Hi guys,

Has anyone attended one of these Inframation Conferences sponsored by ITC ( aka FLIR )? I have been considering going to pick up some tips and realize that I will be putting a few grand out of pocket to attend which is okay as long as there is decent content. I would consider my level of knowledge to be intermediate at best.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

DanS

Yes, I have been there three times. Ths content is a mix of very good to not so good, but I am sure there is something there for you. The clinics are usually good too. The best thing about it is mixing with other thermographers, and talking with your peers. Very often a two minute conversation is worth the cost.

Thanks Bob for the feedback. This is kinda what I am looking for. I have paid for seminars, for instance, in the past only to attend them and find little of value.

It seems to me a lot of time seminars seem tailored for individuals not inclined to do any reading on their own. I do read into a topic I am interested quite a bit and subsequently when I attend a seminar I am often disappointed because they do not take me to a new level of understanding.

Thanks again,

DanS

I have never been, but have seen some of the papers that come out of those conferences. They seem to provide a pretty good level of detail and analysis.

I also think ThermalSolutions and IR/INFO are pretty good (and independent) infrared focused conferences.

There is great value in supporting independent venues and these 2 events have a long history of good quality presentations and workshops.

Not the Inframation is not wonderful - I equate it to buying washing machines and lawn mowers in the big box stores while the local service oriented vendor goes down the drain. Good luck having a quality service/warranty experience! Once the independents are gone - the service from the bigs will get even worse.

I will pay a few more dollars for my lawn mower and hope my local lawn supply store stays open.

Supporting independent conferences like IR/Info and ThermalSolutions is very good for the Infrared community. You do not want a vendor produced event as the only IR focused event available - I can assure you.

What did Napoleon say about power?

Terry O

Thanks Terry,

I agree 100% and at the end of the day I guess I am one of those LSOVs ( hey new acronym that I am going to steal from you and call my own

I was not even aware of those two conferences but will definitely look into them. Come to think of it I think Snell sponsors one of those.

Oh but wait... If I go to the vendor sponsored one they will "turn on my camera and confirm to me that it powers up." - That is a $500 value !!!

DanS

I just checked into those two conferences. Glad to have found them and will keep them in my radar. It seems that they have come and gone for this year but I did look at the past content. The seminars are definitely smaller in scale compared to the ITC in terms of presentation choices and sheer volume but I guess smaller doesnt necessarily mean less.

Thanks for the lead.

DanS

Very few of the papers presented at inframation are by Flir or ITC staff. There are some, yes, but not many. Most of the papers are presented by users that are themselves "Independent", so while I do get Terry's point about supporting smaller conferences, I think the content is just as independent. The camea check, I have never availed of as I dont really want to bring my camera in to the USA, but I think it may be a little more than just switching it on. Where Flir/ITC do have a big input is in the clinics. For instance the Reporter clinic is presented by Flir software staff, and they are able to answer pretty much every question I have ever seen asked. So if you are a Flir user, it can be very benificial. I cannot speak about the other conferences that Terry mentioned, as I have never attended them, but I would say they are both very good too. Thermal Solutions is run by Snell, and knowing John and his staff I would imagine this is run very professionally. There is also Thermosense, I attended this a few years ago while on holiday in Florida, it is also quite good.

Dan,

Getting together with other thermographers in the right environment IS an amazing experience. We'd certainly welcome your coming to our conference. We've crafted it carefully to be about the professional interchange of information, whether in the presentations, the short courses, on the breaks or over a beer in the evening social events. We may not be the biggest, but last year we had over 200 attending. Because we are independent of camera sales, we are the only venue where all the camera suppliers show up in force—in fact two suppliers gave away brand new infrared cameras (Fluke and Mikron)as prizes!

I might suggest you try the "budget approach" as a first step and purchase the Proceedings of one or more of the past conferences; you can find them on the conference website <http://www.thermalsolutions.org>. I'm sure doing the same for the other conferences would not only give you a "feel" of what they are like but also give you some great content.

Honestly, I would NOT recommend Thermosense as its focus has changed dramatically over the past several years—the NDT is good but most of the rest is very high end R&D and the tradeshow is 100% military IR—interesting but mostly not relevant to our work. It is disappointing as it has been a great 30 year run—Proceedings for Thermosense are also available and I highly recommend them! See <http://www.spie.org> for details.

We will shortly be announcing some major changes in our conference that, I'm confident, will make it even better and more accessible. Please watch out website for details.

Thanks again for taking the time to continue your own professional development. I know I find it essential to do so for myself and always appreciate the viewpoints of others.