Just received my Reveal. I already have the Android cell phone version. I ordered this from the Seek website when I was under the impression that the sensor was upgraded to 320x240; I soon found out that that was the display resolution. I was primed to immediately return it until I saw the actual hardware. I have changed my mind and am going to keep it.
First impressions: the image is MUCH sharper than the cell phone version, even though the cell phone screen is much higher resolution than the Reveal screen. The thermal calibration, while still lacking an emissivity setting, is better that the cell phone version. As an example, my skin registers at 90F with the Reveal but only 88F with the cell phone version.
The general impression is that it is well made and should handle a fair amount of jostling around. Dark blue case with black buttons and accents. The display is obviously vulnerable, and a carry case would have been a nice addition.
All functions are button/menu controlled. The center button turns on the IR camera. Takes about 3 second to show an IR image.The changing functions of the buttons appear on the screen below the particular button. The center button now becomes a Menu button and the left is for various color mapping filters, while the right is for image capture. Further descriptions of the various Menus are beyond what I want to do right now.
There is a dedicated button on the right side that turns on the flashlight, the first click is on high bright, if it is clicked soon after the light dims to save battery. If it is clicked a third time (or after a longer wait) it shuts off. The percentage of brightness is selectable in a buried menu.
As far as the flashlight, it is claimed to be 300 lumens, but when I A/B compared it to two different Surefire LED 200 lumen flashlights and I find that the Reveal appears about as bright, but not brighter to my eyes. Of course this judgement is clouded by different light patterns; Reveal has a very soft spot surrounded by a larger spill region compared to the Surefire lights. At 100% brightness it should be great for most near work around the house and yard.
The microSD card and the microUSB connector are under a rubber plug in the rear of the device. The microSD card is installed when you get the Reveal, however removing it is a real chore. It is a spring loaded socket, but when it ejects there is very little to grasp and it is even made more difficult to remove because of inadequate clearance for you fingers. You will need tweezers.
The Welcome Guide is very sparse. Mostly contains pictures, many that are clearly not from a Reveal camera, that illustrates possible Reveal uses. It is possible to update the software, but it isn't clear how it is accomplished. At any rate, there are no new software as of November 2, 2015.
UPDATE:
I thought I would add a few comparisons to the cell phone version. In general, the cell phone version software has more functionality: it can capture motion video; it has more imaging modes. Both have "spot" temperature modes, but the cell phone also has "hi/lo" where it displays the temp of the hottest and coldest portions of the scene; it also has a "threshold" mode where a desired temperature can be set and when a portion of the scene exceeds this temperature it is highlighted in color (the cell phone help screen says emissivity can be selected here, but I haven't found out how to do this even though I have searched; I think the help file is out of date).
Both version share some color palettes: White, Black, Tyrian, Glory, Iron Cool, Glow. The cell phone version has three additional palettes: Amber, Indigo (incidentally I think one of the principals in the company ran IR imaging companies with these names in years past) and Envy.
The cell phone version also has an "image smoothing" function. that appears to slightly blur the image while hiding noise speckles somewhat (maybe a "median filter"?). Not clear whether the Reveal has this function on or off.
As far as my earlier comment about the better image of the Reveal, I think after further observation that might be due to better contrast. There is no contrast adjustment in either version.
It arrived today, on time ,paper instructions well there are non. that said I fumbled through the three buttons on top. it took about ten minutes to some what weave my way through the set up mode. now I am a semi expert .Plugged in the charge cable to my USB computer port ,using a Dork USB tester.The Seek Thermal charged at a .7amp rate at 4.99 Volts It took about 1 hour to go from 0% to 100% charge. The flash light about 300 to 400 Lu. bright better than expected. its screen is 1 3/8 wide by 1 7/8 IN. high. you can take still pictures but no video .Then later down load to your computer .on the seek you can change the color of what is hot or cold real good feature. The picture quality is low def. that is standard on all makes .The price of $244.63 Made this a must have. I must stress don't think any of these type of units produce high definition ,not even close!! In menu scroll to ABOUT they show your model # serial # and there web address at thermal.com/revealsupport you can view and or down load complete instructions ,and more after you register. by HERB THE POWERMAN
We bought this camera for several reasons, one of them being for winter inspections of bee hives. It's generally understood not to be a good idea to open up a bee hive when it is below 45 degrees, and certainly not at night. So thermal imaging provides an alternative for monitoring how your bees are doing in the winter cold.
