Marionsho Loc: Kansas

Can I use a cheap IR camera to check for snakes in deep grass, of around rocks?
Would an IR filter on my XTi work just as well?
Marion

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Clever!

John Lash

Aren't snakes cold blooded? Interesting thought but wouldn't they be the same temperature as their environment?

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

I believe John's right on that... of course, you might find a warm one that JUST slithered in when you approached.

John Lash

I looked here...http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/hot-and-wild-14-thermal-images-of-animals

It says they're "heat stingy" and hardly show up.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

Opps. I haven't checked out your link yet, but, 9th grade biology taught me that snakes are cold blooded. That's the reason some like to be handled.
Duh.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

No IR cameras will not pick up heat you would need a heat monitor which is a different form of IR. A snake is cold blooded anyway so you wouldn't see them even with a heat sensor.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You'd need something like a Flir.

http://www.flir.com/instruments/display/?id=56784

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

This is correct. An IR camera is only picking up the spectrum beyond red which our eyes cannot see. A snake would not be seen unless it was out in the open.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

I always enjoyed the thermal images of F1 pitstops. They didn't show them near often enough for me.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I often thought of getting one to check for hotspots on the outside of my house in the winter.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

[quote=Marionsho]Can I use a cheap IR camera to check for snakes in deep grass, of around rocks?
Would an IR filter on my XTi work just as well?
Marion[/quote
No.
Cameras with I/R filters do not sense heat, and heat sensing cameras are not cheap.
I believe you can get an idea at www.grainger.com

katastrofa Loc: London, UK

Just use a strong flashlight, walk carefully, and not barefoot.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Somewhat off-topic. But an IR filter would reduce almost all of the visible light, making for long shutter speeds and high ISOs. You wouldn't be able to see, focus compose - with the filter attached. A better solution would be to use an infrared converted camera. Though using it, as others have mentioned, to reveal a cold-blooded animal, would be futile.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Yes, correct, altho I am sure that this discussion will go the usual 8 pages. True Trupites ignore science and favor opinion.. to opine is divine! Actually this is a good question to make us UHH people dig into IR photography and understand more about it.

The converted camera measures reflectance of IR vs the true thermal imaging which measures temperature. Simply stated a red surface reflects vs a red light bulb emits.

"For the temperature readings, the sensor can detect values from -40°C to 330°C. Oh, a quick reminder about emissivity. The IR camera can “see” things through two different mechanisms. It could see the light that an object emits from it’s temperature (this is what you want). However, it could also “see” things because of reflected IR light. Different materials reflect more IR light, this reflection is expressed with the emissivity coefficient. A coefficient of 1.0 would mean that no IR light is reflected and a 0 would be an object that reflects all IR light."

Best throw away the DSLR conversion and buy a iPhone.
https://www.wired.com/2014/10/seek-thermal-infrared-camera-iphone-android/

Don't get this sensor mixed up with the others that measure blood sugar, and other diseased states humm... Oh! like the unit used on Star-trek Second Generation ...those old clunky DSLR just can not compete with modern tech like the iPhone!!!