ThermalMaster P2 Review - 2nd smallest IR camera

by Mark Berger - Disk Doctor data recovery | Facebook | Instagram
[SEE CAMERA-PROFILE AND MORE SAMPLE IMAGES]

ThermalMaster has created the 2nd smallest IR camera in the world but don't let the size fool you - the performance is all, but not small! The P2 is a phone accessory-style camera and is available for Android and iOS. There is even desktop software available for Windows, which allows further analysis of the thermal images.

Size comparison with a SD card

Picture 1. Size comparison with a SD card.

The P2 is really very small, so small that it can fit on a full-size SD card... The weight of just 11g and the small size makes it a tool you can easily carry every day. The hard-shell carry case which comes with the P2 (see first image) has been tied to my laptop bag with the carabiner clip since I got mine. The P2 comes in very handy in detecting all kinds of thermal issues and electronic faults and this makes it a great companion for me.

X³ - image enhancemant

The X³ technology allows to enhance images by stitching multiple images. When you activate this function in the app, the camera takes multiple images and overlaps them to create the illusion of higher thermal resolution. The function slows down the refresh rate in the app noticeably. So for quick scanning of an area, I would recommend switching it off to have the fast refresh rate of 25Hz.

To get the best-looking thermal images activate X³ before taking thermal photos. X³ is so good that I did not miss any blending technologies like Hikmicro's Fusion or Flir's MSX - the images are crisp and detail-rich:

Picture 2. X³ switched off - 256x192 pixel without enhancement

Picture 3. X³ switched on - 256x192 pixel with enhancement

The enhancement is even good enough that I would not mind using a bit of the digital zoom in case I would need but I would not want to use the max. 15x zoom. Interestingly I heard a rumour that ThermalMaster is working on an optical zoom lens addon for their cameras - can't wait to get my hands on one of those...

X³ - effect on the temperature readings

The danger when overlapping multiple images is, that multiple temperature readings blend also together and that can create false temperature readings and unreliable results.

To test for that issue I used a USB pendrive and took thermal images from various distances:

Picture 4. X³ off/on from approx. 130cm

Picture 5. X³ off/on from approx. 70cm

Picture 6. X³ off/on from approx. 25cm

ThermalMaster did a great job correcting for this issue and I could not see a noticeable difference in my tests. As long as you keep the measurement spot within the object and maybe give it a little wiggle room there should be no issue with the accuracy of the thermal readings...

The effect is also used reasonably and not overdone - so you get a noticeable image enhancement without compromising the main function of the tool.

Overheating test

Thermal cameras have often different temperature modes, and so does also the P2. The low range allow to measure -20 - 150°C and the high range allow to measure 100 - 600°C.

Measuring with the wrong mode can create false readings and also damage a thermal camera. That is the reason why you should never point your thermal camera into the sun for example. So, an indication that you use the wrong mode can not just prevent wrong temperature readings and thus overlooked issues but also damage to the tool. That's the reason why I see such a feature as very important!

Picture 7. Measuring a hotplate in low temp. mode (-20 - 150°C)

Picture 8. Overheating warning in the app

This works very well and instead of just displaying a warning on the image as for example the Guide PC210, the P2 shop the camera and show you a warning message.

I would just wish the app would do the same if you are in the high range and you measure to low temperatures:

Picture 9. Camera in the wrong range (100 - 600°C)

Picture 10. Camera in the correct range (-20 - 150°C)

Having the camera wrongly set to the high mode does not produce a huge error but the reading where a good degree Celsius off. The colors also looked washed out and thus you got a much lower thermal contrast which can lead to overlooking things. I would suggest to display a warning sign in this case. The good thing is here, that the app starts always in the low-temperature range. So if you forgot to reset it, the next time you use the app the range is reset.

But this behaviour can also be an annoying issue for someone who uses the high-temperature range frequently. So I would suggest saving the used range and displaying a warning when using the high range but no object in the frame has a temperature close to or in that range.

Speaking of the app - on my phone, the app could not hide the notification bar as clearly intended - that was no show stopper but it made it harder and fiddlier to activate X³ or switch the ranges. This could be improved in the next version - I forward this feedback also to ThermalMaster!

A few usecase examples

Medical thermograhy

Picture 11. My girlfriend almost recovered from her flu

Picture 12. Me, sick as f...

I like the multitude of palettes the app offers with the P2. The "red hot" palette helps really to show problematic areas and communicate them clearly even without any temperature indication shown.

Picture 13. Stressed leg a day after the gym.

Thermal imaging can help to show medical problems by comparing. The human body is symmetrical and asymmetry can show issues. Hereby can lower temperatures indicate sub-optimal blood flow or higher temperatures indicate over usage/strain, an infection or the healing process. This thermal image shows the legs of my girlfriend a day after the gym - the leg on the right side of the image shows a warmer spot and this was exactly the spot where she felt muscle soreness. I used the isotherm function of the app to blend out thermally not interesting areas and focus the palette on the thermal range of interest. The nice thing is here, that the app does not let the whole background go black but it keeps the areas greyed out while maintaining the thermal contrast to showcase the object within the surrounding areas. This is nice to enhance the contrast without losing the context. The resolution is pretty low for serious medical work but the price makes it a great tool for teaching and showing how our body works. This combined with the option that you can use the camera on a PC or Table, makes it really interesting for showcasing various things. This and the ability to record thermal video could make it an excellent choice for an ambitioned teacher (see video examples).

