ITherml Technology | Thermal Imaging Core

Dedicated Infrared Lens Digital Camera Conversions: Why it makes you a better Photographer

What you read about Digital Infrared Lens Camera Conversion in the next few paragraphs may come as a surprise. I know when I first came across this idea of converting a camera to Infrared lens only, I was NOT convinced about its necessity nor its benefits.

In the dedicated Infrared lens digital camera conversion process the sensor filter that normally blocks the IR light (IR light in a regular visible light image is an unwanted intruder, and causes poor results in normal shooting conditions) is removed. This is replaced with a permanent opaque 87B or equivalent IR filter right over the sensor. The exact type of filter will depend on the make and model of your camera.

But more important than WHAT it is, is HOW you use a dedicated Infrared lens digital camera conversion like this. What if I were to tell you you’d be able to shoot fine IR images but no longer have to schlep your tripod everywhere, you wouldn’t have another filter to keep track of, you could actually see your composition in the view finder, you could use normal exposure times and shutter speeds, and you could shoot IR anytime, anywhere! Even of fast moving subjects like kids, people, and trees and plants on windy days? Well, now conversion makes it all possible.

And a bonus! Long exposure noise reduction is reduced with dedicated Infrared lens digital camera conversions; post production time reduced by half – or more! Are you starting to wonder, even just a bit – about whether or not this may be a good idea?

And did I mention the amazing image quality? Here are 2 100% crops of the same scene, the first taken with my original D70 and the Cokin 007 IR filter (89B equivalent – it’s the one I always use).

And the second taken with the new converted D70 from Lifepixel. I think you can see the difference quite plainly. I attribute this to the much faster exposure times for the converted camera, and that the sensor is capturing MORE IR light and less visible light.

Because of size constraints I can’t post the hi-res images here, but send me an e-mail and I’ll send you the full-size crops. the difference in quality is amazing. Digital “noise” is almost non-existent.

Let me explain some more: This is how a camera conversion liberates the creative mind. It frees you from the technical process and allows you to concentrate on only the creative matters. I can’t tell you the number of times I forgot to set the correct white balance when setting up my old D70 for an IR shoot. Or all the times I forgot my Cokin IR filter sitting on a stump or a park bench in between IR shots. Or all the times I went for a spur of the moment walk, with minimal gear only to regret not having my IR kit with me.

Now I can also use ALL my camera lenses too – especially the Nikon 10.5 mm fisheye – because there was no filter holder to fit it, I wasn’t able to use it at all for Infrared lens photography.

So I suppose I sold my self on the idea of going with a dedicated digital IR camera conversion. The practical me said that since I was winning awards, I could justify the additional cost. But the practical me also didn’t want to give up my beloved D70. You KNOW how much I love this camera!!!

What’s a girl to do!!!!??? Yep, the extravagant me bought another D70 and had it converted. I found a factory refurbished D70 on eBay from Cameta Cameras for cheap, and sent it off to Lifepixel in Washington before I had even unpacked it!

The converted dedicated digital IR D70 camera is FAST, sharp, and just a ton of fun. Vitaly and his staff at Lifepixel are very accessible and took the time to answer all my questions – and believe me I had lots! I did quite a bit of research on the company before making the jump, and all the forums (Nikonians, dpreview etc.) all had nothing but positive feedback about them. That and the willingness of the staff there to communicate sold me.

Update: Lifepixel now has a number of different types of Infrared lens Filters available for your camera conversions. From super color Infrared lens to extreme visible light blocking filters, they have really progressed. HOWEVER, there is no need to get super fancy with your Infrared lens camera conversion – keep your options open for the most diverse range of Infrared lens imagery that you can shoot.

If you get locked into the super colour filter, for example it may preclude you from doing other styles of IR shooting. I am sticking to the original R72 equivalent filter – I can easily post process to get super color or perfect Infrared lens black and white photos.

Take a look at my jam-packed tutorial book for Infrared lens post processing if you really want to learn how to expand your Infrared lens shooting repertoire.

There are other conversion shops on the Internet as well as Lifepixel, but their approach seemed a bit extreme – like using IT to see through people’s clothing!!! Yikes. (And it’s not even exactly true either!!!)

Take a look at the first digital Infrared lens images images from this uber cool Infrared lens camera – nothing too artistic but they are tack sharp, easy to manipulate in Photoshop because they have very little noise and all are 100% hand-held!

