FLIR
HM Series night vision camera
“I want one of those”. “I
want it now, and I’ll figure out what to do with it later.”
That’s the reaction of almost everyone who sees and handles Flir’s HM camera.
What you do with it is really very simple: it’s a night vision camera, so you use it to see in the dark – most obviously, perhaps, as a safety device for locating someone who has fallen overboard, or to help spot unlit boats, bouys, or debris. But unlike many other night vision devices, it works by detecting heat, rather than by amplifying visible light, so it will work even in pitch darkness. At the same time it will not be damaged – as image intensifiers are -- if it is accidentally pointed at a light source or used in daylight.
But perhaps the most appealing thing about the HM is that it’s a hand-held device, rather than one that has to be fixed to the boat. Whilst this does rules out the use of high levels of zoom, it does mean that you can take it home when you leave the boat, and use it for other things such as watching wildlife or home security.
Tough and waterproof, yet so light weight that they even float, there are four versions ranging from a basic model, with no zoom and a 240x180 image, at a list price of 2300 Euros. Other versions add features such as increased resolution, 2x zoom, and a recording function, at prices up to 4600 Euros.