Thermal Infrared monocular: Cool gadget, but not everything I imagined

[@derKarl_stp]

Hey Matthias, Karl here from Austria. Nice video about the different pros and cons on this system but one thing for sure, a thermal scope is nothing like a thermal imaging camera for inspection as one for firefighter use and especially the high resolution ones for law enforcement and military use are non-temperature reading systems, because you simply don't need this feature. Let me explain it in a different way: These devices are made for special uses in their fields of use, like say the one handheld device with thermal range scale is made for inspection work as well as documentation of technical problems where you don't need an observation function. The thermal-scope (monocular) one however is simply for observation, especially long range observation and for surveillance on large distances and properties as well as for SAR use on large areas and on water (however you only see things above water level of course). So yes, it is a different field of use and this makes it different in the functions and specifications, the framerate for example is pretty fast on the monocular as it is made for "observation" while the thermal image resolution on a "inspection TIC system" is the key to success. For firefighters for example it is necessary to have a low and a high sensitivity mode that goes beyond a normal surveillance mode (as fires get bloody hot). I for myself got 2 thermal camera systems, one handheld that is simply a system for visual documentation without a lot of info and one is built in my phone... which I use for documentation and technical diagnose as it is carried around with me every single day. I might get such a monocular system tho as I love observation of wildlife in the city parks as well as nature around my area and there the range observation capabilities come in handy... where every other thermal system is kinda useless to say so. However the fact that it is designed as a different field of use system does have it drawbacks from a technician's point of view. I hope this clarified a bit on why it is designed the way it is. Greetings and have a good time.

[@derKarl_stp]

By the way, this "long distance TIC" is actually pretty cheap, similar systems are sold over here in Austria for like 1399€ per camera system... and these aren't FLIR cameras as well So yes, as a inspection device it would need changes but as this is a observation device for long distance use it simply won't have this feature. (Edit: and a variable focal length camera system can be purchased from FLIR but for a price where simply the lens system has the price of a TIC monocular being sold over here and yes, the TIC lens systems aren't made from glass, they are mostly made from germanium and zinc selenide so you can't see through most of them with your eye)

[@daylen577]

The location info is a platform thing. From what I could find when I looked it up last it basically came down to Bluetooth potentially revealing your location and the fine location permission being a workaround for that, nowadays an Android/iOS app simply can't scan for Bluetooth devices without having location access. The location access isn't the app requesting your location info, it's the app needing that permission to be able to scan for other devices.

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

Ah, that explains. Kind of silly though, I didn't want it to give precise GPS permission.

[@JuulCPH]

@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 Given the maps these companies have of global bluetooth and wifi device locations and signal strengths you probably get similarly precise location from just a simple blutooth/wifi scan as from GPS, at least in an urban environment and especially indoors.

[@theAristocrap]

You sir are correct. Android introduced this as a standard permission in Android 6.0. On iOS it is not standard for the two to be tied together but iOS prompts for permissions to access location when the feature could reveal location data. Nothing to worry :)

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

Indeed, I've always felt like the permissions should just be telling the user that allowing the app access to wifi/bluetooth gives the app the potential to know your location with pretty fine granularity as a message - in effect make the permissions 'inferred location' and ''accurate' location' options. As lumping them together is just a bad idea really. But still at least you have some control.

[@deltafactory]

Exactly, it's part of the permissions related to BTLE beacons.

[@peterdguru]

Any app that gets the Bluetooth privilege can possibly determine your location through the use of Bluetooth beacons with fixed locations. That is why all bluetooth enabled apps also are required to request the location privilege ; so the user is aware.

[@hellishtimber]

woah makes sense, thanks for sharing

[@peterdguru]

@@hellishtimber yeah alot of folks don't know this. Imagine you download "BigBox Store app" onto your phone and it requests BT privilege. Now when you are walking around the BigBox store it can track what aisles you are walking down, how much time you spent by a display, when you walk through the exit, etc. Moral of the story is use their web site not their app.

[@musthavechannel5262]

With zoom added in, finally a chance at finding all those elusive "hot girls in your area".

