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Field of view, smallest detectable object and measurement spot
Thermography: knowledge and practice
The field of view (FOV)
The field of view (also called Field of View or FOV) describes the area visible with the thermal imaging camera. It depends on the lens used. Wide-angle lenses are suitable for large fields of view, telephoto lenses for good spatial resolution.
The larger the field of view, the more area I see. A wide field of view (> 30°) is particularly practical when using the thermal imaging camera indoors, as the walls mean that you can only move away from the measurement object to a limited extent in order to see more.
Questions? Interest?
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The smallest measurable object / the measurement spot (IFOVmeas)
The smallest measurable object describes the smallest object that can not only be detected, but whose temperature can also be reliably measured. With a spatial resolution of the lens of 3.5 mrad and a measuring distance of 1 m, the smallest detectable object has an edge length of 3.5 mm and is shown as a pixel on the display. For exact measurement, the measurement object should be 2 to 3 times larger than the smallest detectable object. The rule of thumb applies to the smallest measurable object (IFOVmeas): IFOVmeas ≈ 3 x IFOVgeo
The smallest detectable object (IFOVgeo)
The smallest detectable object is the smallest dimension that can be detected by a pixel. A pixel is an element on the thermal imaging camera's detector that absorbs IR radiation and converts it into electrical signals. Each pixel corresponds to a measurement value.
Thermography in practice
Find out in our compact tutorial how theoretical basics and the right thermal imaging camera can be used to create meaningful thermal images in practice.