Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown

[daves]

I found a better solution

I have already implemented your first solution  Anyway thank you for better one, I will rewrite it.

[mrflibble]

then write a histogram with this one-liner -> no temporary files and no pipe 

Code: [Select]

convert palette.png -resize 256x200! image.png -define histogram:unique-colors=false -write histogram:mpr:hgram mpr:hgram -delete 1 -alpha off -compose CopyOpacity -composite hist_color_trans.png

Nice one!  Saved for future reference.

[pomonabill221]

Wow look at this auction on e bay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321287622872?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
It is an e4 that is titled e4-e8 and it's over $1700 and in the questions he even said it's not an E8

And he even has the galls to admit that it was "upgraded" by the information that he found on line?!?!?!
Then he says he will downgrade it back to an E4 but doesn't say anything about reducing the price!
He even sold it for 2570 and had 30 bids!!!
If they only knew... they could have bought an E4 for about 1/3 the price and done the upgrade themselves!  Guess some people just don't research first.

[pomonabill221]

It looks like someone has seen a business opportunity in FLIR Ex series tripod mounts. See attached picture.

It was advertised on eb*y as "Flir E4 E5 E6 E8 Thermal imaging camera tripod adapter"

Looks like it uses clamp screws on the rubber handle 

I prefer the Georges80 design 

Sorry for small size....it was in Google's cache for eb*y.

Tried to find the listing and nothing came up... I don't like that design as it looks like there are several set screws that capture the bottom of the handle.  The handle is rubberized so the screws would chew up the handle.
I have designed my own and will post pictures.  I have a tripod mount and a table top adjustable mount.

[pomonabill221]

   Can't see any fraud, he's been truthful.   

Buys it for ~$900, applies a "public" hack (that others have spent time on), I doubt he has contributed anything to EEVBlog.
Has he explained that IF it ever goes in for repair, or gets a firmware update, the "extras" are GONE !!
He could then point them to the Forum and ask them to apply the hack themselves?? Sorry, I think it stinks.

I cannot agree MORE!!!!  He has NOT divulged all the repercussions of the hack and what might happen if the camera has to go in for repair/replacement... warranty VOID!!!!
And if Flir DOES repair the camera, yes he will just have an E4 for 3X the price!!!
I would love to post a public comment on this guys store so all can see, but why waste the effort?  If several of us could write him, that would put a crimp in his style?

[Fraser]

@plesa,

First I should make it clear that I am not an optical expert 

I have always worked with expensive Germanium optics and was told that they were the best for Thermal Camera lenses. I am aware that some industrial and military thermal cameras use a combination of Germanium and ZnSe lens elements.

Some years ago I discovered ZnSe as a lens that works at thermal camera wavelengths. When I discovered that document presenters use a No.2 bi-convex singlet close-up lens to achieve close focus for a standard Sony camera module,  I had the idea of using a ZnSe lens in the same way for
my thermal cameras. ZnSe has served me very well ever since. It has the advantage of being relatively cheap and available thanks to their use in CO2 cutting lasers. The Focal Lengths available were also perfect for my PCB inspection needs. ZnSe is pretty soft though and needs to be treated with care to avoid scratching. I have had a hard job finding any Germanium lenses with which to experiment so tried GaAs and that worked OK. GaAs has higher transmission losses though.

I am ALWAYS on the look-out for Germanium lenses and actively hunt e*ay. It is interesting that most auxiliary lenses seem to be based on Germanium so I have assumed that Germanium is still considered the lens material of choice. As I say, I am no expert in optics or optical material for thermal cameras. The little Germanium lenses that Junktronix has sent to me will be good to experiment with and compare to ZnSe. I have also purchased some Plano concave ZnSe lenses with which to experiment as they would be needed for building a non-image inverting telephoto lens. Finding a nice large, long focal length Germanium or ZnSe Plano convex lens for such a telephoto lens has proved challenging however.   

