FLIR One Gen 3 Thermal Imaging Camera Review

Android Version: amzn.to/3qDjAW2
iOS Version: amzn.to/3qEWIWd
The FLIR One Gen 3 thermal imaging camera is an amazing addition to the toolbox. Good for finding drafts, areas needing more insulation, water leaks, etc. The applications are endless for this camera!

[@DoresoomReviews]

...aaaand at just about 2.5 years since I bought mine the internal battery gave up. I'll be looking at options that rely on the phones' USB-C port for power to replace it.

[@RedVRCC]

Man that's unlucky, mine is still going strong after about the same amount of time.

[@SF-fb6lv]

I want to buy this specifically to see where my cat was sleeping 5 minutes ago. She's not supposed to be on my bed...I've told her this several times now.

[@DoresoomReviews]

😂

[@RedVRCC]

I've looked at my cat thru mine, it definitely makes her look evil cause only her eyes, nose, and mouth glows bright white (I'm using a 3rd party app with multiple color palettes like grayscale too).

[@doransshield9176]

lol

[@kele1264]

Hi. You know, the firs time I heard of FLIR was when a woman at (I think) an amusement attraction had her pic taken by a thermal imaging camera. Like on some rides they sell you your picture at the end. Well, her image showed a hot spot on one side of her chest. It piqued her curiosity, and, long story short, she decided to have an imaging study done by docs. She had breast cancer. She went through treatment, survived. She credited that thermal imaging photo for leading to saving her life.

[@CHUCK_2_NASTY]

👏🏾👏🏾

[@Joel_E]

Another handy thing to do is to check out a breaker panel, to see if any of them are overloaded, or if loose connections are creating hot spots.

[@RedVRCC]

This extends to electronics too, I've used mine to check various power bricks as well as the inside of my PC case to see how hot they're getting and how the heat inside my PC is flowing around to better optimize my fan setup. Surprisingly great for checking anything electrical. You don't want a power brick getting too hot while sitting on carpet or anything else flammable, same with breakers since, well, drywall and 2x4s are also flammable.

[@iamthebatsy]

This is a great review, covers all my questions.

[@Ludecan]

Such a useful review! Thanks for sharing!

[@RedVRCC]

I like mine tbh. I didn't buy it specifically for home work or inspection but rather just because thermal imaging interests me, but I did ultimately end up locating a few drafty areas in my house while playing with it and was able to get it sealed up. Also great for spotting wildlife in the woods both for hunting and just for nighttime wildlife watching. It was on sale for only like $150 or something when I bought it on amazon too, exceptionally cheap for any kind of thermal camera.

[@nelsoncarpentry]

I bought one to check for potential problems at a client's house and it's since been a valuable tool to have. I don't use it often, and need to charge the battery beforehand most times. But it's worth every penny. 👍🏻

[@stormcoroofingandrestorati3874]

I'm looking into these to spot water damage that doesn't present a stain. Think it would be good for that?

[@stormcoroofingandrestorati3874]

Well just got through the video and apparently it does

[@FernbarkFrist]

I had the Gen 1, which was awesome till it stopped working. Hope they improved the battery on the item.

[@wim0104]

I think this would also be useful to find bad electrical connections. I use the Ulefone 11T, it's a powerful Android phone with a built-in FLIR/IR/thermal camera, and borescope support.

[@wanderer1219]

@Doresoom Tool Reviews We are thinking about buying one for School (Physics Teacher). Does it detect reflected thermal rays in a window?

[@dustisamust5602]

Is it accurate when pointed at highly reflective surfaces such as a stainless steel frying pan heating on the stove? Hand-held IF thermometers are useless in such situations.

[@DoresoomReviews]

You can adjust the emissivity for more accurate measurements on shiny surfaces. However, I've always found a piece of electrical tape applied to the surface is more reliable for situations like that.

[@spiritburners]

you should also be aware that this model will focus down to 12 inches which makes it very useful for electronics applications and checking , most of the other TI imagers only go to a metre.

[@SanthoshNM]

Thanks for the video. Can this camera be used as a USB webcam? Meaning, can I connect this camera to a PC and would it work like a regular USB camera?

[@DoresoomReviews]

It needs the Android app to run, so I don't think it will work as a webcam. Maybe if you set up an Android emulator on your PC it would work, but I'm not sure.

[@thomasmoors688]

although not technically impossible, it practically is. There are no drivers made (but can be made by a developer) and the price is way to high for this purpose

[@superslimanoniem4712]

​@@thomasmoors688 I think he means just connecting it to a PC, probably to stream the thermal image somewhere.