Electronics repair

Picture 14. Shorted HDD PCB.

My main application for thermography is electronics repair. For this application, ThermalMaster offers the P2 pro, which comes with a magnetic close-up lens. The P2 allows to get a quick overview of the PCB but the wide FOV (field of view) make if not the best choice for that kind of work... I own a P2 pro and the magnetic close-up lens of this camera does not fit at all, but the magnets made it hold on well enough to test the close-up ability. If you own a 3D printer you could design a simple clip-on holder for a 50.8mm ZnSe lens, which you get for a few USD from Aliexpress. I personally would not mind the additional 100 USD for the P2 Pro, which comes with the lens included. The resolution and app are the same but the ability to quickly snap the close-up lend on and off does cost the surcharge if you need that frequently.

Picture 15. Closeup with P2 pro close-up lens (X³ off)

Picture 16. Closeup with P2 pro close-up lens (X³ off)

This is another great example of the improvement X³ can provide but also a good example to showcase how you can use such a tool for electronics repair. First, you scan the whole PCB while injecting a current with a lab power supply to limit the current and not damage something. The first image shows us a few reflections on screws, an MCU chip which was kind-off working but those get usually hot.

The area in the upper left corner contains some components, which should not get very warm under normal circumstances. That helped me to dial in on the problematic area.

The close-up lens allowed me then to pinpoint the short to one faulty capacitor, which I replaced to get the HDD working and recover the data. When I learned first about thermal cameras they were crazy expensive and a camera with the resolution of the P2 would cost back then a 5-figure number. Today those tools are accessible to basically everybody thanks to multiple Chinese brands offering great value for money.

Building thermography - the elephant in the room

Many hear about thermography in the context of finding building defects, but thermal imaging can do even more.

Picture 17. Showing how underfloor pipes connect different heaters

Picture 18. Showing how underfloor pipes are routed and showing a fill-level indication of a tank

Thermal cameras can visualize tiny temperature differences. This does not only allow us to see if a heater may need to be ventilated but also how pipes are routed under the floor. The same is true for the toilet tank - the fill-level is clearly visible because the cool water in the tank cools the tank partially down.

It is responsible for the common misconception that thermal cameras can look through the surface, which is not true. But, a thermal camera shows how the surface temperatures are affected by the things below the surface. This is also why the pipe and the fill-level show gradients on the edges and no hard lines!

Picture 19. Leaky door

Picture 20. Leaky door cooling down surrounding areas

The cold season does not only bring joy with Xmas and fun in the snow but also requires us to heat our homes. A thermal camera is very handy to make sure the heat is not escaping your home.

The pictures above show clearly why you do not want to have a leaky door. In this example, we have an even worse situation because someone had the "brilliant" idea to use a metal door and doorframe as an outside door. Metal conducts heat very well as we all should know from school physics lessons and the images above make clear, that this door should get replaced ASAP!

I used the rectangle measurement box to compare the coolest and hottest points. The measured temperature difference is way too much and this could even cause the wall on cold days to cool down below the dew point, which can cause condensation and mould.

Picture 21. Ventilation air shaft

A thermal camera can help you to find even minor issues and identify potential thermal losses. This image shows how much warm air gets lost by a cheap automated ventilation system with very little recuperation. An upgrade for the ventilation system could save some money. This image shows also a little annoying issue - when activating the level and span sliders the measurement information is overlapped. I hope that could get fixed in a feature software version. I could deactivate the sliders in this case so the fix is only 3 tabs on the screen but I still want to show this also to report that to the producer...

The issue also shows only in images when you hold the camera/phone in landscape orientation - no issue in portrait orientation:

Picture 22. The issue is not shown in the app itself, but only in the saved images

Picture 23. No issue in portrait orientation

Picture 24. Faulty balcony above

This image shows us a more than clear indication of a building defect. The faulty balcony above caused a major issue and needs repair as soon as possible. When using the level and span sliders to focus the thermal contrast over the important thermal range you have no choice but to let them active. A fix would here to use 2 spots and get just P1 and P2 as measurements, which should then not overlap or hold the phone/camera in portrait orientation. This also shows how good the greying out is done in the app. Instead of turning the whole heater into a white blob, we see the pipe with the hot water glowing white but the body shows a lower temperature. It's like you would use the white-hot palette for the greyed-out areas while applying the selected colour palette for the chosen temperature range. I wish that some other cameras would handle that this well!

I will add more practical samples over the winter season...

My hornest conclusion:

The P2 is a lot of thermal imager for little money. The patented Razor X upscaling algorithm allows ThermalMaster to upscale their 256x192 pixel images to a wapping 1440x1080 resolution, which is a bit much in my opinion but you can easily downscale them yourself. But I must say for that level of upscaling Razor X holds up pretty well.

X³ uses then multiple images to further enhance those images and allow you to get very big images with decent quality. I would not mind if Images would not be upscaled that much and I would just get 640x480 or 800x600. In this case, I would also be pretty sure the images would look fabulous. Keep also in mind that cameras which have this resolution natively still cost as much as a brand new car! Even if marketing departments love to show off with big numbers, here it is not necessary in my opinion.

The software is decent and works OK, has plenty of settings and functions and images can later get edited with the software if needed! I will later also look into the desktop software and update the review accordingly. For the moment I am pretty impressed and happy with the P2 and I can recommend it for the actual price to anybody who want a phone-accessory style thermal camera.