Seek Thermal Revealpro thermal camera | Our opinion on it.

The Seek Thermal RevealPro is the improved version of the standard Reveal model which was highly successful thermal camera. But how is it better? What do we like and hate about the newer one? Find out below in our complete Seek Thermal RevealPro review.

PROS: Very high IR resolution, 4-hour battery life, high thermal sensitivity, can detect heat up to 1800 feet away.

CONS: Digital zoom is difficult to use, LCD screen could be bigger.

Product	Type	Resolution	Battery capacity	Waterproof	LCD screen	Price
Seek Thermal Revealpro	Handheld	320 x 240	4 hours	No	2.4″	Click for more info
Flir C2	Handheld	80×60	2 hours	No	3″ capacitive	Click for more info
FLIR C3	Handheld	80 x 60	2 hours	No	3″	Click for more info
FLIR Scout TK	Handheld	160 X 120	5 hours	No	640 x 480	Click for more info

Seek Thermal Revealpro Specifications

Seek Thermal Revealpro – Specs & Review

1 year after the launch of the Seek Thermal Reveal, the company has been hard at work to create an improved version. It is called the The Seek Thermal RevealPro.

So let’s have a look beyond what the datasheet and specs say in our Seek Thermal RevealPro review.

The first thing you need to get used to is the way you hold this device. The Infrared sensor is on the top pointing upwards and so is the LED light. So when you want to point it front of you, you are looking down at the screen. Most cameras have the camera just like the mobile phone, on the back. But it is quite ergonomic in some situations.

This thermal imaging device comes with USB connectivity to download the thermal images and charge the device. The slight disappointment is that it doesn’t have Wi-fi connectivity like the Flir C2, Flir C3 and Flir C5 can.

There are 3 imaging modes: Normal, Full Frame and Span & Level. In normal, you get that high refresh rate which we love. In full frame, you get a more high quality picture and this is the one we recommend because at the end of the day it is about accuracy not frame rate. Then there is the Span & Level which allows you to set temperature thresholds so that anything outside those thresholds is ignored. It helps you focus on what you are measuring and remove the noise from the rest of the picture and it also helps to outline the shape of the warm area.

Because it has a such a high IR resolution it also allows you to zoom in on objects using digital zoom. But the function is so badly designed that you won’t even bother using it. The distance at which this camera can see, beats most of its competitors. It can spot infrared energy up to 1800 feet away which means you can even use it for hunting.

When you do capture a photo, it is lightning fast, almost instant. There is no shortage of color palettes either because you can choose between 9 palettes: Spectra, Prism, Iron, Tyrian, White, Black, Amber, Hi and Hi-Lo. There’s a palette for every type of scenario and the night vision is astounding.

Let’s look at the settings menu a bit. There you can turn off the “reticle” which is the center spot thermal measurement, the image mode, the date and time together with the temperature measurement unit (Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin).

One useless marketing feature is the option to put a watermark showing the Seek Thermal logo. Why would anybody want to promote their brand in the customer’s thermal images is beyond me. However, an option to provide a custom watermark would have been much more useful.

The startup mode option lets you select in which mode the camera will start and you can choose between Night, Locate and Search.

The device emissivity can be adjusted and interestingly it has just 4 settings. They work well, but given that this is a Pro model you would have expected it to let you input the precise number that you want.

Other options include adjusting the intensity of the LED flashlight, changing the language and Auto Power Off.

Seek Thermal Revealpro – Thermal imaging quality

Let’s take a look at the image quality of this handheld thermal imaging camera. First of all the IR resolution is high. Very high. Its infrared sensor is capable of outputting 320 x 240 pixels and if you do the math on that, it accounts to 76,800. It is double what you get in the standard Reveal and exactly what you would expect from a thermal imager in its class.

There is no image blending, it only has an Infrared Sensor, however the resolution and color palettes are so good that you won’t really miss that image enhancement feature. Blending the visible light image together with infrared vision is essential with low-res cameras and a bonus with higher resolution infrared cameras.

The thermal images are stored in PNG format and radiometric form so you get the temperature data for each pixel.

Then we get to the refresh rate and here things get a bit tricky. Seek Thermal equipped the device with something called Fast Frame technology that outputs images at a 15Hz frame rate. If you are familiar with thermal cameras you will know that EAR export regulations in the US limit any consumer device to 9Hz. This means that this device might be pose some issues when trying to export it outside the US, since the company is located in Santa Barbara, CA. How they handled this issue, I am not aware at this point. There is no manual focus mode on the camera.

But the FF FastFrame technology works great and the images are much smoother than on other cameras. This technology is available on the Seek Thermal RevealXR, RevealPro and Reveal FirePRO.

Seek Thermal Revealpro – Temperature Range, Accuracy

Let’s have a look at its performance in measuring temperature. The device has a thermal sensitivity of 0.05° C which is about the best that we’ve seen on consumer cameras, but it is also the standard in this price range.

Then there is the temperature range of the Seek Thermal Reveal Pro that is between -40°F to 626°F (-40°C to 330°C). We like the fact that it can measure temperatures down to -40, making it useful in troubleshooting issues in freezers and refrigeration equipment.

Now Seek Thermal have not released any kind of official figure for the thermal accuracy, but you can assume it is somewhere around the +/-2°C value.

The camera comes with a 32 degree viewing angle.

Seek Thermal Revealpro – Battery life & Memory

The Reveal Pro doesn’t have an SD card slot, instead it has an internal memory of 4GB which can store at least 4000 images so you should have plenty of memory even for professional day-to-day use.

Then there is the battery. The camera has an internal Lithium-Ion battery pack that provides 4 hours of battery life. Interestingly the standard Seek Thermal Reveal provides a longer battery life, but the 4 hours on the Pro should be sufficient even for the day-to-day use.

The camera is sturdy and the build quality is good but it is not waterproof or dustproof. However, you can buy a waterproof Casematix case on Amazon or eBay. Bear in mind that is just for carrying.

The LCD size is smaller than you would expect though. With a 2.4″ screen size, it is considerably smaller than the 3.2″ size that thermal imaging devices offer in this price class.

If you want to update the firmware it is very easy. You just download the latest firmware update from the Seek Thermal website, then you just copy the file on the internal memory and when you turn on the device it will update itself. Now of course you may comment that the Flir C5 has OTA updates so you don’t even need to do these steps, but that is a much newer model.

Ever since the Seek Thermal RevealPro was launched, there are two additional versions available: The Seek Thermal FirePro and the Reveal Shield Pro.

So where would we use this camera? Pretty much anywhere from a building inspection to diagnosing a fuse that overheats or an engine on which one piston is not running, but also more professional applications like temperature screening and monitoring.

The device comes with a 1-year limited warranty in the USA, Canada and Australia.