I have used higher end (and much more expensive) thermal imaging systems at work, and for the price this one does a reasonable job. . I like the small form factor and the ability to focus on near objects (as in a few inches away - anything further then about a foot needs the "infinity" focus) is sometimes helpful. This camera / software combination does not have an emissivity correction so it struggle a bit with very shiny objects. For my purpose of basically adding it to my collection of diagnostic tools around the house it works perfectly. Some things I have done with it:

- Verified before opening that there was indeed a mouse in a black plastic live-catch trap, and not a false trip
- stud finding (works best when there is a good temperature differential between the two sides of the wall - studs will look different than insulation)
- found an air leak around a door and identified / repaired a section of loose weatherstripping
- monitored propane tank level while grilling

If you are trying to decide between the compact and the XR, be aware that even the Compact has a relatively narrow field of view - if you're trying to check a breaker box, the side of a refrigerator, etc... you'll still need to be several feet away to get it in the frame. I have not used the XR, but based on how the Compact works for me and what is written about the XR I would be very hesitant to go with the XR if looking at things less then 30 or 40 feet away.

Most negative reviews are inaccurate! I too have got poor images and wanted to return it too. I kept it and played with it and now thoroughly enjoy it. The XR is for longer range not for inside or short distance. You'll have to play with it and find the focus that works best for you. It's best use is to spot live creatures around your property. I've been able to see rabbits at 60 yards, wasn't sure until I spot lighted it or saw it jump. Don't expect to see a clear picture with contrast because you'll see a solid image and the outline at distances. When you scan go slow and if you see a spot hold it still as it will adjust and be clearer. I use mine to locate my horses at night.

I've had this for a couple months and it's been very handy in helping me determine areas of my house that need more insulation. The build quality seems ok for item at this price, it comes in a nice little protective case, has an adjustable lens to help with focusing.

PRO

It's compact and has a nice little case.
It uses my iPhones battery so I don't have to worry whether it's charged or not after sitting for a couple weeks.
It has a focus ring to help with focusing on objects at different distances.

CON

Only works with SEEK software as far as I can tell, and they require you to register an email address, and ask for other information before you can use it. Keep this in mind, if they stop developing the software or do a poor job, it directly affects this item. The seek sofware runs fine on an old iphone 5s, but won't run on my iPad 4th generation, it locks up.

Temperature is not accurate. Mine is off by 8 degrees Fahrenheit, while it's easy to just add another 8 degrees in my head, it's a tad annoying. My cheap laser thermometer can get it right, so I expect this device to be accurate as well.

Image quality is "so so". I'm not expecting the quality of an expensive FLIR, but there are times I can barely make out what the images are. Thankfully, for my purposes, it works ok and the focus ring helps.

SUMMARY

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the purchase. It's been useful for my purposes, but keep your expectations in check... it's not a tool you'll have for many years, the software is buggy, and the images are "so so". If like me, you're going to use it to find air leaks and "cold spots" in your home, then I think it's very useful despite it's shortcomings.

With the recent iOS update, you will be unable to use the device unless you register and create an account on the the iSeek website. The terms of use, which you must agree to, is a laundry list of of marketing communications and how they will use your information and images captured with the device. This simply isn't right, period. This was not a requirement when I purchased the device and was not a requirement until a recent iOS app update. Not cool.

This is worth the buy if you can find practical uses for it. For example, finding studs, checking the relative effectiveness of air barriers and seals throughout the house, water leaks, electrical wire heat, appliance heat.

Background and Perspective:
This device brings a very unique and useful tool into the hands of those who couldn't normally afford the higher end version. The more expensive version of this tool for the public is about $25,000 dollars. Therefore it's limited to those who use it for professional use. Yet this version can be used for the home or low quality commercial diagnoses. This version cannot compare fairly to the more expensive version so to criticize it doesn't allow fairness to the fact that it still provides very useful and helpful information to those who can make use of the information you can gain from it.

