Whereas previous cameras are good for bird watching, or wildlife spotting, or finding leaks at home - the P3 has a manual macro lens and is specifically designed for getting close-up and personal with your electronics.

Yup! See just how hot your CPU is getting 🥵

Let's take it for a spin!

Unboxing

As well as the camera (which looks gorgeous with its gold trim) you get a carry-case, USB-C extension cable, and a Lightning converter for older iPhones.

The metal casing of the camera feels delightful and gives it a bit of heft. The focus wheel is reasonably stiff which makes it easier to position just right.

Sample Photos

These are the raw images taken directly from the app. I haven't resized or altered them in any way. What you see is what you get. Here's a hot-spot on a circuit board:

The natural size of the images is 1344x1008. That's obviously upscaled from the sensor, but there's a surprisingly amount of detail in there.

Here's a small circuit board which has just booted up:

Where the P3 shines is when you twist the manual lens all the way down to macro. You can get about 2cm away from a surface and stay in focus.

Obviously don't get that close to something red hot!

Annoyingly, the images are uncompressed JPEG and weigh in around 6MB each. I've losslessly compressed these to WebP, which is about 10% of the size.

Colours

There are a variety of different colour palettes to play with. Some are more useful than others. Here's a mug of hot and delicious matcha rendered in the various colours:

Scrolling through the colours is a little difficult in the app (more on that later) but once you've found one you like, it stays that way for the photography session.

EXIF

Geolocation is taken from the phone - there's no GPS chip in the camera. You can refuse location permission to the app and it will work just fine.

That's just about all you get other than the time and the model name of USB_IR_RS300_P2L - the infrared details aren't recorded separately.

Video

The video doesn't upsample the image, it has a resolution of 504x672 playing at 25fps. Audio is recorded from the phone's microphone and is 64kbps mono. A minute of video is around 22MB. I've recompressed this one for the web.

The App

It is, sadly, an inevitability that good hardware is always accompanied by a substandard app. The Thermal Master Android App is the only way to access the camera. It has a relatively easy to use interface with plenty of options.

As you can see from the word "brightness" the UI is a little janky in places.

There's a decent amount of settings to fiddle with.

You can also change which elements get displayed on the final image.

Unfortunately, it is also a bit crash-happy. Most times I used it, the app would randomly close. It takes a little while to re-open thanks to a mandatory animation. So it gets a bit annoying. Flicking through some of the options can be slow and tedious. It also doesn't respect the phone's orientation, so images may be 90⁰ off what you expect.

The app updated the firmware on the camera, but didn't say what had changed.

It takes photos and videos, allows you to share them, and has a bunch of options to play with - but it does have a habit of crashing just when you're about to take the perfect shot. There is also zoom available, but it is digital only - so you're just making the pixels bigger rather than getting optically closer to the object you're scanning.

Linux Info

I tried plugging it in to a Linux laptop. It shows up as 3474:45a2 Thermal Master Technology Co., Ltd. P3 - but that's about it. There's no way I can find to access the thermal images.

To be fair, this is explicitly sold as an Android and iOS device. I'm hopeful someone will be able to reverse engineer it.

Cost and Final Thoughts

Thermal cameras are expensive. This will run you about £280 on Amazon or about £260 direct. Readers of this blog can get 10% off using code THERMALBF10

If you run a hackspace, this is a no-brainer. The ability to see hot-spots on your circuits is immediately useful. The detail is impressive, allowing you to see exactly what's causing problems.

If you're a hobbyist, this is definitely in the "ask Santa if you've been good" category. You'll find it handy on any small projects you have, or to diagnose faults with electrical equipment.

For non-macro uses, it's also pretty good. You might be better off with a dedicated device if you want to go hunting wildlife or doing home surveys.

The only fly in the ointment is the app. While somewhat customisable, it does repeatedly crash and it isn't the easiest to use or set up. I found that pretty frustrating and have fed back the problem to the developers. I appreciate it saving high quality images - but a PNG or lossless WebP would be easier to work with than massive JPGs.

Ultimately, this is an excellent thermal camera. It looks lush, it is customisable, the images are high quality, and the macro-lens is surprisingly useful.

It more-or-less works as a gimmick. Although an early afternoon crowd may have been more likely to ask questions anonymously.

I've never seen a Sikh doing an unnervingly accurate impression of Trump before. Daman Bamrah did a perfect routine which blended his philosophy with the perils of the bum-gun. An unexpected but hilarious combination.

Sid Singh's set trod a fairly standard path through reactions to racism, but his discussion at the end about the inherent problems involved in writing controversial material was excellent.

Tying it all together was Alex Farrow who perfectly brought together the various philosophical strands and proved why Albert Camus was a fan of Stewart Lee.

