Bosch Professional 12V System Thermal Camera GTC 400 C (12V Battery + Charger, W/App function, Temperature Range: -10 degree C to +400 degree C, Resolution: 160 x 120px, in L-Boxx)

I am a DIY enthusiast and bought a 1930s house which we are slowly doing up while living in it. I needed to know where the central heating pipework is located and also find and resolve thermal inefficiencies in the house. Having looked at many other products and reviews, this one stood out for a number of reasons. 1) Out of all the professional ranges of thermal imaging products available for under a grand, this Bosch GTC 400 seems to be the only one that is able to consistently see under carpets. The configurations allow you to tune colour sensitivity and this allows you to pick up the pips under the carpets with ease. Some of the standout pros are: 2) The ability to overlay camera imaging with the thermal to show more detail in the thermal picture is a very nice feature and one that professionals would require. 3) The battery life is great. I was using this for a few hours and very little drawdown 4) the navigation functions are easy to use Some things I found with the GTC 400 are: - I found several areas in my ceiling where there were clear insulation issues. - I found one of my exterior walls seems to have no insulation as I can see the outlines of the bricks in the walls as cold lines. - i found one of my floating floors had no insulation - i found my front door was full of leaks overall it is an expensive gadget to have but one that will make any homeowner better informed for DIY decisions and also to troubleshoot problems where thermal imagine can highlight problem areas.

Incredibly useful tool. Bought primarily to check underfloor heating all functioning correctly and it does a perfect job showing all the pipe runs for wet UFH. I’ve added a few photos and a video to show it in action. You can pair via WiFi to smartphone and download images into Bosch measuring app, there’s a dedicated thermal imaging app coming in a few months. Once in the app you can adjust opacity of thermal image over real image, annotate and output to camera roll or as a PDF report. I also used it to find out why my dog was limping, could see a hot joint in his front legs which let me know where he had a swelling.

Bosch Professional tools are usually very impressive and this compact unit is certainly among the best. There’s a lot to learn and try out, but I’ve only had it two days and am going on holiday tomorrow for two weeks, so have had little time with it. It comes in an over-sized case c. 44 x 36 x 14 cms, allowing plenty of space for spare battery packs, etc. It’s a Bosch L-BOXX 136, designed to stack and interlock with other L-BOXX cases, so is very welcome. See photos I’ve uploaded. The wrist strap is useful but the optional camera pouch really should have been included as standard. It also seems a little mean that neither the AA battery adapter nor a second Li-ion pack comes with it, although you may of course have batteries from other Bosch Pro tools. That’s about all I can find to complain about though. The key features, at least for me, are probably: • Robust, IP53-rated camera with 5” colour display (recessed for protection) • Infrared sensor resolution 160×120 pixels • Intuitive interface and controls (it really is) • Quick and easy visualisation and analysis of temperature differences • Easy to switch between heat and cold detection • Micro USB port for data transfer, wi-fi for transfer to the Bosch Measuring Master app The wi-fi works by having the tool create its own wi-fi hotspot and displaying the key. You have to connect your phone/tablet to that hotspot. I’ve yet to work out how Bluetooth works on this – perhaps it requires an extra accessory? There’s no sign of it in Settings. My use will be mainly with property, but electricians would find it valuable for fault-finding. It’s hanging on to its first charge very well. Various viewing modes are available. With thermal overlay, the camera gives a clear image while the infrared sensor overlays thermal information. At least, I think that’s the way it works. Very useful. Options for customisation, and general capabilities, are wide-ranging. For example, the default temperature ranges can be fine-tuned, to allow you to focus on specific temperatures. You can squeeze the trigger to freeze an image, allowing you to inspect or share it. You can also save images and transfer them over USB or wi-fi. The Bosch Measuring Master app seems very capable, but I haven’t had time to evaluate it yet. My only disappointment is that the picture in the Amazon listing suggesting you can see the location of underfloor heating pipes seems a bit far-fetched. They’re typically buried a couple of inches down, in concrete. Mine certainly are. The concrete spreads the heat and produces a consistent overall temperature on the surface, so the individual pipes are visible. My assessment so far…the GTC 400 C is an expensive tool but you could pay a lot more. You might get extra features, perhaps a higher level of temperature accuracy, but the Bosch will do all most people need, and more. You could also pay less, but my feeling is that the GTC 400 C is a near-perfect compromise for most users. That’s all, for now, except to suggest taking a look at the Bosch website for further details. Amazon won’t let me include a link but I’ll try and add one in a comment.

