IPI Thermal Imaging Cameras & Infrared Training

Thermal Sensitivity is an often overlooked objective specification. The number is small, and seemingly insignificant, but has major implications to image quality and measurement capabilities.

Most uncooled cameras will have sensitivity of around 0.1°C. This is considered average. The better uncooled sensitivities are less than 0.08 and the worst are closer to 0.2°C. Thermal sensitivity has a large impact on image quality as it results in either a crisp (good) or noisy/grainy (bad) image.

From a measurement perspective, higher sensitivity means we will see more temperature variation within a narrow band of temperatures.

Those applications which benefit most benefit from a high thermal sensitivity include building sciences, veterinary/medical applications, and professional thermographer’s who need quality definition in their imaging.