The Milwaukee TEMP-GUN is compact and is meant to measure temperature at a distance. Although inspectors tend to love it, it gets a bad rap from a lot of technicians. Some people slam the accuracy, but they have to understand that the temperature gun is affected by reflected surfaces and that the measurement range grows with distance. In the case of this video, as Nathan backed up from the light, the temperature reading dropped because the temp gun began picking up the ceiling temperature as the reading range increased with distance.

Overall, the M12 infrared thermometer is worth it if you plan to use it correctly and are aware of its limitations. If you are looking for a very accurate measurement, then you’ll want to avoid infrared thermometers in general due to their limitations. It’s an inspection tool, not a diagnostic tool.