[@jazpal9654]

Hi can this see hot water pipes running behind a plaster board (drywall) wall? I also note this video was taken 8 months ago - how is the battery life holding up? Thanks

[@DoresoomReviews]

Unless the pipe is in direct contact with the drywall (it shouldn't be), then you just get kind of a warm area shown rather than a distinct pipe. The battery is holding up well so far, but I rarely use mine for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. I always just throw it on the charger immediately afterward too.

[@alperkara5210]

What is the measuring range?

[@brianbarcus5853]

it shows the shorted component in a computer motherboard - saves lots of time testing and guessing.

[@j.lietka9406]

Good application!! How much does that accessory cost? Have a Samsung Notebook Spin 7 that I think has a possible shorted component! Tried using an Apple iPad 4 with the thermal camera feature but it uses the front camera so it's hard to get realistic images! Thank you 🤓

[@nateb4543]

Not sure if i have a gen 1 or 2. But i loved it!..for about 2 years of pretty limited use. Here are some of the issues in my experience: power source- dumb design to not draw power from phone. The battery thats in there lost its ability to hold a charge very fast. Mine is micro-usb, which i assume theres billions of those cords in landfills and the ocean bc it sucks. Super fragile. My biggest hang up is flir's lack of customer support. Ive read many other issues from people like me who have a $400 paperweight and tkld to kick rocks by them. Fortunately some have modified theirs to adress the power and convert to type c, so theres hope. Even though i got mine for $80, and it hasnt been used in 4 years, im not giving up!

[@DoresoomReviews]

I only use mine for a few minutes at a time, so I haven't run into problems with battery life yet. You make a great point though, it would have been best for FLIR to design this to run off the phone battery anyway.

[@slackerdug3423]

I have a problem with moles in the yard. I wonder if I point this at a tunnel in the grass, it will show me if the mole is in the tunnel.

[@DoresoomReviews]

Probably not. I'd think for it to work they'd have to stay in one spot for a long time, and be barely under the soil.

[@samanthaadelaide6919]

Do you think it work for locating wildlife in bush at night? Or lost pets? Wondering how far it can "see" effectively TIA

[@DoresoomReviews]

@@samanthaadelaide6919Yes, it should work for finding wildlife/pets in the dark. I don't know max effective range, but I've tested it to about 25 feet in pitch black conditions and it works easily for that distance. I'd expect it can do much farther.

[@user-ff3ee4gg8e]

my FLIR ONE keeps loosening and falling out of my iphone 12 (no case) I tried twisting the knob with the screw, but no luck. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[@DoresoomReviews]

The port on the phone is probably getting worn out if it's a 3+ year old phone. My 4 year old Galaxy S10e was having trouble staying connected to any USB C cable. I just got a new phone and all my USB C cables including the FLIR One are much tighter fitting now.

[@donnadenning5491]

I fear in time, maybe a year or two,you will find the battery to have issues. Hope not for you. There are tons of issues with battery life and just dead, nonfunctional FLIR One's gen 1,2,3 that are now bricks. I have a Gen3 brick now after not using it for about a year. I probably got 20 uses out of it total and now it's garbage basically. I'll try and replace the battery.

[@DoresoomReviews]

Yep you called it. Made it 2.5 years before the battery died.

[@evilcaddy]

What kind of distance or range does it have? Like can it see out in a pasture up 200 yards or so to hunt for coyotes?

[@DoresoomReviews]

I've tested it in the dark for finding animals to maybe 50 feet, although I think it could do a little farther than that. Anything very far away will just be a few pixels on the sensor though. Think of what kind of picture you'd get out of a .0046 megapixel camera at 200 yards.

[@JoeR203]

They need to add a zoom function for outdoor use.

[@DoresoomReviews]

It would have to be optical zoom to really add any real value. And that would add a lot more to cost.

[@tonywhite6985]

Are you saying I can't use this to point at front of house and find where most heat is escaping, on a v cold day?

[@DoresoomReviews]

Tony, it will definitely work for that. I think Joe was referring to long distance use.

[@guocity]

Can you use usb c version in iPhone 15 or iPad Pro?

[@DoresoomReviews]

Those are the new ones with USB-C, right? I don't know if it will work with the iOS app. You might need to ask FLIR customer service.

[@guocity]

@@DoresoomReviews just wondering if you can test it

[@DoresoomReviews]

Well, I'm not planning on buying an $800 iPhone just to test if a $230 IR camera works with it...

[@kamilakarsu.]

I was wondering if this camera can be used on a raspberry pi?

[@DoresoomReviews]

I'm not sure - it needs the Android app to work properly. I don't know enough about Rasperry Pi to know if you could emulate the Android on it.