I welcome anyone's insight into the complex world of  optics and building auxiliary lenses for our cameras. I tend to build by experiment as I have to work with the specification of lenses that I can lay my hands on at a sensible price. It would be great to offer this forum a cheap way of achieving at least X2 optical magnification for the E4. The lenses will always be the challenge. I have just bought a nice mini lathe so can form the barrel with relative ease.

Playing with optics can be both challenging and fun 

[pomonabill221]

I have been able to change the cold boot logo into my own, but how is the "warm boot" logo changed?
It doesn't appear to be a static bmp or png, but a short animation (the blue horizontal bars move and grow).
Is this hard coded somewhere?  I seem to remember a post about this, but don't remember if anything was resolved about it.

Guess I should have said splash screen rather than logo...
Thanks!

[mikeselectricstuff]

I have been able to change the cold boot logo into my own, but how is the "warm boot" logo changed?
It doesn't appear to be a static bmp or png, but a short animation (the blue horizontal bars move and grow).
Is this hard coded somewhere?  I seem to remember a post about this, but don't remember if anything was resolved about it.

Guess I should have said splash screen rather than logo...
Thanks!

I suspect the other logo is buried somewhere, possibly in the bootloader, as it appears pretty quickly after a hard powerup. I'm sure WinCE has a mechanism for including custom boot logos, so WinCE docs would probably be a good place to look, but it could well be compiled into the bootloader image, which would probably be rather harder to get at, and more risky.

[tomas123]

What data you expect to fill free corner ?

I plan some kind of histogram - which temperatures in which count are populated over image.

Ideas ?

Hi Daves,

(1) temperature of center pixel https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg350250/#msg350250
(2) histogram https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flir-e4-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown/msg361468/#msg361468
(3) graph of temperature

You can draw a graph of temperature by a horizontal line in center of the image

first expand an image and select a palette

Code: [Select]

exiftool -b -RawThermalImage withlens.jpg | convert - gray:- | convert -depth 16 -endian msb -size 320x240 gray:- -auto-level image.png

exiftool -b -Palette withlens.jpg | convert -size 224X1 -depth 8 RGB:- -separate -swap 1,2 -set colorspace YCbCr -combine -colorspace sRGB -level 4096,60928 palette.pngcheck -colorspace RGB or sRGB for better colors (Linux/windows)

step-by-step:

Code: [Select]

convert image.png -crop 320x1+0+120 -resize 320x256! +repage 1.png
convert 1.png -size 320x256 gradient:gray100-gray0 -compose Minus_Src -composite -threshold 0% 2.png
convert 1.png palette.png -clut 2.png  -alpha off -compose CopyOpacity -composite 3.png
//replace transparence with color white
convert 3.png -flatten 4.png

resize the graph with -resize HxV!


here the same as one-liner - escape brackets in Linux with \(

Code: [Select]

$ convert image.png -crop 320x1+0+120 -resize 320x256! +repage -write mpr:gr palette.png -clut \( mpr:gr -size 320x256 gradient:gray100-gray0 -compose Minus_Src -composite -threshold 0% \) -alpha off -compose CopyOpacity -composite 3.png


[plesa]

Wow look at this auction on e bay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321287622872?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
It is an e4 that is titled e4-e8 and it's over $1700 and in the questions he even said it's not an E8

Easiest way how to resolve this is to report it to eBay.

[ixfd64]

I saw that the other day. However, I don't think it is actually breaking any eBay rules as the user never claimed it was an E8 (although I do find the title to be somewhat deceptive).

[Navynuke]

I have been sent a firmware upgrade from a source outside of EEVBlog for the K-series cameras (interestingly enough numbered 1.19.9) I would love to give anyone here a shot at it but it is ~10 mb zipped. If you want a copy shoot me a message and I can setup a box/dropbox folder so that you can see what all comes with it. I have taken the web directory out of the flash FS directory in the K series and it permits the changing of the default cases for the camera but i have been reluctant to change the calibration as I do not have access to any blackbodies. I also wanted to see what anyone else might find in this first. One thing I figured was going to get someone with greater code skills than mine's attention is that the K-series appears to use the same camera core but operates at 60Hz. I had thought about tricking the camera into upgrading to the K series and then reintroducing the E features but wasn't sure that would work and wanted to see what anyone else thought first... It might be that there are fundamental differences in the hardware (extra circuits on the board, etc) but it seems unlikely as they are fixed focus same basic camera.   