[@charlesurrea1451]

I have two thermal imagers. One is in my Cat S61. I bought it for work because finding a shorted part on a board would often result in a burnt finger. AKA: Digital thermometer. I found deficiencies in my homes insulation the first day. I also chucked my stud finder. It's great for motors and bearings. At install, run for an hour take a snap and compare that base reading to each subsequent one. I've used it for the 4th of July to make sure the fireworks were out. Air leaks are tricky but do able.

[@moden321]

Thanks for adding the prices to the links in the description.

[@ZanderArchX]

I think the bulkiness is a cheap method to ruggedize it since it is mainly for outdoors activity like hunting. If you do knock it into something, you either have a lot of soft plastic and rubber to deform before the expensive electronics and lens or you make it a metal brick with shock absorption that is more likely to break what it gets smacked into, but that costs a lot more.

[@meeponinthbit3466]

3:42 of course you rigged up a makeshift telescope for the second eye. 😂😂😂

[@MurcuryEntertainment]

One of the tools of my trade! We do exactly that, identify thermal weakpoints on building enclosures. You'd be amazed how often insulation in a section of wall is just forgotten entirely.

[@Lord_Void_Raven]

It's not a proper review unless it's taken apart😅😅

[@tlange5091]

BOLTR

[@Lucas12v]

​@@tlange5091AvE would take it apart first and then it wouldn't work for testing.

[@zweg1321]

These company’s sure send you the most interesting things I hope they don’t stop doing it I love these videos

[@MrSupaman777]

Mathias random. The best tech reviewer on the web.

[@Lizlodude]

3:45 The diopters return!

[@ryanbudney3356]

Most of these monoculars are adaptations of rifle scopes. I think that's why they're built so robustly -- rifles get dropped and experience recoil when shot, etc.

[@yayinternets]

I think a lot of the testing and critique you are doing for this is based on it's technology rather than it's purpose and use. Basically it's made for hunters and people in the outdoors to find other animals and humans at night. That's why it was also showing what kind of object it thought it was. Caring about the actual temperature readings it worrying about it not being wide are well away from it's intended use. I have the chunky Topdon you were showing and that's definitely the one for contractors, homeowners, people messing with electronics, etc. Unless you are a hunter, farmer, or are outdoors a lot, this one will not make sense if you look at it purely based on specs rather than it's use case.

[@davejaguar6532]

Totally agree with you. Most of the things complained of in this review are things that are irrelevant to the item's actual intended use. Temperature readings would just add unnecessary clutter and the zoom is a good thing for the intended purpose of this device. Use the right tool for the job you want done.

[@ddanielmiester]

SOmething to consider when comparing imaging sensors (infrared or otherwise) but much more relevant in infrared sensors; is that the size of the individual pixels size. The monocular is optimized for outdoors/tacticool so it's got larger pixels than the dongle unit does, to better sense the lower temperature gradients.

[@Scrogan]

The narrow field of view would make it great for finding my cat at night, but it is more limiting for other situations. It really would be nice to have a more general-purpose thermal camera, with moving lens elements.

[@gblargg]

Agreed, first get a wider angle version, like the TC001. Also connects to PC as normal USB camera.

[@ArnaldRimmer]

Hi, a fantastic video mate what i liked the most on this video is that you put the price on the screen! i wish everyone dones that! thank you for that mate! take care and have a great day!

[@andreash.9615]

Doesn't really need a temperature scale in the display if it's aimed at hunting or bird watching since you're just interested in warm living organisms, not their temp

[@jplummer]

iOS makes you accept the location information permission when you share Wi-Fi credentials with another device even if you aren't actually collecting or transmitting location information. It makes sense security-wise as individual base stations can be located (so the Wi-Fi info is considered location information), but it's misleading to the user because it seems like you are doing something with GPS that you aren't.

[@Pablo4949]

Android does something similar. We were developing an app with Bluetooth at work and this came up a lot in field testing. It's not clear at all to a user why they need this, and people are (thankfully) cautious though to feel sketch about it

[@gblargg]

3:58 I've found a greyscale view best for recognizing objects in a thermal view. Hopefully this provides that mode.

[@Paulman50]

My friend shoots using a thermal scope, same as you have. I shoot using an infared scope, which is very different, it uses an infared beam that brightens up the whole area, which is picked up with an infared sensitive lens in the scope, viewed as black and white.