A great set of acts at a decent price.

So many shows at the Fringe skimp on sets and props - not this! A luscious array of costumes, hats, wigs, and ruby slippers bring the characters to life.

The framing is thin but serviceable - the backstage helpers are reminiscing about their favourite stars and bring them back to stage. It is a fun and campy evening, without ever straying into parody or obsequiousness.

Sadly a few technical gremlins crept in, but the cast are absolute troopers and dispensed with them.

Oh, and there's an incredible Sweary Poppins who steals the show.

In amongst the Fringe's high concept art, fiendish new writing, and blokey-standup, it was a real treat to see a good old fashioned revue.

Highly recommend.

What happened next was a few minutes of pure fringe magic!

I had a little chat with the caller, he welcomed me to the smallest venue in the fringe, and then he improvised a banger of a song based on my peculiar proclivities.

What a treat to have a front row experience at a one man (and one audience member) show. The song was heartfelt and beautiful, played and sung with panache - albeit down a twisted copper pair of limited bandwidth.

He didn't reverse the charges, so it didn't cost me a penny! Which, given the high prices of most shows, was an absolute bargain 😃

If you hear a phone ringing, you should always answer it and say hello.

The show advertises itself as:

What happens when you take Sondheim’s most beloved music and turn it on its head? Ingénues become villains, villains deliver delicate ballads, and comic sidekicks step into tragedy.

But, bluntly, that's not what was delivered. The gender swapping and colour-blind casting was fine, but there was no sense that this was a twist on the songs. They were all delivered in a straightforward fashion.

In fairness, there were a couple of truly excellent singers - Adam Boggs McDonald was spectacular and Paulina Hill was an absolute showstopper. The twist on Agony by Angelia Castillo and Adelia Castillo worked well.

Sadly the rest was over promised and under delivered.

Another show seen purely in the basis that we had an hour free and the venue was close. That's generally a pretty sound strategy for seeing shows - but you have to accept the risk that you might not like what you get.

Look, you probably don't want to read a review of how tempting I found each temptress, nor a multivariant testing of their erotic powers - so let's just say this…

The lecture in the middle about the menopause and how to cope with it was very educational.

The performers were all talented and the costumes (before removal) were sufficiently sufficient for their purpose.

The main problem is that it is staged at the least sexy venue on the fringe. A basement meeting room which looks more suitable for a regional sales conference than a burlesque. Perhaps if they were going for a Belinda Blinked cabaret it might have worked better.

The performers coped well with the technical difficulties (no doubt caused by a moralising theatre ghost) and recovered their momentum well.

The Mermaid is a delightful and gentle amble through the confusing world of a girl who just wants to become a mermaid. Less standup and more storytelling, nevertheless it packs in the laughs with some rather clever jokes, a bit of bawdy humour, and - a rarity on The Fringe - a decently designed set!

It stands out by being well-rehearsed (surprisingly not a given here) and with no technical glitches during the performance (and, again, I cannot stress enough how unique that is). Eleanor Morton is an absolute professional who knows how to put on a quality show.

Oh, and it is in the much larger Udderbelly venue.

Some people spend the fringe watching every possible interpretation of Timon of Athens - we decided to go for doubles of gay hockey sticks.

So, how does it compare to its twin?

It is good, but deeply conservative. The whole thing is framed through the eyes of a middle-age suburban mom which, sure, is probably a large part of the target audience but felt a bit retrograde. While the other show had a plentiful amount of acrobatic simulated sex with near-nude performers, this only has a couple of shirtless scenes and the actors are reduced to having a couple of trysts with literal mannequins. Weirdly, the one sex scene they perform together takes place behind a sheet. The leads kiss only twice which, for a parody of a show famed for its explicitness makes it all feel a bit Hays Code.

The songs, however, are sumptuous. A full score accompanies the incredibly talented cast. This is very off-Broadway - with soaring melodies, powerful solos, and solid reprises. At times it feels more like a parody of Broadway shows than of the TV show.

That isn't to say this is bad. It is very good. The script is full of delightful references and silly jokes. The lyrics at times are downright filthy! It is an excellent show and well worth seeing - but my heart remains with the other parody.

Sadly, it did nothing for me.

I found it a little one note in terms of storytelling. The rhythm of the story followed all the predictable beats which I thought was a little repetitive.

There's no doubt he's a gifted storyteller. The comedy is suitably dark with some good moments of joy and catharsis. It is probably the perfect show for some people but I wasn't the right audience for it.

Yes, but only in the sense that the AI is obnoxiously dull and Millerick is simply obnoxious.