This article comes from nature-photography-central edit released

Security Applications of Thermal Network Camera

Unlike more traditional approaches, thermal network camera provides real time protection, 24/7, and is unhindered by weather and light conditions and can be linked into wider security systems. Thermal vision systems can make a major contribution to security, able to protect assets and infrastructure, plus safeguarding public safety.

Applications handled include fixed, mobile and portable and range from full perimeter security protection at airports and other sites through to tactical use on railway supplies, where the product has Trackside Approval. Thermal network cameras can be used in conjunction with CCTV or as an alternative, depending on the application. The key advantage for thermal imaging systems is range – providing true and accurate remote monitoring. In the security sector, range equates against time: time to react, time to adjust, time to respond.

Specialist thermal imaging cameras for specialist security applications
Proven experience with national and international agencies, police, major corporations and many SME applications
Full system design and bespoke product development capabilities
Discrete systems for iconic buildings, or covert applications, without the need for additional lighting

This article comes from focus2k edit released

Thermal Imaging and Car Thermal Driving Night Vision

In recent years, there has been a drop in car and vehicle prices, this has seen an increase in road users. The more people that are on the roads, the greater the chances of accidents occurring.

We reviewed the most recent fatal collision statistics from Ireland’s Road Safety Authority which looked at the period January 2016 – July 2016 and bear in mind Ireland has a population of 4,757,976 (2016 CSO Census). Between this period there has been 89 Fatal Collisions which resulted in 93 fatalities, this is 10% rise from the data from the previous year. During this time there was 16 pedestrians, 11 motorcyclists and 5 cyclist’s fatalities.

Thermal Night Vision Systems for automotive can help save lives of drivers and passengers and other road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.

Thermal Driving Night Vision are easy to use by simply turning on the power, the night vision system will start up. With the LCD display, drivers can see obstacles 300 meters away, so the driver can recognize the road, pedestrians, motorcyclist and other obstacles etc. this night vision system can also reduce the stress brought about by exhausting night time driving, enabling the driver to keep alert and take proper actions to respond to emergencies.

This article comes from satir edit released

New production process promises cheaper infrared lens

Driving a car in the country at night can be a scary. The combination of poor visibility and animals or other hard to spot obstacles on the road poses an obvious threat to both the car and its occupants. Some luxury models now have the option of forward looking infrared night vision systems, so you can see the animal in time to swerve. Unfortunately these systems are pricey, even as an aftermarket add-on, but that may soon change through the work of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (IWM) in Freiburg, Germany. The researchers have invented a way of bringing down the cost of the infrared lens in systems down by 70 percent – opening the way to cheap cameras for the mass market.

Night vision devices are based on microbolometers, which are a kind of room-temperature heat detector. Arrays of these in the camera use infrared light to detect animals by their body heat. This body heat may be used to create thermal images on a screen or simply to activate an alarm. Microbolometers are very useful devices, but they cost a fortune because of the infrared lens used in their construction. In order for microbolometers to see wider application, the cost has to be brought down.

Currently, infrared lens are made of crystalline materials like germanium, zinc selenide or zinc sulfide. These are very expensive and require costly grinding and polishing, so the IWM team went in search of a cheaper material that used cheaper processing. The key to this was replacing traditional material with amorphous chalcogenide glass. This is glass that contains cheaper elements like sulfur, selenium or tellurium and is commonly used in lasers and CDs and DVDs.

“Its softening temperature – that is, the temperature at which it can be formed – is low. Therefore, we can form it using non-isothermic hot stamping,” says Dr. Helen Müller, scientist at IWM.

“Non-isothermic hot stamping” means that instead of grinding and polishing, the lens are formed in a press that researchers describe as a “waffle iron.” Two heated plates contain a lens mold. The hot glass is clamped between these and then allowed to cool. When removed, there is a perfect lens that has the same optical qualities as a ground and polished one.

And it’s 70 percent cheaper.

The researchers are now working on adapting the process for mass production and are looking forward to the time when microbolometers are cheap enough to move out of the car market and into everyday life. They envision applications such as monitoring devices to assist the elderly, temperature monitoring in manufacturing and improving energy conservation by finding heat leaks in buildings.

This article comes from newatlas edit released

Thermal imaging camera for drones

We have announced to create a thermal imaging camera for its Inspire 1 and Matrice 100 drones. The thermal imaging camera should be a boon for tasks like spotting fires, search and rescue and measuring the thermal efficiency of homes.

