Product Review: DSLRPros Nighthawk Thermal P2 Kit

The DSLRPros Nighthawk Thermal Kit includes all of the great features of their Cannes Edition Kit with some very valuable additions–specifically, the FLIR Quark 2 thermal imaging camera. Used with the P2 and the DSLRPros dual-FPV system, the Quark gives you clear thermal image in no light situations, and provides an acurate heat signature on various objects in daylight environments, which is useful for search and rescue, agriculture, gas line inspection and much more.

DSLRPros Nighthawk Thermal P2 Aerial Kit

The DSLRPros Nighthawk Thermal P2 Kit features the FLIR Quark 2 thermal imager in an EO/IR optical SD camera combo (option that I tested) to give you both thermal and visual vision. The combination of both feeds makes for an easier to identify/track you location and subjects – especially since the sensor size/resolution on the thermal camera gives a zoomed effect on your FPV monitor. This makes spotting details easier while flying and the wider-FOV of the SD cam lets you pan and position quickly with the dual FPV monitors mounted on the Futaba controller.

This package is built with commercial and specialty applications in mind, and while it has the ability to record the transmission from the cameras to the diversity recievers/monitors, it’s intended to be utilized primarily for live flight and monitoring, such as search and rescue, fire, gas line and power line inspection, agriculture, law enforcement, roof/solar panel inspection and more. And due to the advanced technology of this package, it’s not cheap – running over $15,000 as configured. But this is a serious tool… not a toy!

The camera also has tunable isothermic capability to isolate and identify colorization based on temperature in 3 bands up to 150ºC.

True to fashion with all of DSLRPros kits that I’ve tested and reviewed to date, it came with a protective case with all the accessories and gear needed to provide an excellent flying/shooting experience. Starting with a DJI Phantom 2 airframe, they upgrade the ESCs, motors and radio transmitter. This ensures longer flight times and a more responsive and powerful craft with more controls over stock. In addition, this was their top of the line kit with all the options, including the FLIR Quark 640 EO/IR camera, dual monitors and red shell.

I had the opportunity to test this kit for about a month and it didn’t disappoint. This is my first time using a thermal camera, but the kit was intuitive and went together rather quickly, ready for my first flight with minimal interaction with DSLRPros to learn how to configure and record from the receivers. Of course once you first have it hooked-up you’ve got to test it on the warmest objects near you – like the dog laying on the living room rug.

 

The Kit Contents:

This particular unit came in the optional red shell, which does draw a lot of attention while it’s in the sky and again, this package is designed for search and rescue and fire, so the color makes sense. But I also found it pretty easy to keep tabs on against a light blue sky as well.  The people it was demoed for were all very impressed with the results in various conditions and can definitely see the benefits of adding this kit to their commercial toolset.

Kit *Base (from Website): $3,049.

• • DJI Phantom 2  (v2.0) GoPro Aerial Rig (with upgraded v2 ESC)
  • DJI NEW protected anti-static compass shel
  • DJI E310 Motor Upgrades
  • DJI NEW Self-Tightening 9″ Props 9450 high-thrust (set of 4)
  • DSLRPros 9″ Prop Guards
  • DJI On-Screen-Display (OSD) – provides basic flight data over FPV Live Stream
  • DJI 2.4 GHz BTU Data Link Radio (Adds 16 GPS Waypoint Navigation Capability)
  • DSLRPros Futaba D8FG Radio Transmitter (for Long Range, Reliability & Special Advanced Control Profiles)
  • DSLRPros Futaba Wrap
  • Deluxe DSLRPros Radio Tx Lanyard
  • DSLRPros LiPo checker
  • 2 DSLRPros Long Life 2600 mAH LiPo Tx Battery
  • 3 Total DJI OEM 5200 mAH LiPo Batteries
  • DSLRPros TXS-8 Pro LiPo Charger
  • 2 Total DJI Flight Pack Charging Blocks (Required to reduce charging times via parallel charging)
  • DSLRPros P2 Tough Case with DSLRPros pre-cut foam (L22.8″ x W18.3″ x H11.7″)
  • GoPuck 5x (6600 mAH)
  • DSLRPros Fire Safe LiPo Guard Bag

 *Other options extra – see website for details

The FLIR Quark 640 camera is mounted on a 2-axis gimbal for smooth and stable operation, even in wind, and is connected to a custom dual-Tx transmitters for signal separation to the the twin diversity receiver monitors on the controller.

Here’s the official product video from DSLRPros: 

Field Testing:

In my tests I was really impressed with how much detail was revealed in various conditions. While I didn’t perform any night flights during my testing period, I did manage to fly in fog, overcast, bright mid-day sun and right through past sunset to get a feel for how well it performed and what it actually measured and displayed.

I found that depending on the environment surrounding the objects tracked with the camera, the heat signature would vary in the display but there was always contrast. Things like the heat from a running engine on a car or train, and even the wheels/brakes were very evident. Close-up on a human or animal you’ll see details from hair, clothing, sunglasses, etc. but back off about 50 feet or more and the entire body become white against the ground. That is unless its a warm sunny day and they’re walking on concrete or asphalt around mid-day, and the heat of the ground exceeds the body temperature, so the road/walkway will turn white and the bodies will be darker – but still very pronounced, even if they’re not redly visible in the optical camera’s monitor.

This makes the Nighthawk Thermal P2 kit a valuable tool when trying to determine of someone is lost in the woods, an animal is loose on the freeway or in a flood channel, or if law enforcement is determining how long a parked car may be in a driveway. For commercial applications, the heat and or cold signature from gas line leaks, power lines and damaged/burned-out solar panels on a roof can all be captured and transmitted back to the monitor.

For fun, we did some flying with a group of other fliers at the International Drone Day event in the Berkeley Marina, and captured some of the other craft from the air – just to see if their heat signatures could be detected.

We found that if flown in close proximity with other craft, you could see the heat signature on the batteries and motors clearly. This is a great deal of sensitivity from such a small thermal camera.

Here are some video clips from my various test flights:

With this configuration, it weighed nearly the same as the DSLRPros Cannes Edition P2 Kit with a GoPro Hero4 Black installed. Flight times with this test unit were a minimum of 15-20 minutes before I landed (I’m very battery conservative) but it should go to about 25 minutes.

Overall, the DSLRPros Nighthawk Thermal P2 kit delivered as promised and I can definitely see the benefit of such a tool in the hands of working professionals that need aerial thermal tracking and detection. While this is a custom-built kit, made to order and the customer’s specifications, I can see where DSLRPros is going with their development and packages like this are going to make access to commercial use an easier entry for industry.

You can learn more about this kit and it’s options, features and possible applications from their website.