In-depth review of the UNI-T UTi89

The UNI-T UTi89 Pro is a low-cost thermal camera which is designed to be rugged with an IP65 rating, provide basic thermal imaging with the ability to measure a wide temperature range.

PROS: IP65 waterproof, wide temperature range, low price.

CONS: No visual camera, low refresh rate.

Product	Type	Resolution	Battery capacity	Waterproof	LCD screen	Price
UNI-T UTi89 Pro	Handheld	80 x 60	5 hours (Rechargeable Lithium Battery)	Yes	2.8″ (320 x 240 pixels)	Click for more info
UNI-T UTi120S	Handheld	120 x 90	2600mah rechargeable lithium battery	Yes	2.4″ (320 x 240 pixels)	Click for more info
Flir TG165-X	Handheld	80 x 60	5 hours	Yes	2.4″	Click for more info

UNI-T UTi89 Pro Specifications

UNI-T UTi89 Pro – Specs & Review

The UNI-T UTi89 Pro is a low cost handheld thermal imaging camera. Priced under 220$, it is essentialy a “downsized” UNI-T UTi 120s and we’ll explain how. Just like with that one, when I look at the design, on one hand I appreciate the intense color but on the other hand some may argue it looks like a toy. Still, this one costs less than a Flir One Pro which requires you to connect it to a phone to work.

On the front, it is equipped with a 320 x 240 pixel LCD color display which measures 2.8″ together with 7 buttons to operate the camera. On the back you’ll find a thermal sensor but no visual camera to support it, something you would expect for this low price. Along with that, there is also a flashlight to help you in darker areas, something you won’t find on the 120s. That thermal sensor allows you to capture images in BMP format and download them to your PC via its USB-C port.

UNI-T UTi89 Pro – Thermal imaging quality

Let’s look at the image quality provided by the UTi89 Pro. Its thermal sensor is quite a basic one which can provide an IR resolution of 80 x 60 pixels totaling 4800 thermal pixels.

There are 5 color palettes to choose from which include iron oxide red, rainbow, white heat, red heat and ice blue. The refresh rate is not what you would expect from UNI-T, it is just 9 Hz. This is not very typical of them because throughout their entire infrared thermal imaging camera range they’ve taken advantage of the fact that they are not located in the US and thus not limited to 9 Hz.

There’s no manual focus option either on the UNI-T UTi89 pro thermal camera and again, you just can’t take the price out of the context because no camera at this price level will offer you that. So image quality looks on par overall, not spectacular but not bad given the price.

UNI-T UTi89 Pro – Temperature Range, Accuracy

Now let’s have a look at this thermal camera imager’s temperature measurement capabilities. It has the ability to measure temperatures in a range from 14 F to 752 F (-10 C to 400 C). This is actually a bit wider than you’d expect and it manages to cover most real-life use cases.

Then there is the thermal sensitivity which is 150 mK NETD. This is the camera’s ability to measure temperature differences and this one is bad in terms of specifications but probably more realistic than what other manufacturers of low cost thermal imager cameras claim. Basically the lower, the better and professional grade thermal cameras will usually have a sensitivity of under 40 mK. This has a huge influence on the image quality. The accuracy is on par with what other manufacturers offer, +/- 2 C.

UNI-T UTi89 Pro – Battery life & Memory

Now we get to the storage part and here you’ll be happy to know that the camera comes with a 16GB microSD card, meaning you won’t ever run out of space. It comes with a 5000 mAh rechargeable battery that will last for about 5 hours of work.

The device is IP65 rated meaning it is completely waterproof and dustproof and here, this camera fares better than the 120S which only has an IP54 rating. IP65 means it can withstand larger amounts of water.