For this product review, George Robertson gets his hands on the B11 handheld thermography camera from HIKMICRO.
Thermal imaging tools have become an increasingly important fault finding mechanism for electricians in helping us to find those ‘hot spots’ before they ruin our day.
Although there are a few options available on the market, I was pleased to have the chance to try out one of HIKMICRO’s stand-out products in this area – the B11. Having had the chance to put it into practice, I can safely say that it is an amazing tool.
The unit is well built, ready to go straight out of the box and is easy to understand and use. Indeed, once the operator switches the power key on they are immediately shown a live view on the camera screen. It’s simply then a case of using the upper navigation key to choose between Thermal, Optical, Fusion or PIP views.
Colour choices
The lower navigation key will then allow you to choose what type of colour palette you want – White Hot, Black Hot, Above Alarm, Iron Bow and Rainbow. There’s also a temperature colour alarm which informs the users of any ‘above temperature’ conditions they may encounter through the use of a built-in speaker and flash light.
In use, it’s simply a case of the operator giving the unit’s front trigger a short press and you’ve captured a screenshot with all the relevant information on it.
The image quality is high, offering 240 x 320 resolution (76,800 Pixels), with a refresh rate of 25 Hz. Additionally, the built-in Li-on battery will give you up to six hours of continuous running time.
The camera has an inbuilt 16 GB flash memory, which should be more than enough to store up to 90,000 images, and it also boasts Wi-Fi connectivity. You simply download the HIKMICRO viewer App, on either IoS or Android, and connection is a breeze.
One advantage of this is that you then have a live view of the camera’s screen on your phone or tablet, providing you with the ability to change measurement, palettes, image mode, calibration and parameters from your device. It also allows you to view all device files, pictures or videos, and to download those files or share them.
Another benefit of the App is that it enables you to create simple reports and edit the saved images on file as well as allowing you to upgrade the camera’s software.
Reporting tools for clients
Download the HIKMICRO Analyzer software to your laptop and you then have the ability to import images to the Analyzer. This will allow you to generate and edit professional thermography reports and send them to clients and customers via e-mail.
Did I mention you also get a calibration certificate and a charger?
Overall, I’ve had a really good experience with this product and feel it would make an excellent addition to any professional’s fault finding, inspection or routine maintenance tool kit.
Get more details on the HIKMICRO B Series range of Thermal Imaging Cameras here
