The new Flir T1K thermal imaging camera is the latest and greatest model on the market. It could quite possibly be the most sophisticated handheld thermal imaging camera on the market.
Let me start off by saying one thing – you cannot afford this. I cannot afford this. Many companies cannot afford this. The Flir T1K thermal imaging camera, model 1020, which is available with different lens options, costs $40K.
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Yes, that’s right – 40 thousand dollars, give or take a little.
I’m only going to give you some info on it because, if you’re seriously interested in buying one for your company, you should probably contact a Flir regional sales rep for a demo.
Flir claims that their new T1K thermal imaging camera offers:
- Best-in-class optics
- Outstanding image quality
- Flexibility and ease of use
- Fully radiometric jpegs and video
It features new OSX high definition optics – yes, they really named it “OSX” and Apple doesn’t seem to have complained thus far – which enable the sensor to measure temperature with the highest accuracy and deliver stunning image quality. The lens feel durable and polished at the same time.
Durable and polished at the same time? I don’t get that part, do you?
The HDIR optics are precise, and they feature continuous and quiet ultrasonic autofocusing. There are also manual focus controls, but the autofocus in the video looks to perform beautifully. They say that you can pick out details from twice the difference than if you were to use any of their previous lenses.
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There are 4 lens options – a wide angle 45° lens, “standard” 28° general purpose lens, a 12° telephoto lens, and a 3x close-up lens. It’s not clear as to whether the lenses are removable and interchangeable, although it seems that they are.
Flir equipped the T1K thermal imaging camera with a 1024 x 728 pixel sensor. But wait… using UltraMax technology, which I will post about separately, you can get up to 3.1 MP of image resolution. Wow, that’s a lot. Most thermal imaging sensor resolutions are measured in kilopixels, not megapixels.
320 x 240 is a fairly premium thermal imaging sensor size. That’s only 76,800 pixels. 1024 x 728 is 9.7 times that amount, and 3.1 MP is 40 times greater.
It also of course features Flir’s MSX technology, with enhances the thermal image using visible camera details. You can see examples of how well this works in my Flir E4 before-and-after-mod post.
You get programmable buttons on the camera body, a pivoting lens system, wireless connectivity, one-click instant reporting, ambient temperature compensation, and autofocus system, dynamic focus control, and of course the UltraMax and MSX image enhancement software.
Price ~$40,000
Here’s the promo video:
fred
Not for me either, but when the first Barnes Thermovision cameras came out – about 40 years ago – they cost over $100,000 – and had much less capability. Everyone pondered about who would possibly buy one – but the market and the technology developed.
The fellow (independent contractor) who did our lead paint inspections – invested over $30k in his first hand-held x-ray fluorescence instrument – paying for it with his $150 to $175 per room inspection fees. I guess what I’m saying – is that if you have the right application(s) for this – new FLIR camera – then $40k will seem like its a good investment.
KL
Good point, the first inspection cameras and even handheld infrared temp guns were cost-prohibitive, at least for most shade trees. Now you can get a temp gun for ~$25 and a decent inspection camera for well under $100
Jerry
Maybe if I win the lottery…..
Uli
I don’t get why you are astounded by the price. It’s a little like saying a 50k+ oscilloscope or spectrum analyser is too pricey. It certainly isn’t a tool most companies would need. The ones that “really” do need such a specialty tool will be able to generate the turnover. I just am amazed that they get this kind of resolution out of a thermal imaging device.
Stuart
I was only a little astounded. Given what I know about Flir’s handheld thermal imaging lineup, I was expecting a price to the tune of $20-25K.
I also wanted to mention the price up front to prevent readers from being too surprised.
I’m not saying it’s not justified, but it’s just a whole lot of money.
Pete
If i saved a dollar a day i could easily be able to buy this in only 109 years!