Lepton Breakout Board Device Picker
PureThermal & Lepton
Device picker
Every PureThermal and tCam-Mini board is built around the same FLIR Lepton camera core - what differs is how you get the thermal image out: a plug-and-play USB webcam, wireless streaming over WiFi, or a raw SPI/I2C breakout for your own embedded design. Answer a couple of quick questions for a starting recommendation, or skip straight to the full side-by-side comparison below.
1How do you need to get the thermal image out?
2Standard size, or the smallest footprint?
3Which generation?
3Fixed USB port, or a cable/solder connection?
2Where will the antenna need to be?
2Does size matter?
Recommendation
Answer the questions on the left to see a starting recommendation.
There's no wrong answer here - it mostly comes down to how you plan to get the thermal image off the board. This just narrows it down based on your interface and integration needs.
Keep in mind
None of these boards include a FLIR Lepton camera core - it's sold separately and drops into a socket (or gets soldered on, for the Micro Breakout Board). Pick one from the Lepton core collection: Lepton 2.5, 3.1R, 3.5, and UW are typically in stock; the higher-resolution XDS core sells out more often.
Most projects only need one board type, but it's common to mix - a PureThermal 3 on the bench for development, then a Micro Breakout Board once you're ready to embed the design into your own PCB.
Side by side
Full specification comparison
Compiled from FLIR/GroupGets datasheets, where one is published, and from GroupGets' own product pages. Prices and specs are subject to change - check the linked product page for the current listing. A couple of board dimensions below are approximate, where a datasheet's summary text didn't quite match its own dimensioned drawing.
Scroll the table sideways to compare every board
| Feature | PureThermal 3$119.99 | PureThermal 2 Shielded$109.99 | PureThermal Mini USB$114.99 | PureThermal Mini Pro JST-SR$124.99 | PureThermal Breakout Board$44.99 | PureThermal Micro Breakout Board$44.99 | tCam-Mini rev4 (external antenna)$109.99 | tCam-Mini rev4 (onboard antenna)$99.99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | A USB-C plug-and-play thermal webcam that's also fully hackable - GPIO, SPI, I2C, and JTAG are all broken out | The budget USB webcam option - the same core feature set as PT3 on Micro-USB, with an EMI/RF-shielded design | The simplest, cheapest plug-and-play option when you don't need to embed it in a custom enclosure | Embedding a USB thermal webcam into your own product, where a panel-mount USB port won't fit | Wiring a bare Lepton into your own Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or custom MCU over SPI/I2C | Space-constrained embedded designs that need to solder or reflow the Lepton interface directly onto a custom PCB | Wireless thermal streaming where the board sits inside a metal enclosure or airframe and the antenna needs to be relocated | The simpler, cheaper wireless option for open-air or indoor installs with a clear line of sight to WiFi |
| Interface / output | USB-C webcam (UVC), plus SPI/I2C/JTAG breakout pins | Micro-USB webcam (UVC), plus I2C/JTAG breakout pins | Micro-USB webcam (UVC) only | USB webcam (UVC) over a 4-pin JST-SR connector or solder pads | No USB - raw SPI (video) + I2C (control); needs an external host | No USB - raw SPI (video) + I2C (control); needs an external host | Wireless WiFi streaming (TCP/JSON socket), plus USB-C for power/config | Wireless WiFi streaming (TCP/JSON socket), plus USB-C for power/config |
| Lepton compatibility | Lepton 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, FS, 3.1R, and UW | Lepton 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, FS, 3.1R, and UW | Lepton 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, FS, 3.1R, and UW | Lepton 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, FS, 3.1R, and UW | Lepton 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, FS, 3.1R, and UW | Lepton 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, FS, 3.1R, and UW | Lepton 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, FS, 3.1R, and UW | Lepton 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, FS, 3.1R, and UW |
