I'm adding this iPhone thermal camera accessory to my toolkit (especially at this price) | ZDNET

Oct 14, 2024

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Topdon TC002

I have quite a few Android smartphones that have built-in thermal cameras (such as the Blackview BV8900 or the Ulefone Power Armor 18T), and I find them really useful. But my daily driver is an iPhone, and while Apple is never going to add a thermal camera to its flagship smartphone, you can do it yourself.

Also: I tested the world's first thermal phone camera with a 50Hz refresh rate, and here are the results

One of the best ways to do this is with the Topdon TC002 thermal imaging camera.

The Topdon TC002 can turn your iPhone into an infrared thermal camera, enabling accurate temperature measurements from a safe distance up to 16.4 ft/5m.

In the kit, you get the thermal camera, a case, a cleaning cloth, and a 20-inch Lightning extension cable -- which means you don't have to plug the camera directly into the iPhone, giving you greater flexibility.

The Topdon TC002 kit

Also: This $10 gadget is my favorite repair tool of all time

That Lightning extension cable is a nice touch, and particularly useful if your iPhone is in a case that's too thick to accommodate the camera.

The Lightning extension cable is a nice touch

As for the usability of the thermal camera, the TC002 is brilliant at capturing stills and video. Accuracy is such that you can see the thermal echos of fingerprints on a surface.

Thermal echos of fingerprints on a surface

The software is very smooth and easy to use. What's more, it isn't laggy -- a problem I see with some of the software needed for thermal cameras.

The software required to operate the TC002 is some of the best out there.

Video capture is also incredible: Look at the detail in this flame (which has been converted from a video file into a GIF file).

The Topdon TC002 does an excellent job of capturing thermal video.

Why do you need a thermal imaging camera? I could rattle off dozens of good reasons, but here are a few uses I've found for mine recently:

The Topdon TC002 is a solid thermal imaging camera. It has a good temperature range, it's very accurate, the image is smooth thanks to the 25Hz refresh rate, and the software isn't laggy or crash-prone.

Also: Are smartphone thermal cameras sensitive enough to uncover PIN codes?

This is an industrial-grade thermal camera. At $289, you can pick it up for a fraction of the cost of dedicated thermal imaging cameras. This is a fantastic addition to any repair toolkit.