[Taucher]

I have been sent a firmware upgrade from a source outside of EEVBlog for the K-series cameras (interestingly enough numbered 1.19.9) I would love to give anyone here a shot at it but it is ~10 mb zipped. -snip-

Do you mean flir_kxx_v1.19.9_update_pack.zip (9,95 MB)... that one is public on the official update-site

[plesa]

@plesa,

First I should make it clear that I am not an optical expert 

I have always worked with expensive Germanium optics and was told that they were the best for Thermal Camera lenses. I am aware that some industrial and military thermal cameras use a combination of Germanium and ZnSe lens elements.

Some years ago I discovered ZnSe as a lens that works at thermal camera wavelengths. When I discovered that document presenters use a No.2 bi-convex singlet close-up lens to achieve close focus for a standard Sony camera module,  I had the idea of using a ZnSe lens in the same way for
my thermal cameras. ZnSe has served me very well ever since. It has the advantage of being relatively cheap and available thanks to their use in CO2 cutting lasers. The Focal Lengths available were also perfect for my PCB inspection needs. ZnSe is pretty soft though and needs to be treated with care to avoid scratching. I have had a hard job finding any Germanium lenses with which to experiment so tried GaAs and that worked OK. GaAs has higher transmission losses though.

I am ALWAYS on the look-out for Germanium lenses and actively hunt e*ay. It is interesting that most auxiliary lenses seem to be based on Germanium so I have assumed that Germanium is still considered the lens material of choice. As I say, I am no expert in optics or optical material for thermal cameras. The little Germanium lenses that Junktronix has sent to me will be good to experiment with and compare to ZnSe. I have also purchased some Plano concave ZnSe lenses with which to experiment as they would be needed for building a non-image inverting telephoto lens. Finding a nice large, long focal length Germanium or ZnSe Plano convex lens for such a telephoto lens has proved challenging however.   

I welcome anyone's insight into the complex world of  optics and building auxiliary lenses for our cameras. I tend to build by experiment as I have to work with the specification of lenses that I can lay my hands on at a sensible price. It would be great to offer this forum a cheap way of achieving at least X2 optical magnification for the E4. The lenses will always be the challenge. I have just bought a nice mini lathe so can form the barrel with relative ease.

Playing with optics can be both challenging and fun 

Thanks for info, I will try to find the source where I found the differences.
I also found quite cheap Ge, but it is not lens.
http://mtafz.wufpx.servertrust.com/product-p/wit-ge-101.htm
Lot of Novotech items are on eBay.

[Navynuke]

I have been sent a firmware upgrade from a source outside of EEVBlog for the K-series cameras (interestingly enough numbered 1.19.9) I would love to give anyone here a shot at it but it is ~10 mb zipped. -snip-

Do you mean flir_kxx_v1.19.9_update_pack.zip (9,95 MB)... that one is public on the official update-site

Yep that would be the one... I thought I might be onto something.....

[mikeselectricstuff]

K series does look quite similar, but lens looks bigger, probably necessary for 60fps

[Navynuke]

K series does look quite similar, but lens looks bigger, probably necessary for 60fps

That does look to be the same front mount as the Exx series (I know because it took a bit to figure out how to change the lenses on the Exx series) so it probably isn't the same Oh well I wasn't really worried about the speed I am still more interested in additional high temp readings. By utilizing the web portion of the K series thermacam webpage (not astra) it allows the min/max temps to be adjusted just not equipped to see if it truly changes it and what the effects on accuracy might be. I am working on putting together some different options for calibration and will report back as to the results

[Taucher]

@K-series:
I did a complete mirror of anything normally downloadable from Flir and took a look in every Firmware-file.
Unfortunately except for the Exx series file there was little similarity to be found - especially little or no ui.d folder.
Even the Exx appcore is different and does not work in conjunction with the Ex DLLs ... I wasn't brave/dumb enough to try a complete Exx -> Ex replacement (plus there could be essential Exx files that are missing in the update file)...

