Gadgetory

ever since I was a kid I've wanted a handheld computer communicator sensor device like the tricorders on Star Trek The Next Generation and while smartphones have done a good job on the computing and communicating ends of that spectrum they've left something to be desired on the sensor front until now I'm Michael Fisher with PocketNow and this is a quick look at the seek thermal camera for Android smartphones somebody's gonna say it so I'll say at first this isn't the most timely video in fact the hardware I'm working with here is last generation but I asked to borrow one they sent me one to borrow and it was just too cool not to do so if there's enough interest in a follow-up I'm happy to ask for the new seek thermal XR let us know in the comments whether you'd be stoked for such a thing the seek thermal hardware is a tiny peripheral that comes in both Android and iPhone compatible versions ours is the former it comes in a waterproof carrying case and plugs into your smartphone using micro USB unfortunately that means if your phone uses an unconventional location or orientation for its USB port you're gonna be in for a weird time it'll be pointing right at you fortunately there are adapters available to fix this if you've got a galaxy s6 se or a moto X you're good to go plug the camera in download the seek thermal app from the Play Store and the next thing you know you're seeing the world through the eyes of a t800 or a TR 590 if you get either of those jokes you can be my friend the seek thermal viewfinder is a lot like that of a typical smartphone shooter the picture dominates the screen with the shutter release and toggles for camcorder gallery and shooting mode select down below the picture itself is just what you'd expect a false color representation of the thermal spectrum within the camera's 36 degree field of view wander around taking thermal pictures and you can hear the hardware quietly clicking away as it automatically recalibrate in addition to the simple color map you can also set the camera to constantly display the temperature around the center of the frame or show the extreme highs and lows in a shot or show only temperatures above a certain threshold yes you can choose Celsius or even Kelvin if you like this makes it a pretty good stand-in for a dedicated thermometer and a pinch but the seek thermal didn't always agree with our in house infrared thermometer so if it's absolute precision you need well to be honest I didn't have a third thermometer to cross-check so you may want to do some calibration yourself there's also a dual camera mode that displays both thermal and visual outputs in the same frame sadly because the seek lens will be so far away from the standard camera on most phones you're gonna run into aspect problems with close-up shots making this more novelty than anything to be sure there are plenty of practical uses around the house like determining if your coffee is too hot to drink or your cells or is close to freezing seeing what's running hot in your home entertainment system or determining just how warm your smartphone gets when it's on the charger but being able to see beyond the visual spectrum also opens up your perspective in a very cool way I mean there's the obvious if you think a camera flash makes your cat's laser eyes creepy check her out in infrared and yes you can see in the dark as you can see here in this pitch-black bathroom go beyond that and you start to learn some cool lessons about the world around you for instance glass windows reflect IR even when it's too bright outside to see a visual reflection with your eyeball you're invisible shadow is still bouncing off the glass and can be seen by the seek your thermal signature stretches back in time to look how much heat is left on a chair after you get up from it ever wonder how hot a candle flame gets how about the water heater and furnace in your basement and if it's just cool photos or videos you're looking for toss something in the freezer for a while then bring it out into the world to make some crazy infrared artwork you're limited only by your imagination and you can share your creations on seikhs dedicated social community to be sure there are limitations here exported photos are only about half a megapixel and resolution and their water marked by default unfortunately you can turn this off in the settings also the camera takes its power from your phone battery so you'll want to watch your power consumption finally even this last gen hardware comes in at $249 while it's understandable given how much tech there is in such a tiny package it's still pretty steep for an accessory that said it's an accessory that brings my smartphone a little bit closer to being the tricorder I've always wanted it's really conducive for gotten lessons about heat exchange and it's let me see the world in a new way whether that's worth the price tag will be up to you to decide personally I'd wait for the price to come down before snatching one up for myself but if you're looking for thermal imaging on Android it's pretty much the only game in town at least at this size and yeah I'm gonna say it I think it's pretty hot wacka-wacka let us know how you'd use the seek thermal camera drop a comment below and give us a thumbs up if you enjoyed this video until next time this has been michael fisher with pocket now captain to phones on Twitter and I'm hot blooded check it and see I've got a fever of a hundred and three all right that's enough thanks for watching see you next time