FLIR/thermal

[Hiker 1]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a good FLIR/thermal scope for some night hog hunting. I'm not looking for the top-of-the-line $7k model, but rather something between $2k-$3k.

Any suggestions?

[buckhorn_cortez]

FLIR makes a thermal camera that attaches to a cell phone and uses the cellphone screen for the display. They make one for Android products and one for Apple products.

Called the "FLIR One" Personal Thermal Imager. They're about $250.

[T. O'Heir]

FLIR means Forward Looking InfraRed.
"...night hog hunting..." You'd best look into the legality of that before you spend any money. You'd best look into the legality of hunting with any kind of thermal imaging kit first too.
These start at $3500. http://www.flir.com/thermoSightR-Series/
"...attaches to a cell phone..." Higher end cell phones have been doing that themselves for about 20 years.

[Hiker 1]

In Tx, where I'm going, hogs are a nuisance and there is no limit and no season. Legal to hunt at night, at least on private property, where I'll be.

[buckhorn_cortez]

FLIR means Forward Looking InfraRed

That's correct - and FLIR Systems Inc. (commonly called "FLIR") is a company that makes infrared cameras.

Here's a link to their website.

Higher end cell phones have been doing that themselves for about 20 years.

Don't think so. Cell phones didn't have cameras in them in 1995.

In 1996-97, I had two IR cameras that I purchased for a US Army Night Vision Laboratory project.

One was a FLIR Systems 8-12 micron camera. It cost $45,000 and had a $10,000 lens. The other camera was made by Mitsubishi and was a 5-7 micron mid-IR camera. It cost $57,000 and had a custom lens that cost $45,000.

So I'd like to know the 20 year old cell phone that could image IR.

Today, inexpensive IR sensors are made using an electro-spray (ESP)-deposited polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) thin film as a pyroelectric material, on a buried-channel MOSFET.

The next step is gallium arsenide sensors setup as micro-bolometers.

Expensive infrared cameras use cooled sensors with a Stirling cycle cooler.

Since silicon solid-state image sensors commonly used in cell phones are sensitive to about 900 nanometers without an IR filter. A cell phone camera is not going to see anything past near infrared.

True IR sensors start seeing things at about 1.9 microns (1900 nanometers) with mid-IR sensors going to about 7 microns in sensitivity. Long wave IR sensors are sensitive from about 8 microns to 12 microns.

No silicon cell phone camera will show any sensitivity past 1 micron wavelength - that's not an IR imager.

Can you give me the exact cell phone make and model number that is a true IR sensor?