TOPDON TC001 Thermal Imaging Camera Android, 512x384 Super IR Resolution Thermal Imager with Secondary Analysis, Test Report, Temp Alarm, -4°F~1022°F TEM Range for Smartphones(not for iOS)

It is important to note that the build quality of the product is good, seller ships fast and for it comes with all necessary accessories. Pros: * Cheaper than others, especially for the price range (considering the discount). * Better than Flir in almost every situation in that price range and you don't need the visible light camera. * Easy to use software, gets the job done. * Very good build quality. Cons: * Support seems to be nonexistent. I submitted a ticket more than a week ago, followed up and still don't have any answer. So if you are buying this Chinese product with the hope that the US office will be helpful when you need support, you'll be wrong. * There is a visible Vignette around the corners of the image that usually results in a slightly higher temperature readings, especially when there is small variance in the temperatures in the picture. See attached videos and photos. This results in Hot reading to constantly stay top-right (or other corners) when assessing walls. I have to draw a square in the middle to keep the readings accurate. And YES, I've tried to clean the lens with the provided cloth. I've seen this in other reviews uploaded in Amazon. * Software is quirky sometimes. Doesn't remember settings and flips to default orientation on it's own. Sometimes I need to switch between High-Temperature readings and back to Normal-Temperature to fix image color distortions. * Still on mobile app, after the latest update, the gallery in the app doesn't work at all. UPDATE: Finally I was able to connect with support. They were very helpful and offered several options to resolve the issue. Also there was a recent app update for Android that fixed a few of the quirks. I still see a room for improvement but it is much better. Haven't had issues with crashing. I am pretty happy with the quality of the camera and what it offers compared to similar class products. Great value if you are looking for thermal imaging.

Arrived in less than 24hrs, new in cellophane wrapped box, came in a nice zippered pouch, looked over the limited instruction sheet but no need because it's plug and play. Simply download the free top don app from play store and plug it in the USB charging port of your phone and it automatically works. The app/camera controls are simple and easy to make whatever adjustments you want. I was impressed with the picture quality and clarity. I tried it out after coming in from the cold outside and I could easily see my cold fingers/toes show up as blue/black as compared to the rest of my body which was yellow/Orange. I researched on YouTube before buying, and I was originally going to buy the Ames thermal camera from Harbor freight, it is 220.00, but I had a 25% off coupon. I'm glad I bought this Topdon instead, the quality and versatility are so much better. so for just a few dollars more you get a compact high quality thermal camera at a budget price that There are thousands of uses for. You can easily take photos and videos of what you are looking at. And best of all there are no batteries or SD card to buy or format. Just plug it into your phone or tablet and your good to go with a much larger screen to view it on. I have a simple moto G tracphone and had no issues, just plug and play. One thing I will be using it for is ghost hunting as I believe it will be very useful and certainly budget friendly.

The app for Android was very easy to find in the Google app store, just search for TC0001 to find it. The first time I plugged the IR camera into my phone, it asked if I wanted to auto launch the app Everytime I connect the camera, I selected yes so I don't even need to pin the app to my homepage, just plug the camera in and it opens the app. The app is also pretty easy to use and figure out the options on it. It can display in both ⁰C or ⁰F by changing settings in the app. The camera does work very well. I was even able to see the warm spot in the wall behind the hot water pipe for my water heater. And see how hot a battery charger was getting. The response rate on the camera is also impressive as well as the resolution of the pictures. So far I have only used it from about 18 inches away to over 20 feet away and it works great. I have not yet tested it for very close up pics, like on a circuit board. I also like that it comes with a USB cable that is USB C male on one end and USB C female on the other, with an adapter to USB A male so you can use a single cable to connect the camera to a phone or a PC. You could plug the camera directly into you phone, assuming you either don't have a case on your phone, or a very thin case. The only down side to the cable it comes with is it is a bit too long if you just need to use it to connect to your phone so you don't have to remove any case you might have, which makes it a little hard to hold both your phone and the camera in one hand. Although I did also buy a short 5 inch just USB C male to female cable that also works with the camera and makes it easy to use one handed. Overall I am impressed with it and it was worth the money.

