Thermal imaging
- Thread starter stender
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FLIR is the defacto standard manufacturer for professional IR cameras, since 1978.
Their FLIR One is an add on camera that fits into the USB-C port on the bottom of a smartphone.
Beware of apps claiming that they can use your original phone camera as a thermal imager; camera CCD's usually have a filter that blocks IR (Although there are some interesting 'hacks' where filters have been carefully removed from the CCD's of SLR cameras!).
Cheap thermal imagers may be available elsewhere, but costs ramp up steeply with image resolution and quality.
The FLIRS I used to play with (albeit 10 years ago), cost about £12k new!
Their FLIR One is an add on camera that fits into the USB-C port on the bottom of a smartphone.
Beware of apps claiming that they can use your original phone camera as a thermal imager; camera CCD's usually have a filter that blocks IR (Although there are some interesting 'hacks' where filters have been carefully removed from the CCD's of SLR cameras!).
Cheap thermal imagers may be available elsewhere, but costs ramp up steeply with image resolution and quality.
The FLIRS I used to play with (albeit 10 years ago), cost about £12k new!
Cheap thermal imagers may be available elsewhere, but costs ramp up steeply with image resolution and quality.
The FLIRS I used to play with (albeit 10 years ago), cost about £12k new!
Fire brigade cameras are interesting toys to play with.
I wonder if there might be any mileage in using an IR thermometer, to check and log temperatures on a grid pattern, as a cheap option.
Can you rent them from tool hire places?
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Depending on what capacity you are going to use it for there are a host of different models to choose from and a price range to match.
If it's for a one-off job, then it's pointless going for a high end one obviously. If you are going to use it on a regular basis, then I would dismiss ones which use your phone as the image screen. You would be better with a complete unit.
As with RandomGrinch, the ones I used to use a number of years ago were very good for their era, but very expensive and we treated them with the care reserved for high explosives. These days you can get better ones cheaper so it's a case of deciding what quality you are looking out for and research for that criteria.
Type 'Thermal Image Camera' into Amazon and see the range they have. Another option may be to contact a camera shop such as Jessops if they are still going. I know they used to do all kinds of imagery units at one time.
If it's for a one-off job, then it's pointless going for a high end one obviously. If you are going to use it on a regular basis, then I would dismiss ones which use your phone as the image screen. You would be better with a complete unit.
As with RandomGrinch, the ones I used to use a number of years ago were very good for their era, but very expensive and we treated them with the care reserved for high explosives. These days you can get better ones cheaper so it's a case of deciding what quality you are looking out for and research for that criteria.
Type 'Thermal Image Camera' into Amazon and see the range they have. Another option may be to contact a camera shop such as Jessops if they are still going. I know they used to do all kinds of imagery units at one time.
Yes, good call - I have also heard of some local authorities lending cameras for thermal surveys.
I wanted it to check my house as my extension is freezing. My bedroom is above a double garage and i cant tell if garage ceiling is lagged or the roof. but do you think there is a business opportunity if i bought a pro one? Would people pay for an internal survey for drugjts etc?
Off hand, if you were able to keep the cost fairly low and had the facilities to offer a printout and kept it local - there is definitely money to be made.
Phone around and see if any plumbers have one, then you could hire them for 1 hr.
I have the Flir E6-xt, its a good bit of kit.
Andy
I have the Flir E6-xt, its a good bit of kit.
Andy
A plumber for one hour?
You can hire the camera for a week from the hire shop for less, and have a weekend away at Skegness and still have change.
My son has a phone with thermal imaging, issued by his company. He's a spark. It's completely useless. All the blurry splodges combine together to make one big blurry splodge. He never uses it. If you're going to get one (hire one) get a decent one.
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The spectral sensitivity of a bare sensor can be something like 320 to 1050nm, way beyond what we can see, at both UV and IR ends. No good for normal photography so they have a "bandpass filter" to restrict their spectrum to what we expect. Normal glass doesn't pass that range well anyway.
Cheap cameras aren't very fussy. Poke a phone camera at an IR telly controller and press the buttons , and you'll see the flashes on the display.
Some iPhones at least use IR flash to recognise things to turn on - so they need a sensor which can "see" it. They're sending out light you can't see.
Some phones use a LIDAR- ish technique for depth , some go further, actuals lasers are coming in.
My FLIR camera goes way beyond what a phone camera sees. Early IR phone cameras were crap. But iPhones particularly are extending into new areas. So check their products. I expect last week's model is now sufficiently hobbled by Apple's own obsoleting software that it'll be cheap.
What really costs, in IR cameras, is resolution. You don't need it to be high for heat leaks. Mine's quite low, though it cost a lot more than it would now, back in the day. 360 x 480 or something. For finding hotspots in equipment & machinery it's fine.
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www.gim-international.com
Cheap cameras aren't very fussy. Poke a phone camera at an IR telly controller and press the buttons , and you'll see the flashes on the display.
Some iPhones at least use IR flash to recognise things to turn on - so they need a sensor which can "see" it. They're sending out light you can't see.
Some phones use a LIDAR- ish technique for depth , some go further, actuals lasers are coming in.
My FLIR camera goes way beyond what a phone camera sees. Early IR phone cameras were crap. But iPhones particularly are extending into new areas. So check their products. I expect last week's model is now sufficiently hobbled by Apple's own obsoleting software that it'll be cheap.
What really costs, in IR cameras, is resolution. You don't need it to be high for heat leaks. Mine's quite low, though it cost a lot more than it would now, back in the day. 360 x 480 or something. For finding hotspots in equipment & machinery it's fine.
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www.dpmag.com
iPhone Equipped with Lidar: Apple Brings Laser Scanning to the Masses
The new iPhone 12 Pro is equipped with a Lidar sensor, marking an encouraging step towards the democratization of photogrammetry and 3D scanning. Sma...
www.gim-international.com
A friend of mine is a plumber and had one of the Caterpillar android phones with an inbuilt IR camera.
His was the S60. The phone was pants but the IR camera is impressive.
Blackview also sell ones as well.
His was the S60. The phone was pants but the IR camera is impressive.
Blackview also sell ones as well.
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