FLIR ONE for iPhone 5/5s

Application: iPhone 5/5S
Function: Thermal Imaging camera
Rating: *****
Cost: App is free, FLIR One camera $349

The FLIR company provides state of the art night vision and thermal imaging cameras for law enforcement, maritime first responders,  commercial and personal use. Their marine thermal imaging cameras have been featured in all the boating magazines. 

Many of the megayachts now come with night vision and thermal imaging cameras as standard equipment. Some of these marine commercial cameras can run as high as $20,000.

If your not a mega yacht owner you can still have access to this technology. FLIR also produces hand held night vision units from or $2000 to $8000.

The company's latest development, the FLIR ONE, now makes this technology available to an average boater. The FLIR ONE is a thermal imaging camera attachment for the iPhone 5 or 5s. At $349 it is a low cost alternative to the other more expensive cameras in the FLIR product line.  The infra red camera is housed in a sleek sleeve that the iPhone slides into. It looks much like an external battery charging case. The sleeve houses the thermal imaging camera and a normal camera for enhancing the image.

Features:

• Live thermal imaging/night vision display
• iPhone 5/5s compatible
• Camera sleeve with battery
• Load images and videos to camera roll
• Upload images and video to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Separate battery for with 2 hours of continuous use
• Mini USB charging
• See what the naked eye cannot
• Detects temperature differences of about one-tenth of a Fahrenheit degree, and the temperature readout is accurate to within 2 degrees.
• Observe heat sources, heat differences, fire, overheating equipment or components
• See through smoke and haze
• Detect insulation leaks and energy efficiency problems.

The FLIR ONE app is the interface to managing the camera settings and images taken by the device. Start by attaching your iPhone 5 or 5s to the FLIR ONE sleeve.  Move the switch to the middle position to turn on the device.

You can now see live thermal images on your phone's screen. The FLIR ONE uses MSX technology which utilizes two cameras. One camera picks up the thermal imaging and the other picks up a visual image. The two images are combined to create a unique viewable image.

The FLIR ONE thermal imaging can be used for a variety of applications around your home or on your boat. The thermal imaging also provides night vision and could help you to locate objects in the water or other vessels ahead during the night.  If you have a man overboard situation on a pitch black night you may never find that person.  Thermal imaging could help to locate that person by viewing their heat signature on the device.

Use it in the engine room to take a quick scan of your batteries and wiring connections to locate hot spots before they cause a failure or fire on your yacht.


The Settings page allows adjustments for Emissivity, location, photos and temperature units.

Images and video can be taken using the on screen buttons similar to taking photos and video with the iPhone camera app.

The app makes it easy to collect and share your interesting and useful thermal images. Images and video are easily captured and can be saved directly to the Camera Roll on your device. Images can also be share on Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels.

The images and video show temperature differences by the variations in color. The darker parts of the image a cooler and the brighter parts of the image are hotter in temperature.


I could see occasionally using it around the home or boat. I am not so sure I would fork out $349 for the device. Although Christmas is coming, so if you have that hard to buy for Gadget Geek this might be just what he would love!

Having the device on the phone would make it very handy to use. I might be surprised how much I would use it if I carried it around everyday.

Is anyone using this device? I would be interested in any feedback from actual users.

~~~ Sail On ~~~ /)
Mark