[@AshutoshKumar-pr7jb]

Sir can it detect pipe leaks at 10 inch depth

[@DoresoomReviews]

It can detect leaks, but depth is going to depend on what material is covering the pipe.

[@tnwhiskey68]

I would think a good review should start out with the price and description and then the demo.

[@DoresoomReviews]

Lots of viewers want to see an action shot first thing - in fact, KZbin analytics shows that your preferred format will result in a lower watch-through percentage. Also, price fluctuates too much in the last few years to be useful in the review. It's linked in the video description so you can easily check the current one.

[@johnharley7290]

So can I take my Chinese night, vision goggles, and take two adapters to switch it around and use this to make a set of thermal night vision goggles for under 400 bucks

[@j.lietka9406]

How much does that cool tool accessory cost?

[@DoresoomReviews]

Usually $220-250 for the Android version: amzn.to/3qDjAW2

[@j.lietka9406]

@@DoresoomReviews a bit out of my budget! Cool (no pun!) Device! Thank you 🤓

[@chabrow5459]

Would you be able to spot possums in the roof cavity with this?

[@DoresoomReviews]

Through soffit or through drywall? You won't be able to see them moving through something that's IR opaque, but if they have a nest that they spend a lot of time in, you could probably find it that way.

[@thelitchfieldexperiment6269]

What's the range on it?

[@DoresoomReviews]

Measurement temperature range is -4°F to 248°F

[@brute9867]

Do you think FLIR will release a better version soon?

[@DoresoomReviews]

I don't know what FLIR plans, but you could look up when they released the Gen 1, 2, and 3 and then extrapolate from there for the next one.

[@brute9867]

@@DoresoomReviews thx alot i broke my Blackview 9900 PRO with built in FLIR camera and bought a Samsung S22 Ultra and want to add thermal but its still really expenisive so might wait for a newer version to come out and get better value

[@johanea]

I don't like one thing, battery life sucks and it would be way better if it ran of the phone battery instead.

[@DoresoomReviews]

I haven't actually run it out of battery yet. I usually just pop it on my phone for a few minutes at a time when I need the IR. How long are you getting from it per charge?

[@johanea]

@@DoresoomReviews I have in all honesty never timed how long time the battery last but I would estimate no more then 90 minutes max. Which I guess should be correct since the battery in the unit will be small by design. Not sure if the hot environment I use it in, ships engine rooms and electrical power plants, add to short usage or not. I would say it is a great product for hobbyist or for light to medium usage in non-industrial settings. But in the professional setting such as heavy industry were much use can be expected, this is not a tool for you. Sadly of course, my bloody company won't invest in a proper FLIR or Fluke thermal camera. So I got my own which is affordable.

[@P_double_H]

The image is completely out of focus.

[@lestar83]

can you possibly see rodents behind walls?

[@DoresoomReviews]

Not in any detail. If there's a nest where they're spending a lot of time, you might see a hot spot. But the heat transfer through drywall will take much too long to observe them moving.

[@Therealphantomzero]

First? Lol

[@2024-l9n]

Looks like poor resolution

[@DoresoomReviews]

Higher resolution thermal cameras get pricier REALLY fast. This one's a good compromise between price and performance.

[@jamesbnkc1990]

For 20 more bucks you can get the infiray P2 pro. Instead of 80x60 resolution it has 256x192. That second camera Flir uses for the "outlines" of things is really just to mask the resolution being so poor.

[@shylion]

read app comments, you'll be disappointed

[@stevec5000]

These things are total garbage! How can they sell something that never works? The Android app crashes and they don't even have a driver to use for Windows! I was finally able to get Flir One to work on the phone after struggling with it for 3 days!

[@DoresoomReviews]

I bought it myself and have had zero contact with FLIR. Mine works fine on my Samsung Galaxy S10e and S23.

[@droneforfun5384]

I would not call this ”a review”. Thumbs down.

[@DoresoomReviews]

Any constructive feedback on what you wanted to see?

[@droneforfun5384]

@@DoresoomReviews you need to include negative feedback, not just positive. Also inform viewers if you are independent or if you were given the device from the company. Cheers

[@DoresoomReviews]

I bought it myself. I really don't have anything negative to say about it. If you watch many of my other reviews you'll see I don't shy away from negative points if I have any.

[@droneforfun5384]

@@DoresoomReviews ok that is good. Thanks for responding.

[@herrlube3299]

Very Poor video no motherboard test nothing

[@DoresoomReviews]

Just because I didn't test it for your specific use case doesn't mean it's a bad review. The world does not revolve around you.