Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
- By ITC

IR Camera introduction

IR Camera introduction ......................................................................................................... 1

IR Camera Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2

Lesson objectives ................................................................................................................. 2

Controlling the image ........................................................................................................... 3

Temperature range ....................................................................................................... 3

Level and span .............................................................................................................. 4

Measurement functions ....................................................................................................... 5

Capturing an image ............................................................................................................. 6

The “Big Three” ........................................................................................................... 6

Temperature range ....................................................................................................... 6

Optical focusing............................................................................................................ 7

Image composition ....................................................................................................... 7

Storage devices ............................................................................................................ 7

Practical tips ................................................................................................................. 7

Questions............................................................................................................................... 9

Student Notes ..................................................................................................................... 10

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
- By ITC

IR Camera Introduction
How the infrared camera is operated. The basic functions.

Infrared camera operation is a skill that takes practice to learn, just like with everything
else. This chapter deals with camera operation in general, and its purpose is to give you
tips to make your life easier, but also to prevent you from making potentially disastrous
mistakes.

Infrared systems are different, and development is fast, which is why the actual buttons
and controls are left out from this chapter. Instead, we have concentrated on what is
common to infrared systems. As a supplement to the course literature, you will receive a
camera guide that covers the specifics of the equipment. Please note that the learning
objectives for the lesson connected with this chapter still include camera operation in
practice, as is stated below.

Lesson objectives
• Inserting battery and memory unit

• Switch on and off

• Adjusting viewfinder focus

• Optical target focus

• Auto adjusting the image

• Menu system operation in general

• Manually adjusting the image (level/span)

• Controlling measurement functions

• Freezing and saving the image

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
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Controlling the image

The names and the way the controls are operated may be different, but the principle of
operation is always the same. The most recent terminology is used here.

Temp. Range Span/Level

+120°C

Span Level

-40°C

Figure 3:1. The image is controlled by selecting a Temperature Range, and setting Level and Span

Temperature range

Temperature range is the basic setting. Most instruments have 2-5 temperature ranges.
Range is the setting above which and below which temperature cannot be measured. The
fewer and the wider the ranges, the easier the instrument is to operate and use. The
temperature range can technically be achieved in a few different ways, sometimes in
combination. The need for having temperature ranges is the same as for normal daylight
cameras and their apertures. We must limit the radiation reaching the detector, or it will
be saturated – overloaded with energy. Apertures are used in many older systems, and
they are usually controlled with a mechanical knob or button. The second method is by
putting a filter in the radiation path, which limits the radiation reaching the detector – just
like sunglasses. The third method is by electronically limiting the sensitivity of the
detector.
If we would choose to display the colours of our image palette over the whole
temperature range, only a few of the colours would actually correspond to temperatures
in the image. We would normally end up with a very dull image. You can try that with your
camera. Set a very wide span, and vary the level until an image appears, and watch the
result.

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
- By ITC

Level and span

”Span” is the part within the temperature range we currently use. Another way to think of
span is “thermal contrast.” We can make the span wider or narrower. Most systems
display 256 colours. This has technical reasons, as well as practical. Our human eyes are
unable to see the difference between more colours in the same image, and displays are
usually unable to display more.
So if, for example, our span were set to 50 degrees, the colours would be spread out over
that temperature width. But will it be 0-50, or 25-75, or 50-100? If it is 50-100, and we are
watching a room temperature scene, no image will be shown. The whole image will
instead have the colour that corresponds to “below 50” in our scale, which is usually black!

139,2°C

100

50 L l Span

0
-6,7°C

Figure 3:2. Level and span

”Level” is the middle point of the span. Another way to think of level is “thermal
brightness.” The solution to the problem presented above is to move our 50-degree span
downward in the scale, in order to make the colours cover the room temperature scene
we are watching. When we do that, we may find that we are still not using all of the
colours in the scale. We can fine-tune it further. For about ten years now, instruments have
had an automatic function Autoadjust, that gives us a rough setting of Level and Span of
the the image, so we can avoid searching too long. Those functions are usually not
enough to use if you want to analyse the image properly, so you must be able to operate
the level and span controls. How to use the functions for image analysis will be described
in a later chapter, along with other methods. For now, you should make sure you know the
practical operation and what the functions do in principle.

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
- By ITC

Measurement functions

Figure 3:3. The isotherm replaces certain colours in the scale with a contrasting one

Modern cameras offer many functions to use for temperature measurement. The oldest
one is the isotherm. The isotherm would not have made it through the years if it had not
been so good. It is still a very versatile and useful function, as you will find later in the
course.