[@GavinFreedomLover]

Would be a great option for search and rescue teams / finding lost dogs.

[@ricos1497]

I'm taking the family out hobo-spotting at the weekend. This will be perfect. Thanks.

[@jessicahunt6569]

for circuit board use i got a xtherm II with a 12mm lens that is manually focusable, and its fantastic, I can spot 0402 components that are shorted just by focusing in nice and close once i find the overall hotspot. fairly cheap, I think under 500 cad when i got it a few years ago, and just plugs into my phone, and the app auto starts and is running within a couple seconds at most. Wouldnt go back to a dedicated imager unless I was in construction or hunting or something, where its gonna get beat up.

[@jessicahunt6569]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGmnnnaDf5yAf6c is a video i shot with it for a warranty on a board, they didn't believe me that the chip failed, because it was being run out of spec by their design 🤷‍♀

[@gorak9000]

For boards, the InfiRay p2pro (made by the company that actually makes all the IR sensors for all of these rebranded cameras - they're all actually InfiRay camera modules with slightly different software) has a little magnetic clip on macro lens. It works really well for PCB troubleshooting

[@Kc12v140]

That looks substantially higher resolution than advertised. They likely only advertise it lower to skate around us dod import export restrictions

[@prototype3a]

I keep looking at the TC001 Plus. Seems to be one of the best options on the market right now. I borrowed my friend's Seek unit and I had to use a short USB-C extension cable with it which I ended up sort of liking but if I owned my own, I would likely make a wood bracket or something to secure it to my phone with a stiff hinge or something.

[@caramba10]

I have a Topdon camera that plugs into my phone, my biggest gripe is the auto scaling, if I want to compare say central heating radiators from one room to another it will auto adjust the colours and ruin any attempt to get a relative reading. I really don't understand why Topdon hasn't addressed this issue, I've seen similar complaints on their social media pages.

[@JonnyDIY]

Cool thanks for sharing 🙌👍

[@AngelaMerkeltree]

Have you tried just using a visible spectrum lens? I bet it would work just fine.

[@CaseyConnor]

Can you record the video without the OSD overlay? Battery percentage, rec • blinking, "1x" in the corner, etc. ?

[@wolpumba4099]

*Exploring a Thermal Infrared Monocular: Capabilities and Limitations* * *0:02** Monocular Size:* The Topdon TS004 thermal infrared monocular is larger than expected for a handheld device. * *0:13** Digital Zoom:* The monocular has digital zoom, but its effectiveness is limited by the relatively low sensor resolution (256 x 192). * *0:32** Fast Startup:* A key advantage is its quick startup time, reaching operational readiness in about 10 seconds. * *1:00** Ideal Outdoor Use:* The monocular is designed for outdoor applications like bird watching and wildlife observation, particularly in environments with consistent temperatures where living beings stand out due to their heat signatures. * *1:27** Limitations in Sunny Conditions:* Sunlight can create thermal clutter, making it harder to distinguish animals or specific objects. * *2:10** Narrow Field of View:* The monocular has a telephoto lens, offering good detail at a distance but a narrow field of view compared to standard infrared cameras. * *2:29** Temperature Readings:* A significant drawback is the lack of temperature readings, hindering the ability to assess the actual heat levels of objects. * *3:14** Limited Temperature Range:* The monocular's maximum measurable temperature is 45°C, making it unsuitable for observing very hot objects. * *3:26** Combining Infrared and Visible Light:* Attempts to view infrared and visible light simultaneously were unsuccessful due to the monocular's minimum 2x zoom and the different nature of the images. * *4:14** Dual Sensor Solutions:* Other thermal cameras, like the Topdon TC003, offer dual sensors for combined infrared and visible light viewing. * *4:29** App Features:* The monocular's app requires Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and location permissions for connection and control, offering features like photo capture and video recording. * *5:10** Limited Close-up Focus:* The monocular's focus is fixed at infinity, making close-up inspections challenging. * *5:12** External Lens Experiment:* An external thermal infrared lens was used to achieve close-up focus, but the results highlighted the impact of surface reflectivity on thermal imaging. * *6:35** Internal Construction:* The monocular is solidly built with a large camera module and heatsink. * *8:34** Comparison to Other Models:* Smaller, lower-priced models like the Topdon TC001 offer a wider field of view but lack the telephoto capabilities. * *9:18** Potential for Lens Upgrades:* The creator plans to experiment with a longer focal length zinc selenite lens for potential improvements in close-up inspection capabilities. * *9:46** Practical Applications:* Despite limitations, the monocular is deemed useful for tasks like identifying heat leaks in buildings. * *10:07** Black Friday Promotion:* A Black Friday discount is available, bringing the US price down to $400. I used gemini-1.5-pro-exp-0827 on rocketrecap dot com to summarize the transcript. Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $0.02 Input tokens: 16570 Output tokens: 638

