Thermal Imager

Thermal Imager, Infrared Camera, Thermal Camera Thermographic Camera, IR camera, FLIR camera (see FLIR Camera definition), are all used to describe cameras that use an infrared detector in most cases to generate an image depicting a heat pattern on a surface.

The infrared spectrum begins at .7 µm close to the visible light spectrum so the term “infrared camera” is more commonly used to refer to the broad range of cameras capable of creating images with different detector technologies from .7 µm to the end of the IR spectrum at 1.0 mm.

A “thermal imager” is used primarily to describe a camera that is equipped with a detector capable of detecting thermal patterns without strong influence from the light spectrum.

A “Thermographic Camera” has been used primarily to describe an infrared camera that is designed and calibrated to compliment thermal imaging capability with temperature measurement although this term is seldom used today.  Manufacturers who specialize in IR cameras with temperature measurement capability (such as Optris) go to great lengths to improve accuracy by accounting for transmission loss in infrared optics, controlling stray radiation in the camera body, monitoring internal camera and detector temperatures, and carefully calibrating with traceable reference sources but these cameras are most often marketed as “infrared cameras” or “thermal imagers” which is the same terminology used to describe night vision cameras for security applications with little or no temperature measurement capability.

Unfortunately, the infrared camera industry has never adopted a nomenclature convention making it easy for the public to differentiate an infrared camera capable of accurate temperature measurement for an automation application from an IR camera used on a helicopter for law enforcement or search and rescue.

Those searching for thermal or infrared imaging solutions are advised to combine “thermal imager” or “infrared camera” with the application of interest (i.e., “thermal imager for high temperature metal measurement” or “infrared camera for search and rescue”) in order to source an infrared camera solution to meet a specific need.