| Radiometric mode | Yes - Lepton 2.5 & 3.5, via FLIR's Lepton Windows User App | Yes - Lepton 2.5 & 3.5, via FLIR's Lepton Windows User App | Yes - Lepton 2.5 & 3.5, via FLIR's Lepton Windows User App | Yes - Lepton 2.5 & 3.5, via FLIR's Lepton Windows User App | Depends on host - the board just passes SPI/I2C through, with no radiometric claim of its own | Depends on host - the board just passes SPI/I2C through, with no radiometric claim of its own | Yes - switchable Radiometric/TLinear mode on the device itself | Yes - switchable Radiometric/TLinear mode on the device itself |
| Dimensions | 25.8 × 28.9 mm | ~22 × 30 mm board, 18 × 21.5 mm mounting holes | Not published | ~15.3 × 20 mm | 25 × 24 mm | 12.2 × 14 mm | Not published | Not published |
| Weight | <3 g, without Lepton | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | 0.95 g ± 0.1 g | Not published | Not published |
| Connectors / headers | USB-C; 16-pin GPIO/SPI/I2C/UART header; Tag-Connect EC10 + ARM20-CTX JTAG edge; BOOT/RST buttons | Micro-USB; 6-pin JTAG (Tag-Connect TC2030 + adapter); through-hole GND/SDA/SCL/RX/TX/3V/5V/VIN; BOOT/RST buttons | Micro-USB | 4-pin JST-SR (5V/D+/D-/GND) or matching solder pads; BOOT/RST buttons | 10-pin 0.1" header (I2C, SPI, VIN, GND, VSYNC, EN); 32-pin Molex Lepton socket; PureModules connector | 14-pad castellated edge, or 10-pin 0.5 mm-pitch FFC connector | USB-C; U.FL antenna connector with an RP-SMA pigtail and 2.4 GHz antenna included | USB-C; built-in PCB trace antenna, no external connector |
| Power | USB-C or VIN 3.4-5.5V; ~290-310 mW while streaming | Micro-USB, max 5.5V | USB bus power | USB power over JST-SR or solder pads, max 5.5V | 3.3-5V input, regulated on-board | 3.3-5V input, 3V logic | USB-C, internal multi-rail regulation | USB-C, internal multi-rail regulation |
| Lepton core included? | No - sold separately | No - sold separately | No - sold separately | No - sold separately | No - sold separately | No - sold separately | No - sold separately | No - sold separately |
Where this data came from
Sources
Prices and specs were pulled from each board's datasheet where GroupGets publishes one (PureThermal 3, PureThermal 2 Shielded, PureThermal Breakout Board, PureThermal Micro Breakout Board, and PureThermal Mini Pro JST-SR) and from the matching GroupGets product page. PureThermal Mini USB and both tCam-Mini rev4 variants only have a product page, with no separate datasheet. Figures neither source publishes (most weights, both tCam-Mini boards' dimensions) say "Not published" rather than guess.
Why the picker asks it this way
How you get the thermal image out - USB webcam, WiFi, or raw SPI/I2C - is the biggest engineering fork across this lineup, so it's the first question. Everything after that (board size, connector style, antenna placement) narrows down which variant within that category fits your build.
Radiometric software
Reading temperature data (not just an image) off a radiometric Lepton 2.5 or 3.5 requires host software that speaks the Lepton's radiometry command set. On Windows, that's FLIR's own Lepton Windows User App (v1.3.2); see FLIR's Lepton integration with Windows page for more on setting it up.
A note on board dimensions
A couple of datasheets give a summary dimension in their feature list that doesn't quite match their own dimensioned mechanical drawing (PureThermal 2 Shielded and PureThermal Mini Pro JST-SR both do this). The figures above use the dimensioned drawing, which should be the more reliable of the two, but treat them as approximate until you've checked a physical board.
Not affiliated with Teledyne FLIR
GroupGets sells the PureThermal and tCam-Mini boards, and the FLIR Lepton camera cores that go with them, but this comparison isn't official Teledyne FLIR or danjuliodesigns documentation. For authoritative specs, see each board's own datasheet, linked from its GroupGets product page.
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