[@Sqwince23]

The opaque IR lenses are germanium if that helps at all.

[@dougrimmer9585]

Good review. It’s virtually identical to the Flir scout. And mine was a little over 2 grand so I feel totally ripped off. Haha. Great Review. Thanks!!

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

I think this type of product used to be a lot more expensive.

[@greentjmtl]

@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 They were, pretty sure US used to have monopoly on the thermoimaging chip until China started making them too, then consumer price literally dropped 5~10x.

[@gorak9000]

Flir used to be the only option for thermal cameras, as no one else had figured out how to make the sensors, and the US wouldn't export the technology as it's protected by ITAR. Infrared cameras make great missile guidance systems! Now InfiRay manufactures the sensors in China at a cheap cost and with no ITAR restrictions on frame rates and resolutions, so now we get affordable infrared cameras that are actually more capable than the Flir alternatives.

[@gblargg]

Those small USB-C versions that plug into a phone are the best. Cheap, you get a big phone screen with a more powerful CPU, and recording capability. Also no booting delay. The TC001's app is the best of thermal apps I've tried, some great options for coloring only a subset of temperatures, great for finding pets at night when they escape. This monocular does use InfiRay's newer 50 Hz sensor so you get really smooth visuals compared to e.g. the TC001.

[@sno_crash]

Could you put a link in the description to the infrared lens ? That'd be appreciated.

[@Chezowan1]

look out your window to see Matthias peering down the scope of a monocular pointed at you

[@gorak9000]

glass doesn't transmit thermal IR wavelengths, so if he's looking at you with a thermal camera from the other side of the window, all he's seeing is a reflection of himself. At thermal IR wavelengths, glass looks like a mirror

[@Chezowan1]

@ twas a joke

[@free_spirit1]

I've seen some comments regarding the "precise location permission" having to do with bluetooth. I think it's more that flir is a dual use technology. It's main use initially was for guidance systems. So china would probably want to geofence it/ make sure it isn't used in restricted regions. Eg. I have one of these USBC cameras and even though it doesn't even use bluetooth I still need to give "precise location permission".

[@thaphreak]

That looks like the Lorex "Portable Thermal Monocular Camera" in a different case, it has the same button layout and the same options.

[@arekx]

I wish there would be a consumer product with image intensifier technology (instead of thermal infrared). No delays!

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

that would be military grade stuff

[@arekx]

@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 I assume you talk about law? Probably in USA but not in many other countries. And I have no clue how much that technology costs to manufacture (if you already have it developed). Could be cheap... (or not).

[@DEADB33F]

One of these with a combined high megapixel night-vision / low-light sensor for the overlaid image would be great.

[@ghost2coast296]

I got the Rix K3 and for just a bit more money you get a much better product, very fun to play with and great for camping. Stick breaks in the middle of the night 100 ft from your tent; was it a deer? was it bigfoot? now you can find out

[@benjaminbrewer2154]

Try panning up and down rather than horizontally the average dynamic range will give a better contrast for detection. It does take concentration to build up the spacial model. (Edit correcting autocorrect)

[@brandy1011]

The "Bird/Wild Boar/Bird" at 1:13 suspiciously looks like a human sitting on a bench...

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

It is indeed. It's kind of comical how it miss-identifies stuff all the time. Though human standing or walking it usually gets right.

[@-vermin-]

@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 Can you turn the object recognition off?

