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Is this also why civilian IR devices are typically slow and/or very low resolution, or alternately very expensive? My fire department thermal imaging cameras a
by tlavoie 5y ago
Is this also why civilian IR devices are typically slow and/or very low resolution, or alternately very expensive?
My fire department thermal imaging cameras are a few thousand CAD. A smaller, palm-sized one from FLIR is several hundred dollars, but the frame rate is very low. I have a Seek model that plugs into my phone, and while very inexpensive, it's definitely at the tail end of capability. (Still fun though.)
In comparison, I have had a tour of a medical transport helicopter, and got to try the pilot's NVG goggles. It's light intensification rather than IR, but an impressive upgrade from the Starlight scope I got to use in the 80s.
- jpmattia 5y ago> Is this also why civilian IR devices are typically slow and/or very low resolution, or alternately very expensive? I haven't followed the professional/consumer market in IR, but as a general statement: The materials systems that you need for IR imaging are different than the CMOS imagers used for visible light (ie, silicon). The IR materials don't have anywhere near the economic or manufacturing scale, so I'd expect that you'll pay more for IR imagers, or will have to accept lower resolution/frame rates.