side (sort of) and the result was interesting. The thermal camera sensor used by the Topdon TC001 has a pixel size of 12μm and a resolution of 256×192 pixels which is higher than the 160x120p resolution of the FLIR One Pro and a bit better than the 206 x 156 pixels of the SEEK Compact. It’s interesting to see that the AGM Glory Pro thermal camera supports the same exact resolution and I do have it available for a comparison. But before that, I also need to mention the 25Hz which goes beyond the 9Hz limit of both the FLIR One Pro and the SEEK Compact, but it’s the same as on the Glory Pro. The TC001 is especially suitable for objects where surface temperature is hardly distinguishable, such as circuit boards and other electronics.

Apparently, the reason for that is the continuous calibration of the sensors and it seems to be normal for module-type thermal cameras. Now let’s talk about the accuracy of the temperature. Topdon says that the maximum temperature variance can be 2 degrees C, down to 0.1 C, while the potential thermal error should be less than 1.8 F if the target temperature is below 212 degrees F. I didn’t have an instrument which I could trust to be perfectly accurate, just the AGM Glory Pro to compare its results. Left: AGM Glory Pro. Right: TC001. The TC001 is a fantastic device. Adopting a normal name for it would make it feel a little more natural to discuss. Maybe “The Thermonator 2000” or “TC 007”? But that may be over-criticizing. Temperature Monitoring: this allows you to continuously record the temperature of a certain spot or location and generate a chart with the changes recorded over time. And you may think that the latter is better, but, looking at FLIR’s approach where the rechargeable inner battery would often fail, shows that using the smartphone battery may not be such a bad idea after all. Also, let’s see the power consumption of the Topdon TC001 since I was skeptical about the advertised 0.25W. My small multi-meter shows an average of 0.31W which is a bit above the advertised value, but still an almost negligible amount considering the actual performance of the thermal camera. TC001 is not compatible with all styles of phone cases or tablet cases, the included extension cable may need to be used.I am really impressed by the high resolution of the thermal camera. The TC001 resolution is over three times higher than the FLIR version in the same generation. Compared to FLIR, the images are sharp, and it’s easy to distinguish what you are looking at. iPhone users cannot use this device yet. They plan on releasing a version for the iPhone, eventually.

The TC001 can take continuous measurements of a scene, storing the data in the App. This data can provide the high, low, and average temperatures of objects in the scene over a set period of time and generate a waveform graph. Note: The potential thermal error will be less than ±1.8°F (1ºC) when the target temperature is below 212°F (100ºC).The companion app is very good and easy to use. You can measure the temperature of a point, along a line (highest and lowest), or in a plane (highest and lowest). The camera can measure up to 9 different readings at a time.