[@roderik1990]

@2:01 "Type: Bird" on a person walking their dog. Seems like the AI vision recognition inside might be a tad overzealous in calling things birds. And @2:20 it appears to be thinking the tall hot rectangular structures it sees are humans. (instead of windows, and a hot wall seen between two tree trunks)

[@awldune]

Seems very useful for birding and hunting. The price is not quite as low as it probably needs to be.

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

Not cheap. but gun folks seem to spend loads of money on gear!

[@Mourt.]

It is very annoying that you can't get thermal cameras with higher resolution and frame rate. From what I understand it has to to with laws preventing the export of thermal imaging cameras from being exported if they are over a certain frame rate/resolution. It has nothing to do with the technology, I'm positive we could easily make a high resolution 60fps thermal camera.

[@qwerty-ti8nt]

Anything thermal-imaging or night-vision related is deliberately kept crappy in the commercial market due to possible military applications.

[@mlindholm]

They could be used on a weapon, be it a drone, rocket, missile, etc, so they're ITAR restricted. You can get them, they're just highly regulated, very expensive, and not sold on Amazon for cheap.

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

The monocular has a pretty decent frame rate, 50 fps says the specs.

[@gorak9000]

That used to be the case, but these thermal cameras are made in China, so ITAR restrictions don't apply. These cameras are not frame rate limited, and I'm sure higher resolution ones will be available in the future.

[@tullgutten]

If you buy American made yes it is terrible fps weapons export law max 9fps. If you look at InfiRay or X infrared (same company) they have much much higher resolution and real frame rate at 30 FPS. And with every thermal camera you must find in the specs what the actual ir pixels are, everyone boost it by showing the screen pixels or in MSX mode (mixing IR and RGB)

[@ohhpaul7364]

now, if we can just get car manufacturer's to incorporate these things into vehicles to serve as some sort of early warning system for animals on the side of the road. Perhaps we could decrease the number of vehicle animal collisions per year with such a thing.

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

you'd get lots of false alarms during and after a sunny day. Rocks retain their heat for a while.

[@paradiselost9946]

@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 if only they could detect what we determine to be "life" versus "inanimate object"...

[@bragapedro]

Pretty sure infiray sells a product for that exact purpose

[@seabream]

Some manufacturers do have such systems, but since it's an added cost it tends to only be in more expensive vehicles where their customers won't rule out your offering because a cheaper (though less capable) alternative is available. IIRC, Mercedes has had it on some models for over a decade.

[@bragapedro]

just checked it out, they call it "NV2 Automotive AI Night Vision". There is a review of it on youtube and it seems to do the job pretty well. It even highlights moving objects to prevent the "deer or boulder" debate.

[@jackman00110101]

wow I would definitely buy one of these, fair price!

[@RFC3514]

2:02 - That must be a really rare bird.

[@BobBlarneystone]

I've thought about making a heated driveway by circulating fluid through a pipe network that would be buried in the earth under the driveway and embedded in or under the driveway. What do you think about that?

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

Uses LOTS of energy

[@Trancelebration]

You can try a CO2 laser lens. They are quite good and you can buy many different focal lengths.

[@TH-bj1pb]

The bulky front, could it be to eliminate heat interference on the sensor? Idk, just speculating

[@tullgutten]

All apps that need Bluetooth need location information access just how it's managed in the appstore. And Bluetooth can give location feedback from beacons, same with wifi

[@spelunkerd]

Can you leave a link for that thermal infrared lens for close work using the TC004? I'd like to use if for large circuit boards.

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

Look for Zinc Selenide lens on amazon or aliexpress, pick something with about 100 mm focal length. Mine is much shorter, which is not ideal.

[@nemo4907]

The thermal lens is germanium with an iridium coating. InVeo Designs

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

I wonder what the advantages of that are over the other type of lens

[@practicalmetrology8599]

Germanium does not transmit visible light. The sensor may have some residual sensitivity to visible. Also, it is cheaper than ZnSe.

[@nemo4907]

@ Germanium (more expensive) and doped Silicon (cheaper) are the best to use, all other lens material are fuzzy/opaque at best. That’s why your image has blank eye glasses - IR & near IR will not pass.

