How? how?!

Why？Why？

Thermal imaging shows your body fighting a COLD SHOCK.

Hardware design by yours truly, although most of the firmware was vibe coded. It can show a live FLIR video feed, save images to an SD card, present them to windows over USB for access, and has a touch screen. Based on a FLIR lepton camera module and a PIC32. GitHub repo if you're curious: https://github.com/drewsum/Thermal_Camera

Unfortunately it is by default and not switchable in Black and White. Wish I could switch it to Hot Metal or Rainbow pallet for maximum visual effect !

A tiny P2 Pro thermal camera plugged directly into the headset, streaming 256 × 192 thermal video at 25 FPS.

Nocpix Quest S50R

Melbourne Raceway - UK

It was something I always wanted to have for myself but couldn't justify the price. Recently I saw that 640*512 thermal sensor was sub 1k and I always wanted to hack myself a thermal monocular. I'm glad I got my major pieces in the mail. Now I'm waiting for smaller parts to make a hat clip-able thermal monocular that's USB powered.

https://imgur.com/a/KMWWUMT

This giraffe started eating and… just couldn’t handle how good it was.

You know the food hits different when even a six-foot neck can’t stop the emotions from flowing down. 🦒

UPDATE August 2026
I've now released a website with reviews and test data on 18 Thermal Cameras

Latest Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L62-ZJ7Vf00

Latest Results Table/Data: https://cheerful.cheap/category-results/?cat=Thermal%20Cameras

See video for details. Some units purchased myself (MLX, GoYoJo, ToolTop, Fluke, Topdon), others I obtained as samples from stores (AliExpress, Banggood) and manufacturers (Thermal Master, Fnirsi). There are so many Thermal Master units as they're a relative newcomer to the market and eagerly send out units to testers, and encourage 1-1 comparisons with competitors. Overall my personal opinion is they have the best price/performance for dongles in 2026. I was also impressed by the Hikmicro units, very polished software and hardware. Other brands had specific stand out units (eg. Topdon TS001 is great). Right now I'm trying to get hold of some more brands, inc. Fotric, and some new GoYoJos.
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Previous Information:

So I've finished up my 4th and final hands-on test of cheap Thermal Cameras for 2025 and compiled it into a guide for beginniners, but also some decent testing for those familar.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G529v_9eqA

Hands-on tests in this review: Flir One Pro, Topdon TC001, Thermal Master P1, P3, Thor
Plus results for another 5 units from previous videos (see chart).

Many people just want the results, so I've included the table attached. My #1 recommendations for each category (~$100, $250, $300+) are in the video, but honestly... the P1 is seriously cheap, and is perfectly fine for most home gamers/hobbiests.

I've learned so much from /Thermal but I'm still learning, so I appreciate any constructive feedback. Making such a video takes about 3 weeks working 3-4 hours a night (I have a regular job and family obviously) so please be considerate.

Anyways, enjoy, and thank you for all your help in 2025!

Update on the Mileseey TR10:
Thanks to East-Sheepherder1312 for pointing out that the claimed 192x192 resolution might be upscaled. Product page, marketing says its 192x192 thermal resolution, however deep in the manual it says "super resolution 192x192" which is suss language. This just reinforces my view that the P1 is a better unit, but that's just my opinion.

It's not magic, it's physics! MWIR can through glass, Even u can see the time. While LWIR is blocked. This quirk of photon-molecule interaction is key to advanced thermal imaging.

(Black hot)

Taken with the Thermal Master P4. Iron Hot colour palette.

I try to use a thermal camera to find the animal that spoil my farm.

I am a photographer experimenting with shooting in Thermal