Figure 3:4. The spot meter is a simple and convenient function

The second invention, historically, is probably the spot meter. It is a very popular function
due to its simplicity. Area functions, which can show the hottest, coldest, or average
temperature within an area, are also very useful.

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
- By ITC

Figure 3:5. In this image, the area function is set to show the maximum temperature in the box

When you practise using your camera, you should familiarise yourself with the functions
that are available in your camera, and practice how to operate them.

Capturing an image
Capturing an image is done by freezing or storing it, or both, in consecutive order. Of
course, for reporting, the image must first be stored in the camera, so it can be
transferred to a computer to create a report file for hard copy.

The “Big Three”

There are a few rules that are general, regardless of what camera you are using.

Three things can never be changed after freezing or storing the image:

• Temperature range

• Optical focusing

• Image composition

• (On some cameras, there is also a limitation on changing level and span afterwards)

You have to make sure you have them right, or you will either have poor results (or none!),
or you will have to go out in the field again and capture a new image!

Temperature range

We explained before what temperature range means, and just like with any kind of
measuring device, you have to set a range that includes what you want to measure. It is

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
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also true for most devices that if you set the range wider than it needs to be, your
measurement precision suffers. To put it bluntly, you cannot expect to read millivolts if
your gauge is set to kilovolts.

Optical focusing

Optical focusing is important, not just because a poorly focused image reflect very badly
on the thermographer – it looks very unprofessional. Your reports are usually the only part
of your work that other people see, so that is where their impression of your work is
created. But it does not stop there, the truth is that your measurement precision is also
affected by your focus. Unfocused images will give you false temperature readings!

Image composition

Image composition contains many parts. It deals with the way you present the target in
the image. You don’t want to put your target far away in the corner. Neither should you
go too close, so that important information is cut away. The most common mistake that
beginners make is to stand too far away from the target. The general advice is to go
CLOSER! Yes, do keep a SAFE distance! Many times, however, we see images where the
field of view of the camera is under-utilised. And, just as with focus, image composition is
not just a question of imaging the target. You guessed it! If you are too far away from your
target (i.e. the target is too small in the image) you cannot measure temperature properly!
Exactly how that works will be covered later in the course.

Storage devices

The Polaroid photographs of old days are fortunately something we don’t have to deal
with anymore. These days we store images digitally on floppy disks, PC-cards, or flash
memory cards. Some cameras have only a direct connection to the PC using a USB cable.
Familiarise yourself with the storage device your camera uses, and make sure it is with you
when you leave your office. In fact, it may be good to have a spare tucked away in your
instrument case for emergency use…

Another note is to make sure that your computer has the ability to import these images,
for example, if you store images on a PC-card, then your computer must have a PC-card
reader.

Practical tips

In short, we suggest the following two things.

• Keep your screen clean!

• Freeze before analysing!

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
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Keep your camera image as clean as you can while scanning a live target. Keep minimal
measurement functions active, or none at all. Most of the time you spend in the field is
used to find possible problems, or anomalies. As you will learn later in the course, this task
does not involve measuring temperature. That is why you should keep as little measuring
functions active in the image as possible.

Another thing that tends to clutter up your screen is menus. Keep minimal menu items
active, if they take up actual image space. You can bring the information out whenever
you need it, which is less often than you might think.

Freeze, and/or store the image before analyzing it. A frozen image is normally preferred
for analysis, unless of course you are looking at an event that changes with time, and this
change in itself is the subject for your analysis.

You can get out of dangerous or uncomfortable areas if you quickly focus and freeze the
image. A still image is calm and steady, and much easier to analyse. You can use all the
analysis functions in the camera, without having to worry about pointing the camera
exactly at your target.

It is the frozen image that will appear in your report later, so take your time to study it in
the freeze mode before storing, and decide whether this is what you want to keep. If not,
unfreeze again and take new one!

Working like this takes the stress out of the work to a large degree.

Rule of Thumb: Get as close to your target as safely possible while retaining the
important elements in the image.

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
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Questions
1. What three things can never be changed after you capture an image?

2. What would you normally prefer to analyse, a live or a frozen image?

3. What is the first thing you focus when you pick up a camera?

4. What does Level and Span mean?

5. What will the camera do when you use the Auto adjust button

6. How many temperature ranges does YOUR camera have?

7. Double check that you are able to do the things described in ”Lesson objectives”

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 Chapter 3

IR Camera introduction
- By ITC

Student Notes

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