Quote Photonics Online

"Until recently, most buyers of infrared imaging cameras had to make a budgeting choice between a low-resolution 160x120-pixel camera or no camera at all, but they soon learned they missed a lot at low-resolution," asserts Jon Chynoweth, Vice President of Mikron Infrared. "Starting at about $25,000 and going up from there, professional high-resolution 320x240-pixel cameras were too costly for anyone who was not a full-time thermographer or not working for a company that could afford to buy expensive tools that might be underutilized," he adds. "That changed in 2005 with our introduction of cameras costing less than $15,000 that use a high-performance 320x240 microbolometer detector. Still, many users want to know: why is higher resolution important in thermal imaging? Why have the professional thermographers always been willing to pay the premium for the 320x240-pixel detectors used in uncooled, focal-plane-array cameras?"


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