He insulted a kid who he'd called on to stage to help him. Not even in a jokey way, just being rude. His splenetic rants against religion and politics were beyond tired. The dating segment was like something from an incel forum. Bitter and uncomfortable.

There's a minor point that's made about whether AI comedy is cheating (yes) and if comedians need to be worried (no). But even when he goes back to performing his organic routine, it is dire. There are a few chuckles to be had, but most of the audience were just looking stricken with second hand embarrassment.

The delivery is a one note rant, the jokes are the shouting of an angry disillusioned man, and the AI is a clanker of the worst order.

Dire.

It was sublime!

There's a rich history of foreign comedians coming to these shores and stealing our jobs making us laugh by pointing out the UK's foibles as only an outsider can. Seselskaite has a witty outlook on the perils of being mistaken for Polish while working in Waitrose, how high-class a Wetherspoons is, and what's up with Manchester’s weird obsession with bees.

The show isn't the most innovative thing on the Fringe; it's mostly straight stand-up. But the game of "guess which English song was plagiarised by Lithuanian singers" was surprisingly entertaining. OK, I won a badge by guessing correctly, so I'm biased.

Settled is a solid piece of work which has obviously been road-tested and honed into a tight set. Excellent observational stand-up from a unique perspective (come on, how many other Lithuanian comedians have you been to see?).

So I found myself sat in a Unitarian Church listening to a harpsichord and choral organ intertwined with a violin and cello while a soprano soared through Handel's greatest hits.

I'm too much of a philistine to assess its merits - but there's always pleasure watching technically accomplished professionals at the top of their game. I assumed they played the right notes (and in the right order) as the music was delightful.

It was restful and restorative after a long day pounding Edinburgh's pavements.

Told in an acrobatic style, naturally.

It is delightful to see classic acrobatics find a whole new audience - the children in the audience (and the adults) screamed with delight at the human pyramids, handstands, cartwheels, and aerial work.

An absolutely joyful cast of kinesthetic clowns bring to life the bizarre and (again) absolutely true story.

Lots of fun, a heartfelt message, and a zippy soundtrack. No way to describe it other than fun for all ages.

This is sort of a live-action XKCD cartoon. A frenetic troupe of performers are decked with hand-drawn portraits and then… well, it is somewhere between a Sesame Street animation and the stick-figure kung-fu Flash animations of yesterday.

The whole design is technically impressive. An endless stream of paper litters the floor as the cast rip them from their bodies to reveal more underneath.

I found it enjoyable enough for an early morning show - but the children around me went bananas for it!

Design

The "cuff" design is fairly new to the UK - but is already popular in other parts of the world. Rather than sticking the buds in your earholes, they clip around the flappy bits of your ears. The aren't like a bulldog clip - more like a gentle caress. The speaker sits just outside your ear canal, so you can still hear ambient sounds from around you. Look, you do not want a close-up of my waxy lugs, so here's a model:

You don't have to wear them in that position. Mine tend to hang around my earlobes - your ears might be a different shape.

They are ridiculously comfortable. I've had them on for a several hour train journey and forgot they were there. They don't leave a mark, they don't ache, they don't pinch, and most importantly they don't fall off. Even if I shook my head vigorously or did any exercise, they stayed put.

I am happy to declare them the most comfortable headphones I own - even more so than my Bone Conducting headset.

But, of course, there are some downsides. The previous version had touch-only controls which were a bit shit. It was far too easy to accidentally brush your finger against your ears and skip a track. The Clip2 improves this somewhat by adding a small physical button to each headphone. You can set them to play/pause, skip tracks, adjust volume (if you can remember the precise sequence of taps you need).

Bluetooth range was good - I was able to wander all over my house without losing connection. Sound quality - even on the default setting - was excellent. You can push up the bass or fiddle with the equaliser if that'll make you happy. Battery life is going to depend on how hard you drive them and if you choose a more energy efficient codec or not. They lasted several hours in my test and recharged quickly in their included case. Naturally, the case has a USB-C connection so it'll use the same cable as all your other gadgets.

Android

They just work. They paired instantly, accepted AAC as a high quality audio codec, the sound quality was excellent as was the microphone quality. Once I used the app to switch to LDAC, the Clip2 restarted and Android started playing in the higher fidelity mode.

App

*sigh* Why is that hardware manufacturers make the crappiest software? You don't need the app - everything will work without it. But if you want to customise the buttons, change the EQ, or enable LDAC you'll need it.

Annoyingly, you can't do anything unless you're logged in and have an Internet connection. Want to change the EQ while you're on a train with no signal? Tough.

The app also handles firmware updates - there was one waiting for me - but doesn't offer any information beyond the usual platitudes of bug fixes and stability improvements.

Note, you need the PeatsAudio app not the "Soundpeats" app.

