Which camera is preferred!?

That’s better. They seem to be a little unwilling to publish prices and want you to call them for a price and a sales presentation I’m sure.

What training did you receive with it?

It comes with training cd,sbut I also took the flir course

I heard from some, that IR cameras with too much resolution can show too
many anomalies and make the process of identifying them a chore… as
well as creating more chances for mistakes.

Very true, John. The BCAM is quite adequate for home inspectors. The higher end cameras are primarily used to identify extreme heat situations in electrical - mechanical applications or to detect thermal bridging on the top floor of the Empire State building. :slight_smile:

Fluke TI20

The auto-temp setting is cool!

I was looking at some RAZir last night for around 9800 dollars. Google it and like most things you will got a couple thousand sites to visit. Nice feature I liked about the RAZir is you can take an IR photo and a regular photo simultaneous and they will be side by side.

the side by side photo is a great feature for the reporting.But the regular photo is pour quality in low light so some times it needs to be replaced with a photo from your pocket digital cam.So far this is my only complant.

I would rather take an IR photo and a regular photo with my digital camera… and save $7000.00 :slight_smile:

:cool:

Home inspectors are not trying to resolve temperatures, we are just seeking to identify anomalies in the thermal image and then verify what it actually is and what is causing it. It does not matter what the temperature of a wet spot is, it only matters that we find it. This is why high end resolution is not needed. The problems we find are bigger than a tenth of a square inch.

True…
Thermal imaging does not replace our inspector instincts or techniques but does assist us with those. Durring our field training, we found an anomolie the size of my fist which was only 0.5 - 1 degree different than the surround ceiling signature but pegged the moisture meter when verified. Your exactly right, I don’t really care what exact temperature the anomlie is, only that I DO find it and get it verified with other inspection methods and tools. I’m not sure as I didn’t invest in a lower end camera, but I have a feeling it may not have picked up that 0.5 - 1 degree difference…unless there existed a great thermal contrast or delta T which in this case there wasn’t.

Identifying the actual temperature is not my point. Being able to identify anomolies which exist in residential applications (where high thermal contrasts are typically not present) is very important in my opinion. But that’s just it… that’s my opinion:)… and you know what those are like:p

The moisture seen in the left hand corner of the this room was detected with some areas being less than 1 degree difference with a FLIR BCAM. http://texas-inspection.com/ir_0361.jpg This photo was not touched up.

Good catch John. Here’s one I took The entire spot was 0.5 to 1 degree different.

TH780026a.JPG

BCAM rocks and only cost me $4800. :slight_smile:

The bad downfall of the RAZIR I found was that it stores the image in a format that cant be read by anything other than their software. The BCAMS both save in jpeg format. I use a PDA based software program for my reports and use the SD card to import images right into the inspection. I am VERY happy with my BCAM SD. Also I recommend taking a course from ITC. I took the 40 hour Building Science course from Scott Wood. Find a class he teaches.

Scott Woods with the BS course rocks.:mrgreen:

What is the least esxpensive camera with a resolution of 320 x 240?

I forget the models but I know they start at $12,000.

Here is one of them:

Kevin