PerfectPrime IR0001 thermal camera | Our complete 2020 review.

The PerfectPrime IR0001 thermal camera is a low-cost device, but is it worth buying? Find out in our in-depth PerfectPrime IR0001 review.

PROS: Long battery life, low-cost, SD Card slot, lightweight.

CONS: Low Infrared Resolution, No USB connectivity,

Product	Type	Resolution	Battery capacity	Waterproof	LCD screen	Price
PerfectPrime IR0001	Handheld	32 x 32	6 hours	No	2.4″ Full angle HD	Click for more info

PerfectPrime IR0001 Specifications

PerfectPrime IR0001 – Specs & Review

The PerfectPrime IR0001 is a handheld thermal camera for general use and a low-cost alternative to Flir cameras.

It is equipped with 3 things on the back: An infrared imaging sensor, a visible light camera with a resolution 0.3 megapixels and a LED light.

Let’s have a more in-depth look of the device in our PerfectPrime IR0001 review.

On the front of the infrared camera you will find 6 buttons: 4 navigation keys: Up, Down, Left, Right. Then you have the Enter button which doubles as the power button and the Select / Input button.

To capture an image you need to press the trigger. On the bottom it has a tripod mount and on the top is the SD card slot. If you hold the trigger for 5 seconds it turns on the LED light.

To start the camera, you just need to hold the power button for 5 seconds. The camera will display by default, the center spot thermal measurement and it will also show you 2 dynamic points in the image: cold spot and hot spot.

Because the IR resolution is so low, you need to use the image overlay function. You can choose between 5 different modes: 0% which only displays the visual image and 100% which only shows the thermal image. Then there are the 25%, 50% and 75% options which overlay the images to different degrees. I like the 75% because the objects are sharp enough and the thermal differences show up very clearly. It has a few color palettes you can choose from: High-Contrast color, Iron, Spectra and Grayscale. Normally, if you just want to easily distinguish the hottest and coldest spots, you should use the Grayscale palette.

When you go into the settings menu, you can set the time and date together with the temperature units (Celsius or Fahrenheit), but you can also tell it the background temperature for a more accurate measurement, the emissivity in order to offset measurement errors when you are working with low emissivity materials. The menu also lets you see how much space you have left on the internal storage.

PerfectPrime IR0001 – Thermal imaging quality

The IR Infrared Image Resolution is 32 x 32 pixels, which accounts to a total of 1024 pixels. The infrared resolution is quite low, because at this price you should be able to find other thermal cameras with 4 times the number of pixels.

The visible image resolution is 0.3 Megapixels and the images from the visible light camera and the Infrared sensor are blended together so that you can distinguish the objects in the thermal image much better.

The thermal images are stored in BMP format and this is a non-radiometric model so you don’t get the temperature data for every pixel embedded into the image file and you can’t change color palettes and temperature ranges later.

The capturing frequency is something that we don’t like, it is just 6Hz. The standard for the screen refresh rate is now 9Hz and that is because it is limited by US law, otherwise manufacturers would have gone beyond that and even so, Seek Thermal have managed to use computer algorithms to up it to 15Hz on one of their cameras.

There is no manual focus mode, it is a fixed focus camera.

PerfectPrime IR0001 – Temperature Range, Accuracy

The camera’s thermal sensitivity sits at 0.15° C which is what you would expect from a thermal imager in this price class.

And then there is the temperature range is not bad either, it can go down to -20 degrees so you can use it in the winter, to check insulation and troubleshoot refrigeration devices and freezers and it also goes up to 300° C which makes it suitable for checking faults in heaters and ovens.

PerfectPrime created the IR0001 with a thermal accuracy of +/- 2° C which is at the same level with other thermal imaging devices that cost the same. However the viewing angle is not as wide, it is just 20° x 20°.

PerfectPrime IR0001 – Battery life & Memory

The PerfectPrime IR0001 thermal camera has an micro SD card slot and no connectivity so in order to download the images, you have to take out the memory card and plug into your PC. They ship the device with a 4GB micro SD Card included in the package. That’s where you will also find a strap, a protection bag and the user manual.

The battery life is great on it, because it offers you 6 hours of battery life, 2 hours more than what you would get from other manufacturers. However, note that the camera uses 4 AA batteries so you need to buy rechargeable batteries and a charger.

Unfortunately, this camera is not waterproof nor is it dustproof and PerfectPrime have not released any kind of IP rating for it and I am guessing that is what the protection bag is for.

The camera has a 2.4″ Full Angle HD screen which is about what you would expect.

So, where can you use this thermal camera? HVAC inspections for heaters and air conditioning, you can check for poor insulation in your home due do bad seals around doors and windows. As an electrician you can use it to spot overheating fuses, wiring but given the resolution is so low, I don’t think it is usable for inspecting PCB circuit boards.

It works in plumbing to help you spot leaks and monitor the water flow and it also works in roofing inspections to find out if and where your roof is leaking water.

You can even point it to your forehead and measure the body temperature although for that, a more precise tool would be recommended. And the low resolution in my opinion, would not make it very suitable for automotive diagnostics and car repair shops. There, the Flir TG275 would be much better.