Archive for the ‘Thermal Imaging Camcorder’ Category

Thermal Imaging Camcorder

Whenever you hear the words night vision, the first thing that would probably cross your mind is an action or spy movie. You might be wondering if the actor wearing a pair of night goggles can really see human activity in a dark building where there is total darkness. Yes, these things really work in real life. Depending on the technology used, night vision can be used for thermal imaging and image enhancement.

A thermal imaging camcorder is an electronic device that uses infrared light spectrum for video capture. There are other devices that can capture video like cellular phones and compact digital cameras. The only distinction of a camcorder is that the primary functions of the portable device are video capture and recording.

The most common applications for the thermal imaging camcorder include entertainment, hidden object detection, navigation, security, surveillance, wildlife observation, hunting, law enforcement and military.

Originally, the purpose of night vision is to be able to find targets at night.

Up to the present times, more advanced night vision equipments are widely used for targeting, surveillance, navigation and for many other military operations.Thermal imaging and image enhancement are often used by security and police specifically for surveillance purposes. When private investigators and detectives are watching people they are assigned to track, thermal imaging camcorders can be very useful, too.

This type of camcorder is also frequently used by nature enthusiasts and hunters especially in maneuvering through woods during a dark night. In addition, permanently mounted thermal imaging camcorders are used by many businesses to monitor the surroundings for safety measures.

The thermal imaging camcorder has a truly remarkable ability of revealing a disturbed area like a dug-up ground with something buried deep within. Even without an obvious sign when looking through the naked eye, officers can use the thermal imaging technology to discover hidden bodies, drugs and money. And if there are recent changes done to walls, these can also be detected thus giving useful clues in most cases.

Thermal imaging is truly the best type of night vision because it can reveal objects even in areas with absolutely zero visibility. And because every object emits a certain amount of thermal radiation, the thermal imaging camcorder can serve as a useful device in observing scenes even in extremely dark conditions or when snow, rain, fog or smoke obscure one’s vision. In general, the displays on these camcorders use false color so that humans can interpret the images easily.

Thermographic Camera

Normal cameras you have seen create images with the help of visible light while a thermographic camera forms images with the help of infrared radiation. These types of cameras have a wide range of applications. This article deals with such cameras and their applications.

Thermographic Camera Sensor

The thermographic camera uses a sensor. This sensor cannot differentiate various wavelengths of infrared radiation so in other words the camera has a single color channel. The color cameras available require a complex construction to distinguish each wavelength from one another. But in the case of colorless cameras, it does not map colors uniformly as humans would. The monochromatic images formed by this will be pseudo color. Here changes in color are used instead of changes in intensity of the signal.

When used in temperature measurements the images have a white color in the brightest part, red and yellow color in the intermediate part, and the coolest part consists of blue. The resolution of such cameras will be slightly lower compared to ordinary optical cameras, also they are bit more expensive compared to other cameras, however their potential to pick images from smoke filled areas and underground regions are outstanding.

These cameras were originally developed for usage in the military, as early as the Korean War. Later, these cameras moved into the fields of medicine and archeology. After the arrival of infrared cameras price of these units started to come down markedly. These IR cameras have great versatility

The thermographic camera can be put into two categories according to the various technologies used inside of them. The cooled infrared detectors are the first one and the un-cooled infrared detectors are the second one. The first one deals with the cooling technique implemented on cameras and the second one deals with the techniques related with the changes in voltage, resistance and current. Both of the cameras also utilize sensors and the way they operate is based on the type of sensor used.

Thermographic Camera Applications

While talking about the various applications of the cameras, astronomy is the first thing that comes to mind. A spitzer space telescope uses this type of technology. The military officials as well as civilians are finding this type of technology as being more and more useful; also the camera is also widely used for night vision technology. They are also used in the fields like military and police target detection, law enforcement, anti-terrorism, process monitoring, condition monitoring, automotive applications, roof inspection, predictive maintenance and so on.

Thanks to the advent of the internet, purchasing this type of technology is becoming easier and easier and as technology advances the price comes down even more. So if a thermographic camera appeals to you then visit one of the many online stores to purchase one.