[@AdamEarl2]

The lens he showed was probably MgF2 coated

[@practicalmetrology8599]

Definitely not MgF2. Refractive index is wrong for Germanium or Silicon. MgF2 works as a single layer coating for standard glasses because its index is close to the square root of the index of the glass. Index of Germanium is about 4, Silicon a bit over 3, standard glass 1.5 to 1.7. MgF2 could be part of a multi-layer coating, but then it would be paired up with a different material having a higher index. "Iridium" is just a marketing trade name used by Oakley sunglasses; no ionic compound of Iridium is used for lens coating as far as I can find.

[@confuseatronica]

i have a non topdon plug in one for my phone, but i use the topdon APP because its a little better than the one that came with it

[@SirWerner..]

Every BLE connection needs location stuff, its that since Android 6.0. There are many BLE devices like key finders and you need location permission to find. So: using BLE always asks for location! Size: Resolution is not all. A bigger sensor is more sensitiv (like you know from SLR Sensors vs. Phonesensors). Detecting IR thats far away is much easier with bigger sensor and that product is made for outdoor and larger distances.

[@electronics-by-practice]

Is it possible to use tow module of this camera to get a 3d vision of the environment.

[@DavidCousins]

I bought one with your link. Great video

[@vevenaneathna]

still like my infiray mini phone/ipad camera. it has a macro lens you can buy for like 30 bucks and costs around 100 on sale.

[@mrDarktrooper]

you can get inexpensive lenses for co2 laser cutters.

[@IanZainea1990]

1:10 definitely thought you said "stopping cannibals" not "stalking animals" hahaha

[@cashewABCD]

Need a driving deer alert system. Waiting for a cheap one to arrive on the market

[@locouk]

Not for sale with the promo in the uk.

[@quademasters249]

Would it be useful for finding heat leaks and hot spots on your house?

[@lemagreengreen]

Matthias I find quite a lot of cheap-ish low resolution IR camera modules on aliexpress, have you ever tried one of these?

[@gorak9000]

all the IR camera modules are made by the same company, InfiRay - they end up in all of the non-Flir branded cameras, so no matter which one you get, the sensor is all the same. The only difference is the housing and the software, and even all of the software is based off the InfiRay software

[@lemagreengreen]

@@gorak9000 I see a lot of very low resolution modules though, just wondering if they're any use for anything

[@JeffreyArcand]

Thinking of your other videos, would these cameras be able to see mice in walls or other places?

[@GeomancerHT]

Thanks for disclosing this is paid advertising, I constantly see big youtubers ignoring this and it's really scammy, at least for me.

[@maetb]

My Topdon TC004 (which I bought after watching your videos) starts up in about 7-8 seconds. Maybe yours have older firmware?

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

The monocular takes 10 seconds. My TC004 is older, lower resolution and takes 30 seconds.

[@yayinternets]

I have the TC004 as well that I've had for at least a couple of years now and has a long boot time. As far as I can tell it's booting up Linux.

[@skelingtonrick]

adafruit just stocked/released a thermal camera i initially thought the resolution sounded way too low but I think its comparable to these. I wonder how difficult it would be to set one up as an inspection camera

[@AdamEarl2]

If you use it at night, will it pick up security camera IR LEDs?

[@spacewolfjr]

Matthias, can I borrow that for a few minutes? I want to make sure my "Moons Over My Hammy" are cooked to the correct internal temperature

[@enchantededition6879]

If it had temperature I’d buy one. Without it it’s nothing more than a toy to me.

[@electronics-by-practice]

I usually use my phone infrared camera which model is cat S61 i hope all phone manufacturer introduce thermal sensor to their phones so the cost will be reduced .

[@W4iteFlame]

How cool is it? In °C

[@pj62775]

Hey Mathias I have a thermal monocular that was about 10x the cost of the one you’re showing. If you’d like some video for a comparison i can send you some.

[@robstorms]

Thanks !!!

[@NoTengoIdeaGuey]

Yeah that seems like it was made specifically for hunting and basically nothing else. For people that just need to see "Is thing warm-blooded" and thats it.

[@VanDerLaars]

Do you have any video showing the usb c version?