The drone company is already by far the most popular for cinematographers and hobbyists, but we have lately been targeting industrial operations, having recently launched a pesticide-spraying model. The thermal imaging camera could also help farmers monitor crop growth, and would be useful for folks like police, firefighters and building inspectors.

We showed how firefighters who beta-tested the unit were able to see where a fire started, how it’s spreading and whether the roof is likely to be stable. There are two models available with 640 x 512 and 336 x 256 resolutions, both of which can be controlled by the app.

This article comes from engadget edit released

Armasight WWZ 4X Generation 1+ Thermal NIght Vision System

The Armasight WWZ Scope is the best solution for any tactical shooter or hunter seeking to improve the accuracy of their shooting in dark environments.

The Armasight WWZ Scope is a high-performance, mid-range thermal night vision scope that provide excellent observational, target acquisition, and aiming capabilitles for the most demanding sports shooters, hunters, and security personnel. Armasight WWZ Scope is arguably the most dependable, highest-performing device you can find in the Gen.1+ category. We have housed our top class optics and image intensifier tube within ruggedly designed aluminum body. For improved accuracy the WWZ Scope feature the precision lens focusing system.

SmartCor640 Thermal Imaging Core

Infrared thermal imaging core with a new 17 micron polysilicon non-refrigerated focal plane infrared detector, with low power consumption, high thermal sensitivity.

Movement size is only 32x32x20mm, movement-specific electronic thermal image correction technology to achieve no blank image, with infrared image than in the field of observation monitoring images continuous, uninterrupted advantage.

TIE image enhancement patented technology to observe the edge of the object sharpening, clear.
Wide gray dynamic range, can be observed in the high temperature and low temperature area of the details.
Product size is ultra-small, low power consumption.
No mechanical structure, strong impact resistance.
Interface perfect, with 16-bit digital parallel interface, 8-bit BT.656 digital serial interface and analog video output interface, easy device integration.
Applicable to OEM, all kinds of portable product integration.

It can be widely used in security monitoring, fire search and rescue, detection, border, marine maritime, industrial, electronics, scientific research and other fields.

Short-wave infrared lens

SWIR series is a range of short-wave infrared lens specifically designed to operate in the 0.9-1.7 µm wavelenght region. This serie has been specifically designed to match the new 15 µm format InGaAs FPA Focal Plane Arrays.

These infrared lens offer an industry standard C-mount threaded style interface or, alternatively, they can be equipped with a custom mount interface.

In the design of the infrared lens, great importance was attached to a good image quality and a large aperture (small F/#). These infrared lens, mounted on a SWIR camera, are the perfect choice for a variety of applications, including solar cell inspection, night vision imaging of outdoors scenes without additional illumination (security applications), detecting bruises on fruit, imaging through silicon, biomedical imaging and many other infrared applications.

KEY ADVANTAGES

High resolution

Designed for high resolution detectors up to 15 μm pixel pitch and 21 mm diameter.

Custom mount interface

Can be provided upon request.

Large field of view and low distortion

Superior optical performances.

WHY INVEST IN A SWIR LENS?

Although standard visible infrared lens can be deployed with InGaAs cameras (SWIR wavelengths can pass through common glass), only SWIR infrared lens can fully exploit the performance of near-IR cameras, providing the sharpest image for your application.

How can we achieve this kind of performance? SWIR infrared lens are specifically designed to operate in the SWIR band (0.9-1.7 µm wavelength region) as opposed to common visible-light infrared lens.

This article comes from opto-engineering edit released

Affordable thermal network camera

This outdoor-ready camera is ideal for monitoring of facilities where early detection of an intrusion attempt is critical. In addition, the unique corridor format allows the camera to deliver a vertical field of view, perfect for situations such as the monitoring of long fences and other perimeters.

Intelligent video is a key component of any thermal network camera, and we provide tampering alarm, motion detection, and support for the Camera Application Platform.

Traditionally thermal network cameras have only been an option for high-budget security installations but now with the affordable thermal technology will be available to complete any security installation.

The four available lens alternatives, the 384 x 288 resolution and the advanced image processor further improve effective area and perimeter surveillance. The four lens alternatives sustain maximum flexibility in detection range and field of view, ranging from 220 m / 240 yd. (50°) and up to1800 m /1970 yd. (6°) depending on lens option. In addition, the cameras support key IP-surveillance features such as H.264 and Motion JPEG, two-way audio, local storage and Power over Ethernet.