The "˜SEEK' Ability:
There are important aspects of this device that you must understand before you buy so you know what to expect in terms of range and visibility. This device will not be a disappointment as long as you know what to expect. The device doesn't have the outline overlay feature of it's only competitor but that's not as important since most of the time you will be looking for significant temperature variations that when captured in the view, will automatically allow you to distinguish what is hot/cold because it will stick out from other objects in the view. If the view on the camera is not easy to understand, just look past the phone and get oriented. It's not a big deal, use your other eye

I measured the amount of area I could view with the camera and the length at which I had to stand in order to capture an object. (see pictures) These are the distances from the objects in my pictures to the lense of the camera. See pictures for quality.
1) You can see my finger when it is 4-inches from the lense
2) The center of my watch is 10.25-inches from the lense
3) The 3' x 5.5' window is 12.85' from the lense
4) The Printer and 2 Power Adaptors are 5' from lense (there are two adaptors in the picture and they are not distinguishable from each other)

Description of other pictures:
5) There was a hot water leak as you can see from the hotter area in the waste pipe in the ceiling "“ I was able to see it unexpectedly and found the upstairs faucet to be left open.
6) I was able to see the area of hot air normally invisible, from a low flame on the stove
7) I was able to see a difference in temperatures from two windows where apartments where renovated and that of two windows where apartments where not renovated.
8) I can see the heat from my computer and hard-drive
9) I could see the cold water and hot water pipe in blue and yellow respectively
10) I could see the temperature of the boiler gas fan

Toilet-Paper Roll as the Frame of View:
In order to imagine the field of view you should expect; a good perspective for you to understand what scanning your environment would look like is to take a used toilet-paper roll and raise it to one eye. The area you can view through the toilet roll is pretty much the same area you catch from the lense of the camera while holding the camera at 9-12 inches from your nose. The default magnification of the SEEK is large. If you slightly squeeze the toilet roll, forming a vertical elliptical, it would mimic the field of view you would get from holding the phone in portrait view; and the same if you did the same horizontally for a landscape view.

Lag:
There is a lag of 1-second when the "˜image soothing' feature is off and a 2-second lag with the feature "˜on'. I don't yet see any use for the smoothing feature. I don't think it makes a difference. When scanning across the screen of the Plasma TV, the image is best when scanning at about two seconds per foot across the screen when 8 feet away from the screen.

Battery:
Since the SEEK uses your phone battery it can last a fair amount of time. I happen to have en extended battery on my phone which is slightly old and I also use the SEEK periodically and randomly throughout the day as I am still playing around with what I can find with it. I don't find the need to look after my battery level at all. I do not feel the seek is a battery drain.

Compatibility:
I have a Samsung S4 with Android 5.0.1 and the camera and features listed work fine. There is one feature I didn't find talked about much and that is the "˜Image Smoothing' feature, which works fine.

The volume buttons also function as camera shutter buttons. Since the port is on the bottom I activate rotation on the phone and turn it upside down. This is useful except when you want to use dual image mode whereby your hand ends up blocking the phone camera as you hold the phone normally. I find it useful to use dual camera mode when turning the camera in landscape view while taking pictures

Color Palette:
The colors are varied. There are 9 color palette options. The color adjusts to what the hottest and coldest temperatures in the view are. If you have a face in the view and then light a match next to the person while in the view the color gradient will adjust to highlight the NEW hottest points to the coolest points.

Menu Options:
Help
----Tutorials
----Reset Help Overlays
----Report and Issue
----Visit Support Center
Temperature Units (select)
----Fahrenheit
----Celsius
----Kelvin
Image preferences
----Aspect Ratio (select)
--------16:9
--------4:3
----Watermarks
--------Date and Time (on/off)
--------Location (on/off)
--------Seek Logo (on/off)
----Metadata
--------Disable Geo-tagging (on/off)
Image Smoothing (on/off)
Terms and policies
----Privacy Policy
----Terms and Conditions
Help Us Improve
----Send Usage Data (on/off)
About
----Application Software Version
----Image Processing Software Version

Phone Camera Dual Image:
I find this feature not useful except for times when I want to take a picture to log the environment I was in at the time as I can imagine forgetting the context of a thermal picture and use the visible light picture to remind me what I am looking at a later time.

When using the dual image overlay which is best in landscape mode, the SEEK and phone camera are usually positioned poorly in three ways. A) the thermal image and the phone camera image are at different zoom ratios B) the images do not line up next to each other in any useful way. I would find it useful to take a dual image picture while the thermal image of an object is fully viewable in half the display and the visible phone camera picture is also of the object in full display BUT this is NOT the case C) although you can zoom the phone camera in the dual overlay mode, doing so actually magnifies the thermal image as well, which make the feature even more useless.
*If SEEK made the micro-usb with the ability to pivot slightly it would be extremely useful in order to line up pictures properly in dual image mode.

Manual Zoom:
The picture of my finger is set at the closest zoom. Even when scanning a building façade 250' away, the best focus was at the middle of the range of focus available on the SEEK device.

I will add more info as I see fit in the future.