I'm a wildlife biologist that intends to use this to help find bat roosts. I tested it in my yard (see video) in pitch dark on the local deer mice. They were easily distinguished from the background. I hope it works as well on bats, though that would be from a farther distance than what is in the video. Hope to test that soon. I was also able to distinguish small sparrows from about 10 meters away during the day, even when they were camouflaged in the brush and not easily seen with the naked eye. If this thermal camera can see sparrows, whose feathers tend to mask some of their infrared signature, it should be able to see bats from at least that same distance. As for the app,... It could use some minor upgrades. First and foremost, when shooting video, it doesn't record audio, so you can't narrate what is being filmed to help with ID later. This would be important for any use case. Second, it would be nice to be able to "lock" the color spectrum to temperature. When you shift the camera, the colors change based on the overall scene in view. Third, the images and video are not saved to the phone's regular gallery app and need to be exported one at a time to share them. A few other nit-picks that you can read on the TC001 App in the App store that others have mentioned. A few years ago, I had the Flir thermal camera for Android. I returned it due to its low resolution and high price. I didn't feel that it was a good value. I'll probably keep this camera, especially if they fix some of the issues with the phone app, as for the price, it's a pretty good product. *EDIT - 01-05-2023* Someone asked a question about functional images of walls, ceilings, baseboards, etc., so I've added some photos from around the house. I live in a mobile home with really bad insulation, so you can definitely see all the places that heat leaks. I had the furnace on when I took these photos and can see where the HVAC system is leaking. One shot is of a wall where you can see my blackout curtains are warm as well as my Starlink Router (84°) and some LED lightbulbs. You can also see where the studs are within the walls. Another photo shows the ceiling vent for my furnace and you can see the direction the HVAC vents run behind the ceiling. Another photo of the ceiling shows where the ceiling joists are located as well as heat leaks where the two-halves of the mobile home were connected together. The photo taken outside shows heat leaking from single-paned windows as well as the HVAC closet that houses the furnace and hot water heater. The vent on the roof shows 91° and you can see heat leaking out of the HVAC closet from above the doors (they don't close all the way). Electrical panel is on the far right of the home in that photo (also warm). Hope that helps with the person who wanted "functional" photos.

Cool gadget that puts really important data in the hands of a DIY homeowner. I found all kinds of areas where heat was being lost. Works well, and was easy to use. The cord allowed me to put the camera anywhere and any angle while keeping my view stationary on the phone screen. It comes in a nice carrying case making it durable for use in construction.

I have tried this camera against a very expensive handheld FLIR and a temperature probe sensor and this seems to be very close in comparison. The emissivity feature works but it doesn't seem to be super accurate when viewing things like shiny metal. I used the tempersture probe to get a baseline on a shiny metal object, adjusted the emissivity on the camera multiple times and could not accurately get a reading. Another thing I've noticed is when viewing an object that emits infrared (a TV remote control), this camera does not pick up any signs of infrared. I'm not sure if it's the type of lens over the camera or what, but trying every different color scheme and tried different settings, nothing seemed to work. Even with what I mentioned above, this thermal camera works very well. The update speed when viewing an object is so fast, the handheld FLIR doesn't compete. As soon as I move the camera to view an object, it shows the updated temperature almost immediately.. and on 3 separate parts of the screen! It shows where you are aiming and automatically locates the coldest and hottest objects in the view. The different color schemes are nice, I like how intuitive the app is to use, it gives you information on the emissivity section with common emissivity settings, it has a picture in picture mode so you can view in thermal and in normal lighting, the carry pouch, and USB line is also a nice addition; I have an otterbox case on my phone and because of the cable I don't have to remove the case to use the thermal camera. I've used this camera on my house that I'm remodeling to check for hot spots in the walls and ceiling; I've also checked another closed in house to check for leaks in the walls. I am very pleased with this purchase and will be recommending this thermal camera to others in the future.

Works exceptionally well - far better resolution and clarity than our home inspector's older Flir IR unit on a house with radiant-heated flooring in several rooms. His Flir even missed the radiant lines in these attached pics of the floor. The house had no ducted HVAC, only radiant heated floors, so we figured it was worth the cost to buy this thermal camera for inspection and other uses. It was also helpful in finding water intrusion spots in the garage photo (dark spot high on the wall), and an under-performing valve in the radiant heating system (dark vs. others being lit / warm). Being a newer unit, its resolution is higher, plus phone screens are bigger and clearer than dinky 3" screens on dedicated thermal IR units. The software that comes with it works great and the imaging is excellent for both video and stills.

It's really a good little thermal camera for the price. The thermals are good, the temperature seems accurate, the build quality is good. If you need an inexpensive thermal camera this is it. The good: It has a nice quality little case that comes with it, similar to a small hard drive case. Very protective. The build quality is good. It comes with an extension cord that's around 9" long (which you will need if you have a phone case that prevents the camera from seating all the way into the USB port). The image quality is good, and it seems accurate. The bad: It doesn't overlay a real camera image with the thermal image. That's a much more high end feature. The USB port length is not adjustable, so if your phone has a case on it that blocks the body of the thermal camera from getting close enough to the body of the actual phone, then the USB port won't plug in deep enough to work. That's why you get the short USB extension cord. The cord also keeps your camera easy to move around with your other hand. It's amazing what you can do with a thermal camera. You can look at your walls, windows and ceilings to see where cold air is leaking into your house. You can check for overheating electrical components. You can see if certain parts of an electronics board are failed and heated up (for PCM and motherboard repair, etc). On cars, you can look a cold car over in the morning and see if there are any warm spots. Warm spots indicate that some piece of electronics is running when it shouldn't be, causing a parasitic draw. You can spot bad bearings in a spinning pulley that are beginning to heat up. You can see if your brakes work evenly on both sides of the car, or if you have a bad wheel bearing. You can see if coolant is flowing properly thru a radiator, or if a thermostat is open and flowing water. It's really good for automotive diagnostics. If you are looking for a budget thermal camera, this is it!