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As someone who has used FLIR cameras, and other industrial imaging systems I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand the continued concentration of speciali

As someone who has used FLIR cameras, and other industrial imaging systems I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand the continued concentration of specialist camera tech is bad for the market (FLIR a few years ago acquired point grey [0], a competitor). On the other hand given my poor experience with FLIR systems (bad software, bad interfacing) if that continues it might be a good opportunity for a newcomer to shake things up. [0]: https://investors.flir.com/news-releases/news-release-details/flir-systems-acquire-point-grey-research-inc-253-million https://investors.flir.com/news-releases/news-release-detail...

lbotos 6y ago
Appreciate you sharing your experience -- I've been considering a FLIR cam, did you find a better alternative?
- alhirzel 6y ago
  there are none...
- colincooke 6y ago
  Yeah there is nothing comperable. For those with infared needs we're mostly stuck
- jbay808 6y ago
  https://thinklucid.com/ https://thinklucid.com/ This is a new company created by a bunch of ex- Point Grey engineers who left FLIR. They're worth keeping an eye on.
- lhpz 6y ago
  Seek Thermal is an alternative provider for thermal cameras: https://www.thermal.com/ https://www.thermal.com/
  - wlesieutre 6y ago
    I like how their phone accessory Seek Compact camera is advertised as having “< 9 Hz frame rate.” I’m sure it’s fine but that’s a strange way of listing it.
    - sepples 6y ago
      That's actually a "feature" for IR cameras because 9+ FPS brings it into a different category for export control.
      - wlesieutre 6y ago
        Huh, interesting! It makes sense in that context. Having never tried one of these, I wonder if they take that slow camera stream and do higher framerate image stabalization on the phone to make it less jerky when hand-held.
  - garaetjjte 6y ago
    There's also i3system/ThermalExpert: http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/ http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/
- RyJones 6y ago
  Not really. GP’s remarks about software quality are spot on.
- immmmmm 6y ago
  If your ready paying your camera the price of a small car, Xenics has a few alternatives that work well. They also have a support team who replies to your questions. It's important to note that some technologies (Micro-bolometers, InGaAs) have export restrictions due to applications for weapons systems, etc..

lbotos 6y ago

Appreciate you sharing your experience -- I've been considering a FLIR cam, did you find a better alternative?

alhirzel 6y ago
there are none...
colincooke 6y ago
Yeah there is nothing comperable. For those with infared needs we're mostly stuck
jbay808 6y ago
https://thinklucid.com/ https://thinklucid.com/ This is a new company created by a bunch of ex- Point Grey engineers who left FLIR. They're worth keeping an eye on.
lhpz 6y ago
Seek Thermal is an alternative provider for thermal cameras: https://www.thermal.com/ https://www.thermal.com/
- wlesieutre 6y ago
  I like how their phone accessory Seek Compact camera is advertised as having “< 9 Hz frame rate.” I’m sure it’s fine but that’s a strange way of listing it.
  - sepples 6y ago
    That's actually a "feature" for IR cameras because 9+ FPS brings it into a different category for export control.
    - wlesieutre 6y ago
      Huh, interesting! It makes sense in that context. Having never tried one of these, I wonder if they take that slow camera stream and do higher framerate image stabalization on the phone to make it less jerky when hand-held.
- garaetjjte 6y ago
  There's also i3system/ThermalExpert: http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/ http://www.i3-thermalexpert.com/
RyJones 6y ago
Not really. GP’s remarks about software quality are spot on.
immmmmm 6y ago
If your ready paying your camera the price of a small car, Xenics has a few alternatives that work well. They also have a support team who replies to your questions. It's important to note that some technologies (Micro-bolometers, InGaAs) have export restrictions due to applications for weapons systems, etc..