Lenses for R&D and Science
In research and development applications, the lens can be just important as the infrared camera itself. You need to choose the lens that places enough pixels on the target of interest to ensure accurate thermal measurements and provide a deeper understanding of a system's thermal performance—data that's needed to support critical decisions.
Whether you need to measure a large target at close distance or a small target at a long distance, Teledyne FLIR offers a wide array of lens options to fit nearly any requirement.
Want to see all the lenses?
Standard Lenses
Whether you are using a performance-level handheld camera or advanced-level cooled camera system, each camera system has a selection of wide angle, "standard" angle, and telephoto lenses that are ideal for the majority of applications.
Depending on the exact camera being used, the lens designation will be in focal length or degrees field of view. Teledyne FLIR offers several easy-to-use tools to help you determine the best lens system for your camera and application.
Macro & Microscope Lenses
When you need to measure temperatures on small targets such as surface mount components on a printed circuit board, it is important to use a lens which provides the spatial resolution necessary to achieve accurate temperature measurements. Luckily, there are several different options available depending on the thermal camera system, ranging from FLIR Macro Mode, which does not require a lens change, to microscope lenses.
Like standard visible light microscopes, the macro and microscope lenses will have shorter working distance between the measure target and the lens; however, special long distance microscope lenses are available for applications where you need to measure small items at distances up to 20 centimeters.
Long Range & Continuous Zoom Lenses
Not everything you want to measure or see with a thermal camera will be close or at a constant distance. Telephoto zoom lenses with high optical resolving power allow you to track and image objects at a distance. Those with continuous metric zoom provide time-space-position information, allowing researchers to analyze the characteristics of moving objects. While focal lengths once topped out at 300 mm, lenses are now available with continuous zoom from 120 to 1200 mm. When combined with a cooled science camera that offers high thermal resolution and a small pixel pitch, these lenses can achieve sharp focus on small or distant objects.
