FLIR ONE PRO LT USB-C Thermal Imaging Camera

Product Information

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. 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 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. 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 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. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. Read our editorial mission & see how we test.

Clip-On, Not Plug-In

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. 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. 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. 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.

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 Ignite app allows users to upload images and videos from the FLIR ONE Edge Pro to the cloud (Image credit: Teledyne FLIR) FLIR ONE Edge Pro features 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. 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 FLIR ONE Edge Pro also features an extended battery life compared to previous generations of the FLIR ONE and an easily-recognized battery life indicator, making it ideal for more prolonged inspection situations including disaster restoration, home inspection, energy auditing, and industrial equipment diagnostics.Beyond the visible spectrum, there is an unseen world of heat radiation. Arty infrared film photographs aside, the practical uses of thermal imaging devices – also known as infrared thermal imagers – traditionally belonged only to military and professional budgets. 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.

We had a few issues which might tempt us toward an all-in-one thermal-imaging camera (like FLIR’s own C5), not least the latency in or dropping of connection in wi-fi heavy areas. Even rotating the phone did this sometimes, though undoubtedly bug fixes will come. At 90 minutes, the battery stills seems a shade of disappointment, but that is the cost of the wireless communication (it also represents a doubling compared to the old FLIR One). 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.

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. Are you a zebra fish? If not, you are missing out on something: the ability to see infrared light, the thermal radiation beyond the scope of human vision given off by everything around you.

The pictures the One Edge Pro provides are about as good as those from the Flir One Pro, which is unsurprising because they use the same thermal imager. The lower-resolution visual camera isn’t as sharp if you view in visual-only mode, but in MSX mode the two devices seem to identify and outline contours well. 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 device charges through the USB-C port on the side, and a single button on the front turns the camera on. The FLIR One app controls everything else. Near the top of the body are two cameras: a 160- by 120-pixel infrared camera and a 640- by 480-pixel visible light camera. In standard lighting, the images from the two cameras are combined to give you a picture with the invisible detail of the thermal image overlaid on top of the visible light image; a process FLIR gives the rather grandiose name of Multi-Spectral Dynamic Imaging. These dynamic visuals can be saved as 640- by 480-pixel photos or as a video that runs at about nine frames per second—rather choppy, but it's a limit imposed by the US government on technology that might be exported. On the downside, while the FLIR One includes a visible light camera, the Seek CompactPro uses your phone’s camera to provide a split-screen picture-by-picture function, which is subject to some parallax issues.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. 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. 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. 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.