Which Thermal Imaging Camera Brand Wins?
We compared 12 thermal imaging camera options head to head. HSFTOOLS HF96 came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
HSFTOOLS HF96
Price shown in test: $166
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HSFTOOLS F2W and AMPBANK H128 (tied for second place with an average finish of 4.9)
Price shown in test: $166
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AMPBANK H128
Price shown in test: $133
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Boot time | Concrete floor accuracy (target 64.9F) | Image quality (wall/insulation test) | High temp accuracy (target 440.2F) | Image quality (space heater test) | Freezer accuracy (target 14F) | Reflective aluminum wheel accuracy (target 23.1F) | Drop test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1HSFTOOLS HF96$166 | 7.74 seconds, the fastest of all 12 cameras | read 65.5F, off by 0.6, second place on this test | provided more color detail than several other brands, showing hot/cold contrast and even visible nail heads through the wall studs; rated a very good 2 in the subjective image quality scoring | read 438F, within 2.2 degrees of target | judged to offer the best combination of a crisp image and color detail at that point in the video; tied for third place with Mileseey in the subjective rating with a score of 2 | read exactly 14F, called very impressive and moved into the lead on this test | off target by 7.8 degrees, more than most other brands on this specific test | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 2HSFTOOLS F2W$299 | about 9 seconds | read 66.1F, described as performing better than average | called the best looking display so far by the narrator, with red, yellow, green, blue, and orange colors providing more detail than other cameras; rated best on the subjective scale at 1.5 | within 0.5 degrees of target | called in a league of its own, able to show the grill on the space heater in complete darkness; tied for first place with Thermal Master in the subjective rating with the best possible score of 1 | off target by 1.3 degrees, performing quite a bit better than average | undershot the target by just under 6 degrees | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 3AMPBANK H128$133 | 8.2 seconds, second fastest of all cameras tested | read 66F, called better than average | good temperature accuracy but the display offered less resolution and temperature detail than some other brands | read 440.1F, called very close to perfect | looked about as impressive as the Mileseey, with the heating element easy to contrast against the surroundings | read 14.1F, called about as close to perfect as it gets, moved into the lead on this test | off target by 6.9 degrees, more than most other brands on this specific test | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 4TOPDON$299 | about 16.9 seconds | read 66.8F, called not quite as accurate as the F2W at the same price point | display not as crisp as some other brands but still offered more color detail than most | within 0.2 degrees of target, called near the top of the field | did not come out on top for image clarity or contrast, though still better than some other brands | off target by 1.7 degrees, called performing near the top once again | off target by only 0.7 degrees, performing quite a bit better than average | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 5MILESEEY$130 | 16 seconds, one of the slowest to boot of all cameras | read 64.1F, within a fraction of a degree of the target | offered quite a bit of color contrast for temperature variation with a labeled scale, described as more detailed than the previous (cheaper) brands | briefly overshot and undershot before landing exactly on the 440.2F target, moving into the lead on this test | called the best looking image so far at that point in the video, with good resolution and easy to see temperature variation; tied for third place with HF96 in the subjective rating with a score of 2 | off target by 4.2 degrees, called performing well | off target by 11.8 degrees, the largest miss on this specific test among the brands with a number stated | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 6FOXWELL$160 | about 12.9 seconds | read 64.2F, within a fraction of a degree of the target, third place on this test | crisp image but only two colors shown versus three to five colors on several other brands | within 1.6 degrees of target, slightly over, called continuing to perform well | not quite as detailed as Mileseey or H128, but still a fairly crisp display | off target by 6.6 degrees, called not quite as accurate as the H128 for cold temperature | off target by 3.5 degrees, performing almost as well as the H128 | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 7GOYOJO GH192$118 | 12.1 seconds | read 67F, a little closer to target than the Bside camera | much more crisp than the Bside's display, with easy to read hot/cold lines and a large, eye strain reducing temperature font | missed the 440.2F target by 4.5 degrees, described as still pretty good and more accurate than the Bside | continued to outperform the Bside camera for resolution and overall image quality with noticeably more detail | off target by 2.4 degrees, performing quite a bit better than the Bside once again | off target by only 1.1 degrees, continuing to outperform the Bside | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 8FLIR$438 | 15.3 seconds, quite a bit faster than the Thermal Master but still slower than average | read 62.1F, off target by more than average | did not offer as much resolution as the F2W, Topdon, or Thermal Master given its price, but is the only camera tested that combines a thermal sensor with a visible light camera | read about 439F, performing better than average | not as crisp or as