B10 Thermal Imaging Camera 320 x 240 Super IR with 2MP Visual, 3.2" LCD Screen 256 x 192 IR Resolution Thermal Camera, 25 Hz Refresh Rate, -4°F~1022°F, IP54

Update Oct 2023: I received the replacement unit and put it to the test. Quite an improvement! Customer service at HIK Micro wanted me to try a replacement, and while it wasn't initially high on my priority list, I'm glad they persevered. Settings are somewhat important, so I compared the replacement B10 to the Flir C5 at 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 meters, in both well lit and darkly lit rooms, looking mostly at walls and windows, but also at some nearby networking electronics. Here's where the surprise was. While the Flir C5 had an edge in the thermal map and image quality for well lit areas (which is visible + IR light mixed together), the HIK Micro actually beat the C5 significantly in moderate and dark light conditions. The true capabilities of an IR camera, which in theory should work in a completely dark room to your eyes, became apparent as the extra IR pixel count of the B10 started to matter with less full-spectrum visual light. Both models blend a standard 2MP camera image with the IR image, providing the sharpness of a regular picture overlaid with a (somewhat fuzzier) IR image. Software is then used to sharpen the composite image. But as standard visual light fades, all you have left is the IR image. The B10's higher IR pixel count clearly wins here. There are also a few extra luminance settings on the B10, with around 10 categories like cement, electronics, walls, etc. The C5 doesn't have quite so many. Frankly, you are not going to want to dive into menus to make changes for various subjects, but it's nice the extra flexibility is there. I should add, even imperfect settings still will give you a good idea of any thermal imager's capabilities, but tweaking is recommended if you are really trying to get that ideal image. One other minor point, the Flir C5 takes perhaps a minute to boot, while the HIKMicro B10 takes perhaps 15 seconds. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but it's noticeable when you just want to get a quick picture. I still like the point-and-shoot camera style of the C5, its build quality, and the quality of daylight/well-lit images. Its image blending software is very high quality. On the other hand, after using the B10 in several modes, and particularly in darker areas, I honestly stopped wanting to use the C5 and kept finding things to explore with the HIKMicro B10. If each cost the same, it would be a difficult choice, dependent more upon how you will use one of these. At the current lower price for the B10, however, the HIKMicro is a compelling overall choice. Update Sept 2023: HIKMicro has since reached out to me to learn more about the issues I reported, and offer a replacement unit, even though I have since returned the original item. I will further update my review upon testing another item. I am certainly impressed that the company has made more than one attempt to contact me, and resolve any faults in my unit. Original Review: My B10 had a minor but noticeable defect in the screen, where the left-side of the screen was always brighter (a lighter shade of purple) than the right-side. From the moment I turned the unit on, and tried pointing it at water, pointing at vents, and to a flat wall, etc. all I could notice was this warmer left-side of the screen. Actually, when turning it on, at first nothing happened. I then saw a flash screen in Mandarin, then it seemed to turn itself off. I turned it on again, and then all wording was in English. A little strange. HIKMicro has made a name for itself in IR imagers, and not all users may share my experience. However, even ignoring the discoloration in the screen, the overlaid 2Mpix camera image with the 256x192 IR image just wasn't as clear as I'd think it should be. I've used a Fluke Ti20 (128x96, 15 years old) and a Flir C5 (160x120) that are at least equal to the better-spec'd B10, and in many use cases, I think these other units were quite a bit better. I think that's because it's not just about the IR resolution. Though important, I'd argue that thermal depth is amongst the most important of specs (i.e. 30mK vs 70mK vs 150mK, etc.), or the lens quality, or the image blending software, and probably other design factors that can be harder to qualify. The image size on the B10 is a little smaller than I thought it would be too. It has a lot of robust features, but they are a little buried in the menus. Still, the B10 does offer those many features including multiple screen formats and colors, which are welcome. The build quality seemed good, certainly high enough for a home or home office environment. I'm not sure these would stand-up to industry knocks and bangs, though, but of course, these are much less expensive than other brands that offer the extra shock resistance, like the above noted Ti20. I realize that lower-ranking reviews disappoint some, but in the greater scheme of the thousands of units sold, this is my experience with the B10, and so this will count only in its small way to the grand total. However, I think I was hoping that technology had caught-up a little further than it really had. I since went with that more expensive, traditional brand as we need a little better shock resistance, and in my opinion, I think the lower IR res of the other brand is offset by the higher mK and imaging software features. Still, the B10 is magnificently affordable for the masses, and if the choice is a B10 or no IR camera at all, then pick the B10.

