If you’d have told me that a year ago that I’d be reviewing fever detecting thermal cameras because there was a global pandemic raging, I would have dismissed the whole thing.
But this is 2020, and here we are.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been testing the Perfect Prime IR0280H fever detection thermal camera, world’s first handheld thermal camera that has an accuracy level of 0.3°C (0.6°F).
Good enough, according to the makers, to spot a fever
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Display: 2.8-inch Color LCD displayTouch Panel: Resistive Type Touch PanelIR sensor size: 32 x 32Digital camera: 640 480 pixelsField of View/shortest focus length: 27 x 35 /0.5mThermal sensitivity: 0.15°CHuman Mode Temperature range: 32°C~42°C (89.6°F~107.6°F)Industrial Mode Temperature range: -30 to 1000 °C (-22 to 1832 °F)Measuring accuracy: ± 0.3°C (± 0.6°F) for Human mode, ±2 % or ± 2 °C for industrial modeEmissivity: 0. 01-1. 0Image frequency: 9HzPower supply: Built-in rechargeable 18650 battery
$500 at Perfect Prime
I’ve been using the IR0280H for a few weeks and the accuracy of it is very good. I especially like how fast it is at reading temperatures in that 1- to 2-meter range that it is designed to operate at. It’s the sort of thing that you can set up to work from a tripod, and leave to work. The unit can be set to sound an alarm if it detects someone running a fever.
I’ve compared the body temperatures it reads to readings taken with approved medical devices, and the accuracy is good. It’s far more accurate for body temperature sensing than the standalone FLIR thermal cameras or the FLIR Lepton sensors found in smartphones.
I really like the face that the unit has a resistive touch screen, which means it can be operated with gloves or a stylus.
Sample image
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I have not yet come across someone running a fever to test this on (my area is in lockdown at the time of writing). But I have been impressed by the lack of false positives generated by the IR0280H in use.
I also like the fact that this unit can also be used industrially, and can work with temperatures ranging from -30 to 1000 °C (-22 to 1832 °F), albeit at a lower accuracy.
Battery life is good, and it can be recharged via the miniUSB connector (cable supplied). A nice feature is that it can be used while charging, so you can have the unit connected to a power supply while on a tripod for full unmanned operation.
Images are stored on the 1GB of internal storage or the 16GB microSD card that’s supplied with the unit. Along with images, thermal radiometry data is also stored for full analyses, with the data being compatible with third-party thermal analysis software.