Honestly, find an EQ you like, update the firmware, toggle the settings, then uninstall it.

There are some nice touches - like the personalised EQ test - but it is slim pickings. Here are some screenshots.

Linux

Yup! Connected perfectly the first time and gave access to all the supported codecs.

A Few Niggles

Despite looking superficially similar to the Clip1 - these new ones don't fit into the charging case of the originals. That's unfortunate. I guess they don't want users mixing up pairs and getting confused?

Rather annoyingly, they don't pause the sound when you take them off. The old Clip1 would detect if it was in-ear and pause if you popped one out to chat to someone.

They supply a short USB-A to C lead. That's just e-Waste and shouldn't be included.

Because of the design they won't block out all external noise and there's no noise cancelling function. But that's offset by the fact that they do let you retain some awareness of your surroundings.

Price and Final Thoughts

The Clip2 cuff headphones are usually around £60, but are on offer now for about £48. I think that's excellent value for money.

Readers of this blog can use code SPUU2810 for 30% off until August 31, 2026.

I am an absolute convert to cuff-style. They don't tightly grip your head like bone-conducting ones, they're less noisy than rear-firing open-ear cans, and they're a good deal more comfortable than sticking something deep in your ear-wax chambers.

The app is a bit shit - but you'll probably only use it once. The buttons are slightly fiddly, but I can't see a way to make them any more tactile without sacrificing their small size.

Sounds quality - on Linux and Android - was excellent. They're perfect if you spend a long time with headphones on.

The stage is littered with a Nokia 3310, Bliss Magazine, and Charlie Red. Katie (15/F/UK) talks us through the complexities of her nascent love life, what shag band colours mean, and which quotes sum up millennial angst. All the while serenading us with her musical takes on the tragic Aniston/Pitt split.

Consistently funny and just the right amount of embarrassing.

As befits a work in progress, it is a little one note. That said, Katie is an expertly observed caricature of the size-zero obsessed, Vauxhall Corsa chasing girl that those of us of a certain vintage remember with fondness / body quaking cringe.

In this case, AI stands for Austrian Imperialism and the fight is for Switzerland's independence.

Well, sort of. It gets a bit lost in an endless stream of rambly diversions. There's a fine line between surrealist comedy and utter nonsense. If you like seeing a man getting the audience to sing to a magical (albeit potentially traitorous) hat, attempting to pull up his trousers without his hands, and doing cuckoo impressions - this'll satisfy those cravings.

It does produce a steady stream of chuckles but suffers by being presented in an airless yurt.

The highlight for me was the confession that the comedian has "a rare form of synaesthesia which allows me to literally see colours!"

Like several shows on the fringe, it relies on the audience writing questions on cards and the comedian riffing on them. Unlike other shows, Rachel has a huge stream of anecdotes and songs to weave into her answers. She has the easy and relaxed delivery of a seasoned professional who knows her material inside and out.

She is a delightfully deranged matriarch with strong options from the exact number of carcasses to throw into a chicken soup to how to get rid of your daughter's goyim boyfriend.

Tickets are pay-what-you-can and you'd be a schmuck if you missed it.

The format mostly works. There are different stories every night, so maybe we got a slightly uninspiring batch. Tales of sex parties, STIs, and broken sex-toys are fun enough but weren't exactly mind-blowing. The audience participation kind of slowed the pace down as each hastily scribbled card had to be quietly read to make sure it didn't violate the code of conduct.

I'm all for making spaces safe and inclusive - I just think the cards could have been vetted privately while a story was being told. That would have kept the pace up and given the stories a bit more space to breathe.

There are Smut Slams happening all over the world and I reckon it's worth checking to see if there's one near you to see if it floats your boat. They've obviously built an audience which is hungry for more - but I found it a bit tepid.

There's also a live version of a HR podcast if you just can't get enough of their wacky ice-capades. Just how much sexy-hockey can one city take?

Produced by Quick and Funny Musicals, an American company specialising in cash-ins loving homages, this is surprisingly good! With songs like "Fuck Him Up The Butt (Metaphorically)" it isn't exactly subtle. The sex is acrobatic and - pixelated cocks aside - relatively raunchy.

If you've binge-watched Hollander and Rozanov's tender and humble love-affair, you'll you find delight in every scene. Lots of memorable moments are mined for their comedy value, and there are a decent amount of songs shared between the dozen-or-so cast members.

A couple of minor flubs couldn't mar the brilliance of the show. The cast really do give it their all (and give it to each other in a variety of positions). I'm pleased the intimacy co-ordinator was given appropriate appreciation.

Fair warning - there is a "splash zone" at the front of the seating for those of you who want to avoid/relish being lightly drenched in a certain hockey player's bodily fluids.