Perfect Prime IR0005 IR Camera

The left photo below is what my IR0005 camera thinks of EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier on TV – not a lot it would seem. Below-right is the camera itself in it’s case along with USB lead, manual and strap.

I received my (not inexpensive) IR0005 camera from Perfect Prime a few weeks ago and it arrived damaged (the screen was actually cracked – Fedex are you listening?). I quickly wrote off an email to Perfect Prime and was taken back by the friendly, helpful response – no fobbing me off with a request for a video of the package etc., – anyway, the replacement arrived in the UK in a matter of days.

“Perfect”. I’ve had several IR cameras in the past, mostly comparatively lo-res and already I’m impressed. The provided booklet as well as being generally comprehensive, tells you about expected thermal radiation from various objects.

The visible original of that above TV capture prominently featured the EU chief negotiator, but as you can clearly see, the camera is not AT ALL interested in visible colours – hence the total absense of detail on the TV screen other than to light up the centre of the screen in white – as it is understandably slightly warmer than the outside of the TV set.

Pointing the camera into our garden on a bright but cloudy, chilly day yielded similary wierd results (for those not familiar with Infra-Red photography) with normal visible colours having virtually no effect on the IR image other than their effect on heat retension. One obvious use for these devices is for measuring heat loss in buildings – in our case the heat loss through a 200-year-old stone wall comes as something of a shock if you expect thick walls to be great insulators. Modern 2-layer + insulation walls are WAY better at keeping in the heat.

The camera lets you switch between different modes to let you capture both visible and IR information and you can turn the on-screen measurements on and off, as well as exporting images via USB.

Infra-red resolution is 220×160 and visible resolution is 640×480 (200k pixels). Thermal sensitivity on this camera is 0.07 degrees C with a measurement precision of +-2%

The manual states that you should connect the camera to a PC via USB to export images. I quickly mastered camera exports to show you (above left) an IR image of my Raspberry Pi 4 running with peaks no higher than 34c thanks to my dual-fan + heatsink arrangement. See the dual-fan + full heatsink on my RPi 4? No overload worries there. Images are quickly transferred by USB.

The above-right image is one of several I’ve taken around my office desk. That mess in the middle of the image is a 4-way power control module cluttered with cables and a Sonoff device – I had no idea any of that stuff got warm. Other heat spots in my office include wall sockets, my PC and monitors obviously along with various IOT controllers. Did I mention temperature range? That is stated on the back of the camera at -20c to 300c – so, handy for checking everything from icy weather through to kitchen appliances too. I see a bright future for this device already.

“Thermal imaging cameras” translate thermal energy (heat) into visible light. The image produced is called a thermogram – and at the time of writing I’m guessing that some of you may be interested in knowing how this camera handles body heat. Accurately, I would suggest and that is reflected in the price. The more I get into this – the more uses I find for this device including checking for heat spots on PCBs and a boatload of other uses around the house and office.

Above, you see a set of four images taken with the camera, the first is a forehead shot of my conveniently seated wife, showing 33.4c – no fever problems there. The second shot is our freezer, showing -24c at the rear. Thirdly, steam from my electric kettle – and the last photo is the kettle itself shortly after use, showing a peak of 86c.

These are but a few ideas, the first one leads on to a whole new set of opportunities – a close friend of mine has a hospitality business which will be opening up in July following months of shut-down due to Covid – of course, worldwide in 2020 – things are NOT business as usual and as soon as he knew I had this camera, he said he would like to use it to check guests on entry for signs of fever, over the first few months of re-opening.

I’m sure there are countless other uses I’ve not yet imagined.

You can easily get more specs from the Perfect Prime website. So, spills and leaks, fire fighting, heat loss, drug-law-enforcement, moisture detection, body temperature, night vision, electronic components and PCBs through to building inspection are just a few of the potential uses for this device. The company claims it is the ideal selection for electricians, maintainance personnel, technicians and emergency personnel. I’ve always wanted a decent IR camera and now it is sitting in front of me. My friend says that Lambdatherm has an insulation value only 5% less than Kingspan at greatly reduced price – how could you ever prove that either way? Well, the Perfect Prime camera may be one way to do it.

Not only do the company provide useful online manuals – but video manuals as well. Enjoy. The IR0005 is but one of their range of IR cameras.