My Flir E8 has the 9Hz refresh rate and it drives me bonkers. I wish I could would of waited until I had enough saved for a camera with better specs. I will get a new camera after I get my level 1 this winter. I took the Nachi infrared course as a starter but am really looking forward to the level 1 certification class. I suggest you at least take the Nachi course so that you have a little training on the basics.
I gave you what was deficient about these imagers in my very first post in this thread. Maybe you didn’t read it.
There is NO issue with older imagers being inferior, in fact, some of the older units are outstanding. Look at how much germanium is in the lens of an older FLIR EX320 compared to any imager that you are looking at today. IMO: you would be much better off buying an older imager with greater resolution and sensitivity than with a cheap new imager with feeble thermographic capabilities, especially if you are not concerned with bells and whistles and you are not concerned with easily migrating images to the computer for inclusion in reports. Basic thermographic capabilities is what you should be looking for. The imager that I use every day is five years old. It pays for itself all over again every couple of months.
If I were to buy a current crop imager for what you want to do, I would go no less than an E30 refurb (resolution, sensitivity, adjustable focus, adjustable span, refresh rate - none of these things are bells and whistles). FOV matters too. Too wide and you lose detail and miss things, especially with low res imagers. Too narrow and you will skip areas. Too narrow will not likely be an issue in the class of imagers that you are considering, but too wide a FOV is a potential issue. FLIR’s Ex series has a really wide 45° angle, especially with such a low resolution like the e4. The Exx series has a standard FOV of 25°, much more practical IMO.
I would not hesitate for a moment to buy used to satisfy my needs at a price point.
Here’s one. 2 lenses as well. It’ll probably be gone. Don’t know last cal or service date, good deal if checks out
When you hear an answer that goes beyond your budget, you will end up asking more people until you hear what you want to hear. The understanding you seek cannot be seen in a little sound bite. Sometimes there can be water flowing down the wall and even a good IR camera cannot see it at times. Get some training to learn about the different variables … or just buy something pretty, as Chuck has stated.
If someone buys the wrong camera and they are blind, in some cases, then the advise they might give will be lacking as well… and they may not even know it.
Some cameras might see moisture in the ceiling and some may not, depending on some issues that are important to learn about. See images below and note that the picture on the right missed some of the moisture. There were two different leaks in this home. (thanks to William Misegrades for the images)
Please understand, my question had nothing to do with budgets and was very specific with regards to opinions between two stated cameras. How the post got so far off topic is out of my control.
That was funny! 
Your answer may lay beyond those two choices. Good luck and hope you do well.
On the other hand, a 17 degree field of view scans at a higher resolution, as in more pixels per area, all else being equal.
I’m amazed at the sarcastic comments to such a simple question. If some of you guys don’t have anything positive to add to the conversation, move on.
It’s nice to meet the new forum police. :mrgreen: (sarcasm)
Don’t know what you’re talking about. If you ask a question that you don’t really want to hear the answer to, you should expect as much. If you ask for opinions and receive them, you should consider it a gift. If you don’t want opinions, then by all means, don’t ask for them.
Do you have a question or something of value to add to the topic? Do you need to know if a FLIR One is a good choice for professional use?
Kieth
You asked a question and there are some very good thermographers here.
The simple answer which is a question, are you really asking them for their opinion or are you just asking for justification in buying a cheap one.
Chuck showed you an image do you understand what he was showing you? He was trying to show you what you won’t see with a cheap camera. In my opinion you need to spend way more than $2000 and then more on training.
Here is a take from the last IR session I went to.
16 - 20 people some with little to no training most a level I, 2 that were a level II and 1 a level III.
Most had a cheaper <$2000 camera (except the level II & III) and were blown away with the images they were seeing. Mind you some of these guys did remediation work and could NOT identify some very basic images that were shown, because they were not used to seeing good quality images (comment from one of the them). Think about this for a minute if you want to put yourself in that position at an inspection with a cheap camera.
It’s a huge and long term commitment using IR and you could get yourself in trouble.
I will ask you to listen to these guys and take what they say seriously and don’t be in a hurry.
When someone, with no training, ask what we think about inadequate option A or inadequate option B… it reveals more about the person asking the question than they realize. No insult is intended. Get some real training before you buy an IR camera.
You may indeed find some defects, but you will also, most assuredly, be missing certain issues if you buy option A or B that you mention. No doubt about it.
The FLIR e6 would serve you well at a professional level. If you buy something less, then good luck and I wish you all the best.