Wide angle lens

[Charley L. Bottger]

Here are two images with the wide angle lens I was able to get the complete ceiling in front of both fireplaces no stitching one with no leak and one with a roof flashing leak. Stitching is time consuming

[David A. Andersen]

Life gets easier!

Wide angle has a greater depth of field and focuses easier too.

[Brandon Clark]

Originally Posted by cbottger

Here are two images with the wide angle lens I was able to get the complete ceiling in front of both fireplaces no stitching one with no leak and one with a roof flashing leak. Stitching is time consuming

I have got to get me one of those!!!

Do any of you know if FLIR sells any of their products at the InfraMation Expo or is it just classes and showing products?

It would be nice to be able to pick a lens up at InfraMation and have my camera calibrated to it vs. having to send it off and pay all the additional shipping costs along with not having a camera for a week..

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by bclark3

I have got to get me one of those!!!

Do any of you know if FLIR sells any of their products at the InfraMation Expo or is it just classes and showing products?

It would be nice to be able to pick a lens up at InfraMation and have my camera calibrated to it vs. having to send it off and pay all the additional shipping costs along with not having a camera for a week..

Don't think the calibration could be done at Inframation probably has to be done in their lab

[ldapkus]

Originally Posted by bclark3

I have got to get me one of those!!!

Do any of you know if FLIR sells any of their products at the InfraMation Expo or is it just classes and showing products?

It would be nice to be able to pick a lens up at InfraMation and have my camera calibrated to it vs. having to send it off and pay all the additional shipping costs along with not having a camera for a week..

I'm in the Level I class this week. I have a FLIR T300 and bought a wide angle lens. I got confirmation today that you do not need to recalibrate the new cameras with the different lenses. The lenses are automatically calibrated when you change lenses. The P600 is the same, no recalibration needed when changing lenses.

[David A. Andersen]

Who was it that told you this?

[Peter C. Russell]

Originally Posted by cbottger

Here are two images with the wide angle lens I was able to get the complete ceiling in front of both fireplaces no stitching one with no leak and one with a roof flashing leak. Stitching is time consuming

What kind of camera do you have?

[ldapkus]

Our instructor. I told him I was told I had to have it recalibrated and he reassured me that that was not necessary due to the design of the new imagers. Should I question his knowledge of his companies products and their capabilities?

[ldapkus]

This blog mentions it's versatility

In addition to the added versatility of manual and autofocus optics, optional FLIR lenses are auto-recognized by the camera eliminating cumbersome calibration routines in the field. An unmatched spectrum of easy-to-swap, close-up, wide angle and telephoto lenses are available: 6º, 15º, 45º, 90º, 2x, and 4x

[Charley L. Bottger]

Originally Posted by prussell

What kind of camera do you have?

I have the T 360 and Flir did say when I bought the camera that it had to be calibrated to the wide angle lens

[Brandon Clark]

Originally Posted by ldapkus

I'm in the Level I class this week. I have a FLIR T300 and bought a wide angle lens. I got confirmation today that you do not need to recalibrate the new cameras with the different lenses. The lenses are automatically calibrated when you change lenses. The P600 is the same, no recalibration needed when changing lenses.

That's good news to hear.. I can't wait to add the wide-angle to my arsenal. I'm waiting until the InfraMation conference to hopefully try before I buy or have a chance to see what the FLIR software is capable of.

[ldapkus]

Originally Posted by cbottger

I have the T 360 and Flir did say when I bought the camera that it had to be calibrated to the wide angle lens

That may be so with the T360. We have lots of T300's and T400's and P600's.

[David A. Andersen]

Who is your instructor?

I am not questioning him or what he said. I would just like to know who is doing the talking.

The lens is electronicly connected to the camera which makes the programing convert to that lens. Take off the dust cover and look for the 5 pins under it. It is not a snap on lens like some cameras.

It is very likely that you can "get by" without calibration for qualitative work, but you may not be using a "Calibrated" camera if your work requires it in some applications that require it. Home Inspection is not critical, a Nuke Plant is!

I just got my camera back from Flir and "Calibrated camera to a 45 degree lens" is "listed" on the Service Repair Report. Also, I know that calibration for High Temp Range Cameras has an additional up charge.

I was dealing with the service department, not the ITC Trainers.
They may be charging for unneeded work (like service contractors like to do) but it is only logical to me that if you stick another lens on a camera, it will change what the camera sees. We are not snapping digital pictures here. It is a measuring device.

Does anyone know what goes into camera calibration?
It's not like calibrating a thermometer with ice/boiling water.
If you saw what a scan from an uncalibrated camera looks like when it comes off the line, you'd be shocked how bad it looks.

Every pixel is calibrated across the temp range capability of the camera.

A wide angle lens causes distortion (fish eye effect). This will change the readings. Just as observation angle changes emissivity, so does the lens.

Even emissivity settings between camera A and B are not the same. Why is this?
When you get to the point in your training where you are "calculating" a process using the camera (ie. determine the wattage consumption of a heat source placed under an aluminum turkey fryer pot with TI) you will learn why you can only use one and the same measuring device (TI camera) for the process. Change the lens in the process and see what happens if it is not calibrated.

Why do they go through the trouble of embedding the lens information into the radiometric scan about the attached lens? Why connect the lens to the program? Because "it matters".

[ldapkus]

My instructor is Joe Gierlach a Level III thermographer. When I asked him about recalibrating the camera for the wide angle lens to do quantative measurements, he removed the lens and described how the pins on the lens and camera are for data transmission and a calibration is not necessary. From the looks of his resume, I tend to believe that he knows his s h i t. Should I question his knowledge?

[David A. Andersen]

No. Not at this point...

Those pins work with the calibration programed in your camera. Was your camera programed initially, or not?

I do not know your instructor personally (I know many). I am not here to call him out or refute your claims. I'm just gathering information. If I find information contrary to this, you will be the first to know.