You can see from my photo the heat signature of a cluster of bees in a top bar hive.
We also use this camera to see our chickens when they are roosting in the shrubs at night. If we want to count or catch em.
I think it performs very well for it's price point, and it is fun to play with as well!
I bought the Seek Thermal Imager to look for thermal problems in a residence, such as insulation voids behind walls, ceilings, floors. I have only used it sparingly so far, but it seems to show useful information. For example, looking at an uninsulated pull-down attic door (hot summer climate in air-conditioned home), the door looks generally "hot" in comparison to the nearby insulated ceiling. This is useful, however the actual temperatures of the surfaces is pretty elusive with the Seek. It has a small central crosshairs on the screen, and a temperature number at the bottom, but it's pretty hard to tell where exactly the temperature indication is from. So I think the Seek is good for general temperature difference indication, especially if there is a pretty large difference in temperatures, such as blazing summer sun outside and cooled air-conditioned air inside.In addition to the Seek Imager, I have an inexpensive infrared thermometer, with a laser pointer, which is very good for getting a surface temp of a small pinpoint. So for me, I can use the Seek imager to sweep around a large area, and find general potential problem areas, then follow that with using the infrared thermometer to get actual surface temperatures.
Also, in residences, it is important to locate openings where moving air can transfer heat, such as around doors, windows, or even electrical outlets. I haven't seen how the Seek imager can help with spotting air leaks. For me, a good strong wind outside, while I feel around doors or windows with my hand, has worked to help find air leaks.
Anyway, the Seek Imager has been fun, and along with an infrared thermometer, and physical inspection for air leaks, it has helped in finding residential building thermal problems. For me, as an introduction to thermal imaging, it has worked.
PS the rechargeable battery seems to last pretty well, and the flashlight function is pretty bright also.
I am a beekeeper, and sometimes I get calls to remove bees from buildings (cutouts). A recent call was for a 3 story house, with the bees somewhere in the roof line, exact location unable to determine. From the ground (about 20 ft), I was able to locate the swarm of bees in the roof line and save a lot of time and effort. I am very satisfied with this model. Not inexpensive (about $250 at time of purchase), it is functional and easy to use.
Feature Product
- Ruggedized, all-purpose thermal camera with a 206 x 156 thermal sensor for use at home, the jobsite, and beyond.
- Find and fix faster by seeing problems invisible to the naked eye such as: energy loss, electrical and mechanical failures, water damage, and hundreds more heat related issues.
- Perfect tool for DIY homeowners, contractors, and engineers.
- Includes a 300 lumen LED flashlight, rechargeable battery that lasts up to 10 hours, large color display, and durable rubberized casing.
- SPECS: 206 x 156 Thermal Sensor, 36° Field of View, < 9 Hz Frame Rate, Fixed-focus Lens, -40F° to 626°F Detection Range, Captures Photos, Spot Temperature, 7 Color Palettes, Auto Mode
Description
Designed for the realities of life in the field, the Seek Reveal combines an advanced thermal imaging camera with a high performance LED light in one compact, rugged, and reliable device. Built for the realities of work and play, the Seek Reveal handheld thermal imager combines powerful thermal insight and a high-performance light in one durable device. With a detectable range of -40 to 626 F, Reveal lets you pinpoint specific sources of heat-and heat loss-up to 500 feet away, all at just the touch of a button. Whether you're a plumber searching for a clog, an electrician checking for a hotspot, a hunter tracking game, or a homeowner looking for peace of mind, Reveal delivers the insight and illumination you need to find, fix, and feel safe faster.