I'm a tower crane engineer and quite often have to head to a building site to face an electrical fault with the crane being left out of action, this would be like the main oven of a busy restaurant giving up during a busy service. so I need to have tools that can get me out of trouble fast. Just before I broke up for Christmas I had this happen. I climbed the crane and was faced with many possibilities of what could be the issue, the Bosch Professional Thermal Imaging Camera GTC 400 C almost instantly got me out of trouble. I found a heat build up on a few loose terminals. I could have been there hours wasting my time looking for a broken part. Its a large initial outlay of money but now would not be without it. The box is very nice and sturdy also stackable if you have any other Bosch box's of the same model. The charge lasts plenty of time. The screen gives you a very fast read out of the temperature of what your pointing at then another two cursers are hovering around finding the hottest and coldest part of the area as shown in my final picture. I have tested the thermometer and found it to be extremely accurate, much more accurate than I will ever need. I have recommended this tool to a few of my colleagues and after taking it to the workshop they all loved it. I hope this review helps you with your purchase.

Not the best for 1k, I paid £600 so it's max you should pay for it, any higher that thus go fo any Flir model

Ingot this working straight out of the box. Switch to on, flip the infrared shield off and you are literally ready to go. The controls are easy - with a clear, bright and relatively large screen allowing for various options. You can switch between cold and heat mode or auto/manual settings, take pictures and send any results by wifi to an external PC or laptop. There are also several customisable choices including type of surface - concrete, wood, tile etc. Results were excellent to visualise underfloor heating through wood and to check for gaps in insulation in the roof. Highly recommended and solidly built. Comes in a very large case BTW.

This is one impressive piece of kit. In short, it's a thermal imaging camera, with wi-fi compatibility as well as lead-based download/connection. The screen is approximately 7cm x 6cm, on a gun which, with the included battery attached into the handle, holds roughly as the size of a trowel. The camera has a fold up protector over the lens. There's a battery charger included, leads, and a well written, clear and concise instruction manual. I'm a newcomer to thermal imaging, and I found it easy to understand - and appreciated the way it elaborated, comparing functions so as to help me better understand how different settings can aid (and inspire) different jobs. There are so many functions on this: thermal range monitoring is automatic, assigning colours: blue for cold, up through red to yellow and white for hot, hotter, hottest; and cross-hairs pinpoint the centre of each heat source in view. Otherwise, there are all sorts of settings: there's scaling (for greater or smaller work areas). 'Manual' allows specific heat ranges to be sourced, but equally, the camera can be set to pick out only the hottest, or coldest areas. Emissivity can be measured, isolating the hottest source in view - but also 'reflected temperatures' can be read. Audio signals are also an option. Honestly, this baby has been designed to help in every which way. Very clever - and simple! Images and sequences can be saved inside the camera - and/or transferred in realtime via wi-fi to a computer (or phone). Date/time can be set and assigned. And a clever feature is the ability to overlay a transparency of a thermal image over its real life view - enabling clearer assessment of emissivity. There are a lot of alternatives in the menu, allowing for stills to be cropped and thrown up on the screen at the same time as a thermal image - whatever works the for the viewer. And while the thermal range is automatic, a desired thermal range can be set, allowing for a specific temperature band to be isolated. Given the range (of up to 5 metres), the camera will also throw up measurements between heat sources in view.... which is darned useful. All of this comes in a well padded heavy-plastic case, complete with multiple clips and a carry handle. All in, this is absolutely brilliant.

Very pleased with the camera for the plumbing game