[pomonabill221]

I have been able to change the cold boot logo into my own, but how is the "warm boot" logo changed?
It doesn't appear to be a static bmp or png, but a short animation (the blue horizontal bars move and grow).
Is this hard coded somewhere?  I seem to remember a post about this, but don't remember if anything was resolved about it.

Guess I should have said splash screen rather than logo...
Thanks!

I suspect the other logo is buried somewhere, possibly in the bootloader, as it appears pretty quickly after a hard powerup. I'm sure WinCE has a mechanism for including custom boot logos, so WinCE docs would probably be a good place to look, but it could well be compiled into the bootloader image, which would probably be rather harder to get at, and more risky.

Thanks for the info.... guess I will leave well enough alone as it doesn't really affect the functionality of the camera and as you said, could be very risky!
Changing the cold boot logo is good enough!

[mvh]

Anyone have shapeways print the closeup lens holder that was posted here? Any problems? I got contacted from shapeways that they won't print the stl before I beef up the material thickness in a spot they had marked on a render of the file. Unfortunately the pic is a bit unhelpful in illustrating the problem...

On the other hand, the tripod adapter was printed and looks/feels fine. Now, if I only could find one of those nutserts or even what the heck they are called around here so I'd know what to ask for in the hardware store....

[Bonocr]

@mvh

I have printed myself the lens holder: no problems, for best result infill 100%

[mvh]

I didn't think that there was really a problem with the model, dunno why shapeways cant print it with their nice commercial printers, when it has been done on a hobbyist printer.

I've been planning on getting a 3d-printer, but have considered it to be a bit too expensive project, so unfortunately I have to rely on services available. Now that I've bought a thermal cam (and the external charger and an extra battery!) I may have to review the issue. Now, if there only was a bit more of that elusive "free time" floating about...

[wilheldp]

I didn't think that there was really a problem with the model, dunno why shapeways cant print it with their nice commercial printers, when it has been done on a hobbyist printer.

I've been planning on getting a 3d-printer, but have considered it to be a bit too expensive project, so unfortunately I have to rely on services available. Now that I've bought a thermal cam (and the external charger and an extra battery!) I may have to review the issue. Now, if there only was a bit more of that elusive "free time" floating about...

My 3D printer cost less than the E4...and I printed some stuff for work which has earned me far more than I paid for the printer.

[Bonocr]

I didn't think that there was really a problem with the model, dunno why shapeways cant print it with their nice commercial printers, when it has been done on a hobbyist printer.

I've been planning on getting a 3d-printer, but have considered it to be a bit too expensive project, so unfortunately I have to rely on services available. Now that I've bought a thermal cam (and the external charger and an extra battery!) I may have to review the issue. Now, if there only was a bit more of that elusive "free time" floating about...

If you need the lens holder send me a PM

[gilbjd]

Anyone have shapeways print the closeup lens holder that was posted here? Any problems? I got contacted from shapeways that they won't print the stl before I beef up the material thickness in a spot they had marked on a render of the file. Unfortunately the pic is a bit unhelpful in illustrating the problem...

On the other hand, the tripod adapter was printed and looks/feels fine. Now, if I only could find one of those nutserts or even what the heck they are called around here so I'd know what to ask for in the hardware store....

I had Shapeways (Eindhoven, Holland) print 3 of them for me in black laser sintered nylon using the stl file you refer to.

They did it quickly and without any queries. They came out fine and are a perfect, firm push-fit on the front of the E4.

I'm using them with 3 inch and 4 inch focal length ZnSe lenses obtained on eBay.