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

yes, titled more uses for infrared cameras, buildings…

[@VanDerLaars]

@matthiasrandomstuff2221 lovely! Thank you. I'm in the market fot one of those.

[@howa08]

Please please build something cool with this!

[@calebbender1031]

Location information is part of bluetooth low energy protocol I think. Annoying, especially because you can use a spoofer GPS app for that data with no drawbacks.

[@PeteyPeteee]

Why would someone heat up their eaves. Weird but I’m gonna google it

[@RFDarter]

Do you think you could spot honeybees in trees with this device?

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

Likely, but not when its sunny. An overcast early morning would give you the most consistent temperatures, which would make the warmth from the hive easier to spot.

[@RFDarter]

@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 I guess the one for the smartphone could do the same, or is the wider view a problem? Because I just saw they dont deliver this produkt to germany

[@ahbushnell1]

I wonder if the lens is ZnSe?

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

I suspect some other material. Could be ZnSe with a coating to reflect visible light, but why coat the back too then?

[@bragapedro]

It's probably germanium, it's a very common ir lens material. Could also be silicon, but it's a bit more unlikely.

[@TheKabrawi]

Great stuff 😊

[@tracybowling1156]

Pretty interesting.

[@IndianaDoug]

5:50 emissivity

[@wayneswonderarium]

I've got the phone mount one 👍

[@raunak51299]

can you see planes with them?

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

Haven't tried (not so many planes overhead here), but the contrails should be much warmer than the blue sky.

[@jsjs6751]

Are the usual strobelights and beacons not enough?

[@adubs.]

Temperature measurement from IR sensors is not terribly useful beyond simple ballpark measurement due to how different surface smoothnesses and coatings radiate infrared. You can often get misleading or outright false readings. IR temperature measurement requires calibration for the surface and material. Infrared sensors are merely measuring the emissivity of the wavelength. Reflective surfaces are a good example of false readings, but with IR, black body radiation is the determining factor.

[@odinata]

The same information thata tells a pixel which color to light up is also the temperature. Each color is assigned a temperature range . This monocular simply lacks the programming to show you numbers...Celsius / Fahrenheit. Firmware Update!

[@insanegammer109]

IR optics for optical zoom are expensive, I'd be rather shocked if it had optical zoom... digital zoom is free :D

[@matthiasrandomstuff2221]

I figured. a lot of cheap materials work for visible optics, with far infrared, the choice appears to be very limited.

[@daneking1209]

Wow that company fell short on many points in the product.

[@generalzugs6017]

Topdon CEO while watching this video: PEOPLE! Are you taking notes?

[@barcodenosebleed5485]

Topdon CEO can't be reached right now on account of the valium he took after he found out the marketing director sent a product to Matthias to review.

[@SuburbanDon]

I imagine features are based on price.

[@andyjbauman]

Nice thumbnail

[@vladshmit]

Hey, it needs location access to get permission to use Bluetooth.

[@MCsCreations]

Really interesting device indeed, Matthias! 😃 But it's not going to save you from the Wendigo in the woods. It's supposed to be cold. 😬 (Yeah, I don't believe those things either, but I still would rather stay away from the woods either way. 😂) Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@paradiselost9946]

*twilight zone theme music* maybe the wendigo simply exists and radiates at a wavelength we dont perceive, its occasional perception in our vision being a result of heterodyning, or "beat frequencies"? the shiver down your spine... an entity on an entirely different wavelength and mode of interaction just bumped into you... BOO! IR or "thermal" vision is simply ONE NOTE out of many... intensity, location, and timing being the only way to differentiate, to perceive... rather than frequency... imagine if all the music, every sound you ever heard, was simply one note... would you have the same "perception of reality"? all you could "hear" being location, and volume... visible light doesnt even span a full "octave"... we really do have a limited view of this world around us. and our education system, in many ways, simply restricts our view even more... "it can only be this way and we are really really intelligent, like... now study hard and get a good career with good pay and dont think".

[@geekmystique]

I think their target demographic is speaking either Russian or Ukrainian... Also explains the lack of temp measurement and color scheme.

[@harkbelial]

Perfect for us stalkers.