The $500 FLIR Thermal Camera Tested
Author: Ethan Ace, Published on Jun 19, 2015
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Comments (27)
Chris Dearing
Good stuff, Ethan! Thanks.
Minor question here:
Is 320x240 considered 4x the resolution of 80x60?
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Undisclosed #1
I've been aware of this upcoming camera for a while and I can't figure out what the real point of it is.
These days, 720p is essentially entry-level resolution, 1080p is mainstream and 3MP and 5MP are fairly common for cases where you want a step up. And, obviously, there are options for even higher resolution way beyond that.
To call something with an 80x60 sensor, 4800 pixels, a "camera" in the modern cctv market seems almost devious. Even the camera boards for hobbyist microcontroller products like the Arduino have 640x480 resolution cameras.
As noted above, you'll NEVER get any usable detail from the camera at any range. Thermal cameras in general suffer from lack of good details, and this is almost purely a blob-vision unit.
I like that this review concentrated on the analytics comparisons, because that's what this unit is really about.
To me, this is an advanced outdoor motion sensor, not a "camera". It should have a more robust API (IMO) and 4+ configurable contact-closure outputs. Something that can make it useful both for ONVIF-style motion-activation recording, as well as useful and easy to install for burglar alarms, outdoor lights, and similar cases.
I have a feeling that the actual reliable range of this unit would be more like a 100' range and 75' HFOV though. In large part due to the fact that because of the very low resolution objects are very "blobby" and you lose a good amount of granularity if you want to set ROI's or Tripwires with any degree of precision, as is often the case when using products like this for perimeter protection purposes.
It's somewhat surprising and concerning to see innovation in thermal cameras moving towards lower-end devices with questionable applications. As camera resolutions have increased, along with much better low-light capabilities and "pro" cameras coming with decent onboard IR, it's harder and harder to find cases where thermal cameras are a logical approach. I see 3 main categories where thermal makes sense over optical cameras, and they are all fairly niche in the grand scheme of the market:
1) Solar deployments where night video is important. Overall, thermal will be much lower power use than a camera + IR of any kind.
2) Requirements to spot objects at very long range. Not just the ability to cover a large chunk of perimeter with a single camera, because it's often similar price and better overall system to use 2x or 3x the number of optical cameras (even counting in VMS licenses, labor, etc.), but cases where you need to spot an object a distance where there is no way to place the camera closer, such as boats off shore. And this too assumes you have a strong night-time requirement because an optical camera or PTZ would probably overall be better during the day.
3) Applications where you need to see at night and need an absolute passive approach. Prisons, etc. are concerned about the red glow of ir illuminators giving away the location of the ligths or cameras, so thermal can be useful here.
A lot of the marketing for thermal cameras used to concentrate on things like the ability to deal with strong backlighting or other scenarios where an optical camera wouldn't be able to provide a good image even in daylight. While those situations CAN occur, I think they are fairly rare and can often be solved by adjusting camera placement or other things. The current crop of optical cameras is also much better at dealing with challenging lighting than what we had even 3 years ago.
In day-to-day use, for just basic CCTV or applications needing some kind of analytics I don't think the current crop of thermal cameras, even at $500, can provide better all-around performance than a similarly priced optical camera option. You give up 100% of the detail for potentially a slight false alarm reduction?
The overall CCTV market seems to be trending away from thermal cameras. We haven't seen any of the mainstream manufacturers announce a thermal option in the last few years (after the wave of the offerings from Axis, etc. a few years back). DRS basically imploded and is not just OEM'ing stuff, and FLIR went the other direction and is selling thermal cameras plus low/mid-market Dahua gear with FLIR logos.
It would be great to see some real innovation with thermal cameras, but this isn't it, IMO.
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Greg Cortina
FLIR employee response
Did I misread the part about testing it with the Avigilon Rialto? Wouldn't the Rialto be considered a "True Analytic" device and doesn't it send clips and such?
It appears the range covers the 75' requirement as tested and a 4 Channel Rialto paired with 2 of the TCX cameras and 2 1080p IR cameras would be a reasonable analytics and verification solution.
The internal VMD is a nice tool when true classification isn't required and cost is a large factor.
Most people who have used thermal in an analytics application would agree it makes for a better detector and a terrible identification device. Price would be the leading reason for not using it.
This device is designed to help bridge the gap in short range applications as described.
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Undisclosed Integrator #2
Hi John,
I read this discussion recently and am wondering if you still feel this is still a viable / economical solution to detect intruders outside / construction sites? It appears so.
I've noticed this unit is discontinued by Flir now however the 25 degree version is still available online but the 50 degree version is pretty much gone.
Any ideas on a viable replacement? I see Flir has an FB series ID that looks comparable. Anything in the works to review recent FLIR offerings?
As always, your input is appreciated!
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Undisclosed Integrator #2
Any info back from FLIR yet?
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