Only had this for a few days, so longevity isn't reflected here yet. But I'm not getting any concerns about quality from using it so far. Overall: excellent value for money. I think this is the best value-for-money, and the feature set is well thought-out and executed, with few exceptions (below). Pros: - Good value for VOx resolution vs price. It's very usable for "normal" tasks (insulation, moisture, electrical troubleshooting). - The scale/"exposure" CAN be manually set/fixed. In the menus, you can specify the upper and lower temperature of the color scale, so it doesn't shift based on image contents. - Built-in lens protector. Underneath the front of the camera, there's a little ridged edge. Slide it, and it swivels a protective cover over the germanium IR lens. No lens caps to fall off/dangle/lose. - The hybrid image mode is very nice for inspection/identification, especially with electronics. Out of the box, the stitching of IR and visible images is very good. Parallax correction can be changed in the menus. - Unit feels very solid in the hand. Overmold quality feels nice, and it doesn't feel like the manufacturer cut corners on the fit/finish or quality of the plastic. - Wrist strap has an adjustable cinch, which is a nice touch. - Display is fairly customizable - you can turn on/off the spots, brand logo, etc. Cons: - Some settings I want to use frequently are buried in the menus. It would be nice to have additional physical buttons to toggle the parallax setting, and possibly flashlight. - No video capture, only still images. It does have the option to capture an optical image along with the IR image.

First item received was working okay It did have black spot on the screen I returned due to it The seller did reach out and sent me another unit Once I received the new unit I compared it to the topdon and also the kwit This one was by far the quickest and smoothest It also caught the studs behind the wall much cleared than the other 2 Battery life is great I’ve had to charge it once after about 5 hours of heavy use Picture are quick to take and you can use the app to record videos You can even save them on your phone in case you need to send it to a client Overall this will help me with my HVAC trade I’m able to find hot spots in rooms And also air leaks Great product

So I was on the fence with buying one of these. I’m a remodeler/handyman (let’s call a spade a spade) moving into being a contractor possibly inspector. This seemed like the next logical tool to own. I thought for $300 this thing better be pretty decent. It’s not the best cam, not the biggest screen and could have better image quality and transferability BUT it sure is decent. The image could be bigger but it’s still big enough to see anything you need it’s see. Pics aren’t the highest quality but again show and document what needs to be clearly. I wish it just zapped it to my phone but you can still plug it into your computer via USB and grab them that way. All in all a decent camera. Maybe better ones out there but if your blown out on research this is a good place to settle down. Side note: this device accurately caught a cold spot on one of our walls. I cut it open and discovered a slow leak from a drain pipe that was dripping down to the jbox for the light switches to that room. Mold found, wood rot…It had been going for a while as the flooring was even starting to warp. Had I not bought this camera and walked around like a 10 yo with a new toy for 5 hrs I would have never caught it. 👍

To be fair I have absolutely zero ability to verify the accuracy, but when looking at objects where I know about what the temperature should be the data makes sense. I've used these to look at walls/windows for weatherproofing and circuit boards to see hot components. The image overlay is wonderful and even when hovering only a foot or so over a circuit board it was very accurate regarding parallax. For around the house, it works great. I do see a lot of people asking the question "Can it see the studs in the wall". This is IR. It sees heat energy or the lack thereof. Exterior walls on a hot/cold day would be the most likely time to see studs. The Interior walls where both rooms are at the same temperature will probably not, because everything would be the same temperature. To maximize temperature variance sensitivity when looking at weather sealing, I recommend you it out of auto range mode and manually set the high and low-temperature marks to something "reasonable," i.e. 78-68 in Fahrenheit. This helps minimize the impact of say a hot spot from sun shining through a window. Yes, there may be super cold or super hot spots that you won't measure accurately, but you will see them and you will also see a more details color variance everywhere else because the color palette is only spread across 10 degrees instead of 40-50 degrees.

I have nothing negative to say about it... like other reviewers mention, it's high resolution, relatively big screen, fast, it's light and it also HAS a light. In addition to the thermal camera, it's got a visible light camera and those images are combined to make it easily recognizable what you're looking at. It's one of the most useful tools I own and will pay for itself in energy savings in finding leaks and ensuring the A/C is working correctly. Using this tool convinced me to add radiant barrier material to the attic, and it's a world of difference... the house stays comfortable without the A/C constantly running. Without this tool, I would have wasted radiant material putting it in unnecessary places. This is the only thermal camera I've used, but it has all the features I need, and can't imagine one that could work better than this.

In the process of researching for the purchasing 12 thermal imagers, I decided to try one unit before committing to the others. Specs for this tool look good for the money. Looks and feels like a solid piece of equiptment. Unfortunately this thermal camera has had issues. Having gone through the settings and performing multiple factory resets the readings are all over the place. Having other diagnostic tools confirms my findings. The paralax in this camera also makes it very hard, almost impossible to use. Have reached out to tech support several times without success. Really want to for this to work for my company but it's being returned. Do I try another one or the 11w(higher model), or different brand? Would love some feedback.

Was delivered with a good charge so I could start testing right away. The B10 is a very nice unit. Amazon did a poor job packing this one - camera box in a larger box with no bubble wrap, but the hikmicro box and padding took good care of it. Turned it on (4 second power button press) and opened the fixed lens cover and started seeing thermal images with the default settings. The menu was in English, the only settings I needed to change were the date & time, and Celsius to Fahrenheit. This model doesn't to WiFi (I should have read more closely) but there is another option to 'cast screen' using a wired USB connection - I think its USB-Video protocol or something similar. I haven't tried yet. I'm weird - I know - but I've wanted to play with a thermal imager since I was a kid. Only a few years ago this was very expensive military & industrial stuff. This Hikmicro B10 at <$500 with tax is a very nice tool. It feels solid enough to drop on the floor and be ok. I'll have more details later.. So far this is great.