Seeking camera suggestions

[William Bilotta]

I am an electrical contractor based in Illinois. I am considering expanding our services to our industrial/commercial customers to include thermal imaging of their electrical equipment.

I have looked at many cameras manufactured by Flir and Fluke. Too many choices.

Suggestions ? Recommendations ?

Also, where would we go to receive training and certification ??

Thanks,
Bill

[William Warner]

"Resolution is even more important in infrared imaging than it is in digital photography, and we all know how photographers boast about the resolution of their newest digital cameras," says Jon Chynoweth, vice president of Mikron Infrared. "In infrared, resolution affects temperature measurement accuracy, not just image quality. The 320x240 detector, with 76,800 temperature-measuring pixels, resolves an area smaller than a tenth of a square inch at six feet, while the 160x240 detector, with just 19,200 pixels, can't see anything smaller than twice that size. Lower resolution means you average in more background on your temperature readings, so you're less accurate, and you end up with a thermal image that looks like it's made of tiny little squares, no matter what the viewing distance."

[ldapkus]

Originally Posted by William Bilotta

I am an electrical contractor based in Illinois. I am considering expanding our services to our industrial/commercial customers to include thermal imaging of their electrical equipment.

I have looked at many cameras manufactured by Flir and Fluke. Too many choices.

Suggestions ? Recommendations ?

Also, where would we go to receive training and certification ??

Thanks,
Bill

I'm located in the Chicago area. Contact me and I'll see if I can answer any questions.

[John McKenna]

Originally Posted by William Bilotta

I am an electrical contractor based in Illinois. I am considering expanding our services to our industrial/commercial customers to include thermal imaging of their electrical equipment.

I have looked at many cameras manufactured by Flir and Fluke. Too many choices.

Suggestions ? Recommendations ?

Also, where would we go to receive training and certification ??

Thanks,
Bill

It would be wise to consult with those who are already trained using a thermal camera for the application you are talking about. Also, some very good training at a class that has actual demonstrations on hand, with various cameras, would help you see what each can do. If you take advise from anyone who is not actually doing what you propose, their advise will be flawed IMHO.

[William Warner]

Originally Posted by jmckenna1

It would be wise to consult with those who are already trained using a thermal camera for the application you are talking about. Also, some very good training at a class that has actual demonstrations on hand, with various cameras, would help you see what each can do. If you take advise from anyone who is not actually doing what you propose, their advise will be flawed IMHO.

Very good advice!

[William J. Decker]

Will. I am in the north Chicago area (Skokie) and have helped many contractors.

I also teach a state approved course in thermal imaging and have an advanced degree and would be happy to help (no charge, but I do have some old, funky wiring in my house ).

Call or e-mail me (see below).

Hope this helps;

[Tom Bramlett]

Is anyone familiar with a Flir PM365 and how well they will work for home inspections. I have access to one if I want to buy it.

[ekartal6]

Tom,

Is this the camera that's attached to aircraft?

[Tom Bramlett]

No, it's a standard camera. It's 4 years old. I have looked on line, but just cant tell much about the camera and it's application to our line of work.