This video was shot on February 12th, 2022 during another cold snap our city was suffering.

The temperature was a cold -25C or -18F. I know, I should have plugged in the car on that day. You can hear the cold as the motor starts to turn. But hey, the battery has some serious cranking power, so I was spared this time around.

Here is the YouTube video.

After about 8 minutes of running, the steering wheel was a comfortable 20 degrees C / 68 Fahrenheit. The seat started to get warmer as well. Actually, it seems to get warmer when one actually sits on the seat. I think there are sensors which detect a person sitting.

This video was shot using an overlay technique.

---

We visited the zoo on April 3, 2021. It was 16 degrees Celsius (or about 60 degrees Fahrenheit) which is a pretty warm day for April in Winnipeg.

At the zoo, the animals have 3 different types of enclosures:

1. Enclosed steel cages
2. Walled cages
3. Glass cages

In the enclosed steel cages, the animals were completely surrounded by a wire mesh. Viewing animals through a mesh of steel grids slightly obstructed the thermal camera but it was the same experience as viewing the animals with the bare eye.

In the walled cages we had a direct view of the animals - nothing obstructing the view because the walled cages were normally lower.

The third type - glass or plexiglass cages - does pose a problem for thermal cameras. Although an awesome experience for the bare eye or with a normal camera, it does not work at all with thermal cameras. Thermal cameras cannot see through glass or through plexiglass. It is similar to looking at a mirror. The only thing you will see is your reflection.

Because of this limitation, certain animals could not be filmed when viewed behind glass.

Here is a collection of some of the animals at our zoo.

Enjoy.

My most surprising observation with the thermal camera was the video of the tiger. You can actually see the stripes on the tiger thermally. I did not expect that at all.

One fun thing I found using the camera was looking for birds in the aviary. As a kid when I visited the zoo, we would rush through the aviary because we couldn't find any of the birds hidden among the tropical plants. With the thermal camera, it made it alot easier to find where they were hiding.

---

This video was shot on February 13th, 2021 during a cold snap our city was suffering.

We had a morning temperature of -37 degrees Celsius (-34.6 degrees Fahrenheit) during this experiment. These temperatures are definitedly at the bottom range of our camera which is rated to a temperature of -40 degrees Celsius.

Below is the YouTube video of the event. This time, rather than having an overlay of the thermal over the visible as we had done in our previous article, we put together a side-by-side video (or a diagonal side-by-side to be more precise). A good portion of the water immediately turned to water vapor, but some also made it to the ground.

Now for the interesting observation. As the vapor, or mini clouds, go over the trees and houses in the background, this does not effect what is seen through thermal.

Thermal imagery goes through these clouds. It is as though these clouds were not even there. Visible light of these clouds blocked the background and trees from view from our eyes and our normal camera.

Additionally, if you pause the video at just the right moments, you can see the hot water leaving the cup, but then it disappears as the cold weather does it's thing and freezes the water droplets.

We hope you enjoy this side-by-side view of this popular cold weather experiment.

---

The video was shot on February 7th, 2021 during a cold snap our city was suffering. Winnipeg, or "Winterpeg", as the residents fondling call it, had a temperature of -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) during this experiment. Below is a screenshot of the forecast.

Below is the YouTube video of what we observed. Observation: A good portion of the water immediately turned to water vapor, but some also made it to the ground.

We hope you enjoy this unique view of this popular cold weather experiment.

---

We shot a video of our freshly boiled kettle alongside a glass of ice cold water. We then cycled through all the color palettes available for viewing.

Here is the thermal video. Enjoy. Which is your favorite?

---

Visible Light

Everything we see with our eyes is seen within the range of the electromagnetic spectrum called visible light. Everyone has their interpretations of colors in visible light. As such, visible light has a color palette. When you click this square you can view a color palette in your browser. With this palette you should be able to create almost any color you would see with your eyes, or at least within your browser.