This thermal unit has surpassed all my expectations in the first week of ownership. To be honest, for the price, wasn't expecting much. I had another unit at one time I paid five times as much for a couple of years ago. This unit is better! The battery lasts for a long period of time with the image quality much better than the more expensive unit. GREAT BUY!
Very good IR imaging at reasonable price. Achieved peace of mind while checking 5 breaker boxes, heat losses at building foundation and doors. Found enough places where repairs or insulation is failing to pay for this cool tool over time.
Tool is sensitive. I was able to see heat from my hand after touching a table top for less than 1/2 second. Impressive!
If you are specifically looking at a heat source or otherwise trying to use this as a tool to find a heat source (or cold) at short range, this does a good job. I can identify wood framing behind walls due to temp difference (there needs to be a decent temp difference between indoors and out) as well as where heat or cold are escaping. It's useful for looking at electrical panels and HVAC as well. If you are looking at this for more outdoors type activities like to spot animals use I question its usefulness. I was able to spot a rabbit at about 30 ft, which admittedly was cool but there was no way for me to identify it was a rabbit, although given the size of the heat signature I did correctly guess it was before lighting it up with the built-in flashlight. At approximately 100 ft I could not spot via the reveal display (until I spotted him and looked for the thermal signature specifically) a person on a balcony. Now there were a bunch of other heat signatures in the frame (like lights) so if those were not present its possible that person would have stuck out more. I was hoping for a bit longer reach with regards to being able to easily spot a person size target but it is possible that was due to the particular set of heat signature in frame.
As for non IR performance related items the built-in flashlight has a fairly wide and diffuse light, very useful for lighting up things close up and at a somewhat reasonable distance in dark outdoor environments (best guess 80 ft or so, but I haven't been in an environment where I can truly test that out to its full extent yet). The menu system requires no documentation and is very simple, great job on the UI. The build quality is far better than I was expecting. The screen is recessed such that if you placed it upside down on a table, you would not scratch the display. The same goes for the IR sensor and the flashlight up front, both highly recessed and protected. I really wish this came with some sort of a carrying case with belt loop, or one was at least offered as an add on. I haven't used this enough yet to really say much about the battery life but it does seem that one charge will last for many hours if the percentage is accurate.
In the coming weeks I'll have the opportunity to use this in more outdoors type situations and just more in general. I hope to update my review with more and better information as I do.
UPDATE 11/25/2015
I've had more of an opportunity now to use this in an outdoor type setting so wanted to update my review. My initial guess regarding the flashlight usable distance of 80 ft seems to have been pretty spot on. I was also on a colder evening able to spot a dog moving at 80 ft without issue and I expect I could still out to around 100 ft without issue, possibly further but I didn't have that opportunity and I only knew it was a dog because well it was my friends dog. At that distance you see a small white something on the screen (assuming white hot is your mode of viewing). It definitely is easier to spot things when the ambient temperature is cooler which makes perfect sense. I never had the opportunity to spot a person, or anything else, past 100 ft but could do so easily at that distance. So I think this is usable outdoors as long as you aren't trying to see through brush or obstructions and have realistic expectations. Overall I'd give this a 4.5 out of 5 total rating so I am revising my previous rating of 4 stars and increasing that to 5 stars.
A good piece of equipment. Well-made and handier than an add-on and an app. I use it for engine room inspections on a large powerboat. In the past I have used a single-point IR thermometer, but going to this gives me a better picture of what's going on. The only complaint I have is that some of the on-screen text is a bit small for my tired eyes...
Found air leaks in house, lowered heating bill, will pay for itself in two winters. Watched deer at night eating prime landscaping - took pictures for the game warden.
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