FLIR C2 Review: Superman Vision with a Thermal Camera
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The FLIR C2 thermal imagery camera is a full fledged member of our sales, marketing and documenting team*. In a construction business, hard evidence makes your work transparent to a customer and a fantastic way to capture before and after photos. This FLIR C2 review will help you determine if it is the right answer for your needs.
The short version of our FLIR C2 Review:
The FLIR C2 is a small, lightweight entry level thermal imaging camera. For the functionality, size, weight, durability and price point it is a steal. It is intuitive to use. We would buy one again in a heartbeat.
Why we love our FLIR C2:
FLIR developed Multi-Spectral Dynamic Imaging (MSX): wizardry combining thermal imagery with a regular photo. The combination of overlaying a light image photo over a thermal image makes it easier to pinpoint problematic areas.
A dinosaur in your house could be problematic….
Not only does the FLIR save an enhanced thermal image photo, but it also saves a regular photo image helping you review the thermal image against the light only picture.
When you capture a photo the FLIR C2 gives you a small thumbnail preview of the image(s) you saved off.
Once you take a picture with the camera you can preview the MSX image…
…as well as preview the regular light only photo.
Buttons and Settings
The FLIR C2 is intuitive to use with only two physical buttons on top: power and image capture.
The rest of the camera options are accessible by touching the touchscreen on the back side.
Top menu settings.
Measurement parameters include emissivity, reflected temperature, and distance.
Save options include only saving off the thermal image, or taking sets of the thermal image along with the light only photo as a separate JPEG.
Device settings include language, time and units, reset options, and enabling auto orientation.
The right hand side of the screen shows the entire temperature range of the objects pictured in the photo. With the range clearly defined you immediately know the temperature difference within the camera view.
If color is a problem you can also change the setting to show a grey scale, iron or a high contrast rainbow image. Keep this in mind if you happen to encounter a color blind friend/ customer.
Photo Storage
With room for at least 500 sets of thermal and regular photos there is plenty of storage for an inspection session. When the camera first arrives the factory setting saves only the thermal images. If you do not need the regular photos, the thermal image only setting will leave you with much more space than just 500 photos.
The initial photos right out of the box. Can you spot the obligatory “take a photo of a person”?
As you can see from the screen capture of my windows explorer below, the thermal images are 320 by 240 pixels and are just under twice the size (low 60 KB) of the 640 x 480 pixel light only pictures (mid 30 KB).
Data Transfer
There is no SIM card or any removable memory stick. There is also no way to transfer the files without a cable. It is necessary to keep the cable along for quick data transfer or allot time for transferring the photos back at the office or at home.
Durability
The protective rubber casing is another huge bonus. It is an integrated part of the camera since it is not removable. It covers the entire outside edge including the two physical buttons on top. While the back screen, front cameras and flash are exposed with no removable cover, the rubber casing extends past all of them so they are protected in a flat fall.
The camera is extremely light. It is so you might forget it is in your pocket. It is significantly less weight than a cell phone or old school point and shoot handheld camera. This is of note because the camera in a two-in-one camera: one lens for thermal imagry and another regular camera to overlay a regular image over the thermal image.
The combination of lightweight and rubber casing make it extremely durable. It’ll bounce rather than crash like your nice Nikon.
On a jobsite anything could go wrong. My go-to example is when my husband misstepped in the attic and almost fell through the ceiling. I recall racing to the scene with his chest hung over a rafter and leg having taken down the rest of the ceiling in the laundry room. If the FLIR C2 fell out of his pocket it probably would have survived unless something was laying on the floor waiting to scratch or crack the glass on the camera lens or view screen, or if it was an unfortunate corner strike.
Battery
There is an on board battery lasting up to two hours. Since the battery is embedded you can’t have a backup battery ready to go. Definitely keep tabs on the charge before you show up to a job site requiring a lot of camera time. Make sure to reserve up to one and a half hours for the recharge.
The on-board battery is charged using a USB cable. This cable is also used for transferring photos off to another storage device.
The protective rubber covering of the USB port.
The back screen view when the camera is charging.
Extras
The camera comes with a removable lanyard along with a dedicated corner of the camera to attach the lanyard or any other safety strap.
The camera has an LED flash for capturing images in darker rooms/ areas.
It operates in temperatures between 14 to 122°F. The camera is able to detect temperatures between 14 to 302°F with an accuracy of 3.6°F or 2%, whichever is greater with the percentage based off of 77°F.
As a regular person off the street with a respectable megapixel cell phone constantly in my hand, the actual photos are unimpressive. The size of the photo is small compared to your cell phone or camera. The resolution is abysmal in comparison as well. However, spectacular photos are not the purpose of this camera. If you are looking for a thermal camera, what you really need is the ability to quickly and easily detect temperature differences. This camera delivers!
Can you tell this is a piece of pizza? Yes! Do we care if it has pepperoni or anchovies? No. We want to know it is 137 degrees, right? Sold!
While you can’t tell what is on the pizza besides cheese, you can read the can is Orange Blossom beer from Huss Brewing Company–even on the thermal image! This highlights the ability of overlaying the light image onto the thermal image making it easier to interpret.**
This camera does all of this at an exceptionally low price in comparison to the rest of the market. If you need better photos you are looking for a camera many times more expensive.
Once stored, the photos can be used with the free downloadable FLIR software on your desktop, laptop or tablet for further in depth analysis.
Conclusion
The FLIR C2 really is a powerful little camera. As I mentioned before in a previous post regarding other uses for a thermal imagery camera, it pays itself off as a business tool with the first job you land using the camera as part of your description of the problem to the customer. It is also beneficial as a scope against insulation and other problematic areas during a house hunt.
*Let’s be real. My husband is a standalone operator of our business who, as my aunt put’s it, “could talk to a brick wall and the brick wall would talk back.” If it was me, the camera WOULD BE the team. Me: “You have a problem.” Camera: “Here it is!”
**The beer was colder when I first got it out of the refrigerator. That’s what happens when a beer is out for a photo shoot. 😉