Color Interpretations

Everyone interprets colors differently, but not everyone sees the exact colors the same way. When the eyes see a color, the brain interprets these colors to a color you have been taught.

For example, if someone says...

What color is around this text?

...then chances are they will say green. Although the color may be uniquely and differently interpreted by an individual's eyes and brain, you have been taught that the color you see is green. Your green may look completely different to another person's green because everyone's eyes and brain interpret colors to that individual. Some colors may be interpretted as the same color by some individuals. This is evident with people who are color blind.

Temperature Color Associations

You probably heard of the expressions "Red Hot" or "Cool Blue". We associate red with hot, and blue with cold. This appears to be universal concept. Fire is hot, and it is reddish. Certain industries have standardized on this concept as well, plumbing for example. Cooler packs are always blue. Red is for Hot and Blue is for Cold.

Infrared is different. There aren't visible colors in this range. So how do electronic devices suchs as infrared or thermal cameras interpret these colors? Well, similar to temperature color associations, we could have red being hot and blue being cold, and with some color palettes this is the case. However, what thermal cameras see is a whole lot more.

Thermal Palettes

Thermal imagery occurs in the spectrum beyond visible light. As such, we cannot see it with our unaided eyes. To view this light, we would have to map known colors into the unseen world of infrared.

Thermal cameras view the world by interpreting the temperatures objects radiate. So we can view these temperatures, cameras assign color palettes to temperatures, or more precisely, to temperature ranges. We have put together a collection of color palettes from 2 of the major manufacturers of personal thermal cameras, Seek and FLIR.

Note: Not all products from these companies may have these exact palettes, and they may change with different models. Other products may have different names and palettes as well.

With the Seek Thermal Compact Pro camera, there is a choice of 9 different color palettes. First off, here is a picture taken with a regular camera.

Visible

Below are the different Seek palettes:

1. White
   
2. Black
   
3. Spectra
   
4. Prism
   
5. Tyrian
   
6. Iron
   
7. Amber
   
8. Hi
   
9. Hilo
   

---

With FLIR Scout TK Series camera, you have a choice of 9 color palettes as well:

1. White Hot
2. Black Hot
3. InstAlert
4. Graded Fire 1
5. Graded Fire 2
6. Iron
7. Lava
8. Rain
9. Color Wheel

Thermal cameras also do some ranging with the image in their view. If everything in the picture is at room temperature, with a few objects hotter or cooler, then these hotter and cooler objects would stand out from the background room temperature. That is the intent of thermal cameras, to hi-lite the object which has a different temperature than its surroundings.

With the choice of different temperature palettes, the thermal camera user can adjust their views of their image, allowing them to fine tune their viewing experience.

Summary

Even though there is an unseen world in the infrared range of the magnetic spectrum, we can view these wonders by mapping out a user selectable color palette to these temperature ranges.

---

We heated up a can of soup using the induction cooktop and a pot. This oven can get a can of soup heated up to boiling in under 2 minutes. Quite impressive.

Here is the thermal video. Enjoy.

---

The video can be broken down into 2 sections. The first section we fill the sink with hot water and then do experiments with our hands, cold water and ice. In the second section we fill the sink with cold water and put in our hands and hot water.

Spoiler alert. Based on our observations it appears that thermal cameras cannot see underwater and it does not matter the temperature of the water.

Here is the video. Enjoy.

---

Here is the box opening video of the Compact Pro.

---

I have been fascinated about thermal imagery and videography for some time. So I decided to purchase a camera.

After doing some research, there were options within my price range. I figured I would buy an attachment for a smartphone. There are 2 major players out there for this type of attachment - FLIR and Seek.

Comparing the specifications of 2 similar models, I decided to go with the Seek CompactPro camera. Although both FLIR and Seek had their pros and cons, I leaned towards the Seek CompactPro camera with the sensor size as the deciding factor.

I placed the order on September 22, 2020 through Amazon. The order is expected to arrive on the following Monday.

Stay tuned.

---