This latest camera is compact, lightweight yet tough and is both IP66/NEMA4X and IK 10 rated, making it resistant to water, dust and vandalism. It can operate in all weather conditions and its arctic temperature control capability allows reliable start-up in any temperature from -40℃ to 50℃ (-40°F to 122°F). The camera includes two-way audio which is useful when a deterring effect is required and it also includes edge storage and 24 VDC/AC input.

The affordable thermal network camera is quick to install thanks to its one-cable installation and support for Power over Ethernet. The simple and straightforward mechanical, electrical and optical installation ensures the camera delivers the right image quality for any situation at hand and it can easily be integrated with existing security systems and with other products.

This article comes from security-worldmarket edit released

Automotive Night Vision Enhanced by Near-Infrared Technology

Driving becomes more difficult after sunset. Not only is visibility generally reduced, but an even more serious challenge on unlighted roads are the headlamps of approaching vehicles, which can dazzle a driver’s eyes. Thermal driving night vision systems can help drivers navigate in the dark, but to be of real help, they must be able to see both in the light and in the dark. They also must produce natural-looking images of the road, which is usually populated with animate and inanimate objects.

Nighttime driving conditions are enhanced by an NIR laser-based vision system. The naked eye is blinded by the headlights of an oncoming vehicle and can’t see the pedestrian (A). A thermal camera allows the driver to distinguish both the pedestrian and other vehicle but not the lane markings (B). The laser-based system, however, provides a clear view of the pedestrian, the vehicle and the markings (top).

Thermal driving night vision systems were introduced into the automotive market in the 2000 model year. The Cadillac DeVille that year used a thermal camera that was sensitive to the long-wave infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum (the 8- to 14-μm band) along with a display that projected a virtual image of the road scene using the windshield.

Although this system excelled at detecting warm objects, such as pedestrians and animals, the image contrast was generally poorer for cool, inanimate objects, such as lane markings, signs and reflective road markings. Also, because automobile, windshields do not transmit long-wave infrared radiation, the camera had to be mounted on the outside of the vehicle, exposing it to the weather and, potentially, to damage from front-end collisions and road debris.

Lexus introduced the industry’s second thermal driving night vision system in 2002. Featured on the LX 470 sport utility vehicle, it had — instead of a thermal camera — an active thermal driving night vision system that used near-infrared illuminators and a CCD camera. Each illuminator consisted of an incandescent lamp filtered primarily to pass wavelengths longer than ~800 nm and designed to produce an angular distribution of light similar to that of a high-beam headlamp.

To improve the performance of vehicle-based active thermal driving night vision systems, researchers at Daimler-Benz AG in Ulm, Germany, developed an externally mounted diode laser as the near-infrared light source. Because the laser emits at essentially a single wavelength, a narrow bandpass filter can be used in the camera, which allows most of the laser light through while removing a large fraction of the near-infrared light from the headlamps of oncoming cars. This approach eliminates the image flaring that occurs in filtered-incandescent systems and allows the driver to have a clear view of the region near and behind oncoming traffic.

Placing the vision system on the exterior of a car would seem to be a natural design choice. However, from an engineering standpoint, it creates a nightmare because it is difficult to design an exterior lamp that is immune to water intrusion, which would wreak havoc with a laser and its power supply.

For this reason, engineers from Ford Motor Co. of Dearborn and Lear Corp. of Southfield, both in Michigan, designed and constructed a prototype system in which all components are positioned within the vehicle’s interior. Among the other advantages of this architecture are that it simplifies thermal management of the laser and its power supply; that the illuminator and camera apertures can be kept clear by placing them in the zone cleaned by the windshield wipers; that the number of common system components increases; and that the illuminator is protected from damage in front-end collisions.

The illuminator’s laser, which emits at ~810 nm, and its beam-forming optics, power supply and temperature management system are located in an overhead module. A lightguide collects and collimates the laser emission, and a holographic diffuser generates a beam pattern with horizontal and vertical spread angles (full width at the 1/e points) of 14° and 5.3°, respectively. A shroud that is sealed against the windshield prevents the laser light from being emitted into the passenger compartment. The illuminator meets the requirements of a Class 1 laser under all conditions.

This article comes from photonics edit released