427-0073-12-12 Version 120 May 2015 2-17
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Basic Operation and Configuration
While the imagery on the monitor may at first look similar to ordinary black and white daylight video,
experience with the camera in varying conditions and seasons will lead to an appreciation of the
characteristics that make thermal imaging distinct. A few tips on how to interpret the images may be
helpful.
The thermal camera does not sense light like conventional cameras; it senses heat or temperature
differences. The camera senses small “differences” in apparent radiation from the objects in view, and
displays them as either white (or lighter shades of gray) for warmer objects, and black (or darker
shades of gray) for colder objects.
The thermal imaging camera relies on the fact that all objects, even very cold objects like ice, emit
thermal energy in the portion of the infrared spectrum that this camera can “see”, the long wave
infrared (LWIR). Therefore, unlike an illuminated infrared camera, a thermal camera does not need an
additional active illumination source, and creates video based on directly radiated rather than
reflected energy.
This is why hot objects such as parts on an engines and exhaust pipes appear white, while the sky,
puddles of water and other cold objects appear dark (or cool)
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. Scenes with familiar objects will be
easy to interpret with some experience. The camera automatically optimizes the image to provide the
best contrast in most conditions, and in some cases the Scene Presets mentioned above and other
settings can be used to further improve the image.
With the Radiometry feature, the FC-Series R camera can provide temperature measurements and
generate alarms based on temperatures that cross pre-defined levels. The ability to use a thermal
camera to make reasonably accurate temperature measurements requires at least a minimum level of
expertise in the science known as thermography. There are quite a few factors that will influence the
accuracy and precision of a temperature measurement from the camera, and users are encouraged
to seek training. The Infrared Training center offers training (including online training) and certification
in all aspects of thermography: http://www.infraredtraining.com/.
4. By default, the camera represents hot objects as white and cold objects as black. The
camera can be set to use the Black Hot polarity setting, which displays hot objects as
black and cold objects as white and is effectively the negative of White Hot polarity. Refer
to Toggle Polarity, pg. 2-6.
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