high contrast as some other brands | read 14.1F, called very precise, tied with the H128 and HF96 for accuracy on this test | off target by 8.6 degrees, more than average | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 9Flagfront$130 | 13 seconds, the slowest of the first several brands tested | read 64.8F, missing the target by only 0.1 degrees, the closest of all 12 cameras on this test | not nearly as crisp as the GH192's display, but still better than the Bside's | missed the 440.2F target by over 15 degrees, matching the Bside's poor result on this test | quite a bit better than the Bside camera, though not as crisp as the GH192 | read 14.2F, very close to target, moved into the lead on this test at that point | off target by 7.5 degrees | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 10Teslong$176 | 8.77 seconds, third fastest of all cameras tested | read 62.3F, missing the target by more than most other brands | less color detail than the HF96, only shades of blue with no reds, yellows, or greens, and not a very crisp image | missed the 440.2F target by around 67 degrees, by far the largest miss of any camera on this test; flagged as a possible caption or unit malfunction given the size of the miss relative to every other brand, kept as stated rather than corrected | not performing nearly as well as other brands at delineating temperature variation through color and sharpness | off target by just over 4 degrees, continuing to trail the HF96 | hit the 23.1F target exactly, the first camera in the lineup to do so on this test, moving into the lead | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 11Thermal Master$399 | display lit up around 10 seconds but took about 26 seconds to fully boot, the slowest full boot of any camera tested | read 6.6F, described in the transcript as way off target; given the roughly 60 degree gap this looks like a dropped digit in the caption (a reading nearer 66F would fit the pattern of the rest of the field), kept as stated verbatim rather than corrected | has a zoom feature and a nice looking display with good temperature variation detail | read about 440F, called much more accurate at high temperature and almost perfect | tied for first place with the F2W in the subjective rating with the best possible score of 1, called just as impressive as the F2W for clarity and contrast | described as way off target once again, no specific reading given | described as way out of calibration for the low temperature range once again, no specific reading given | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
| 12BSIDE$110 | 10.9 seconds | read 67.5F with emissivity set to 95, off by around 2.5 degrees | blurry image but dark blue cold spots (air leaks, lack of insulation) and cooler stud/joist lines were still visible | constantly fluctuating reading, closest approach was still off by around 15.5 degrees from the 440.2F target | lacked resolution and detail compared to every other brand, though hot spots were still identifiable | closest reading was 24.9F, just under 11 degrees off target, the worst result on this test | off target by 2.3 degrees, called pretty good | survived a roughly 6.5 ft (2 m) drop with no damage, along with all 11 other cameras tested |
How it was tested
- boot up time
- temperature accuracy on a calibrated concrete floor (about 64.9F target)
- image quality and temperature contrast on an insulated wall showing studs, joists, and nail heads
- temperature accuracy on hot steel with a thermal probe reference (about 440.2F target)
- image quality and temperature contrast on a space heater
- temperature accuracy on a frozen 10 lb steel block (about 14F target)
- temperature accuracy on a shiny aluminum wheel with adjusted emissivity (about 23.1F target)
- drop test from about 6.5 ft (2 m)
“the HF-96 came out on top with the best average finish at 4.7. It's a great all-around performer when it comes to accuracy and it has a pretty good quality display. For a price of around $166, it would definitely be my choice if it's all about value.”
Data notes and caveats
Twelve thermal cameras tested. Several brand names required resolution against the description's 12-brand list: Beside/Besaid resolved to BSIDE (price and testing order), Mileseey/Milissey/Milacy/Mil-C all resolved to MILESEEY, Foxwell/Foxwill resolved to FOXWELL, Testlong/Teslong/Testo(long) resolved to Teslong, and HF-96/HF96 and F2W resolved to the two HSFTOOLS models named in the description. All other brand names (GOYOJO GH192, Flagfront, AMPBANK H128, Topdon, FLIR, Thermal Master) matched the description literally. The narrator gives three distinct top picks in the closing verdict: HF96 as the outright winner (best average finish, 4.7) and value pick; F2W and H128 tied for second (4.9 average finish); H128 named separately and explicitly as the budget pick at about $133; and the narrator's personal favorite for image quality is the F2W, distinct from all of the above rankings. All 12 cameras passed the roughly 6.5 ft drop test with no damage, so that result is repeated identically across every product entry rather than being a meaningful point of differentiation. The Thermal Master shows a repeated, consistent pattern of large misses specifically on cooler-temperature tests (concrete floor, freezer, aluminum wheel) while performing very well on the one hot-temperature test, which reads as a genuine low-range calibration issue with this unit; its single concrete-floor numeric reading of 6.6F is additionally flagged as a likely caption dropped-digit error given the roughly 60 degree gap from every other camera's reading in that test. The Teslong's roughly 67 degree miss on the high temperature test is similarly flagged as an outlier worth independent verification, since it is far larger than any other camera's miss on that same test.