Classic design of an industrial thermal camera has the microbolometer PCB mounted in free air but there is a large diameter cylinder mounted around the actual microbolometer. Length is dependant upon optical block design but I believe the cylinder offers a reduction in side sensitivity and internal illumination from the camera electronic/case. It acts like like blinkers to limit what the FPA can 'see' from off axis heat sources.
Some designs such as BST based thermal cameras do not have the cylinder fitted but they do have well designed optical blocks with less opportunity for off axis illumination. Its all about good design. IMHO the SEEK lens tube is too small and possibly too long relative to its diameter.
The SEEK microbolometer appears to have been designed as a low cost thermal detection FPA but we are not privy to the design objectives and its other intended uses. 12um microbolometers are not the most common and may have inherent problems due to the small die size and associated ROIC that also generates heat. The FPA may well meet the original design spec but needs some attention to how it is deployed to prevent thermal gradient and noise issues. I always thought it brave of SEEK Thermal to use direct bonding of of the microbolometer to a PCB that contained heat sources, rather than using a thermally neutral daughter board to isolate it from internal thermal sources.
SEEK thermal appear to have had miniaturisation as a key objective. Maybe if they had made the camera a little larger, and a little more expensive, they could have managed the issues that we are seeing. It is no good being the smallest, lowest cost solution if it is fatally flawed ! The SEEK is not fatally flawed but it does have issues that I would have expected to have been sorted out before release to the public.
Have SEEK Thermal been honest, open and transparent regarding the cameras limitations....... IMHO, no they have not met this criteria for managing customer expectations. I have used equipment that clearly states any known negative characteristics present in the design, such as frequency stability, real world accuracy, internal noise/signals that are to be expected etc.
I feel that SEEK Thermal should make it clear that the SEEK camera is a compromise solution providing thermal imaging but with a relatively high noise floor and a thermal gradient. The customer is then in a position to decide whether the cameras meets their needs. The publicity pictures certainly do not show the level of gradient and noise that we have witnessed in this thread.
I was and, to a degree, still am, a supporter of SEEK Thermal. I can't help feeling that they are 'fumbling the ball' though. A disastrous V1.6 software release that did not rectify the noise or gradient and produced daft temperature readings.....how the heck did that get out of development undetected ? We are still waiting for a software from SEEK that deals with these issues. I do hope that this is not a 'we got your money now, so who cares' attitude.
SEEK Camera .....Such potential, as yet not fully released.
Sadly I cannot recommend the SEEK to others until they get it sorted out. Not great when the product was supposed to be so revolutionary. I am not losing any sleep over the $200 cost though. I spend more than that on thermal camera parts and lenses.
Aurora