Raymarine FLIR Thermal Camera

Thermal cameras are now well within reach of the trailer boat market with FLIR launching the M132 and M232 thermal imaging cameras. Boatadvice.com.au journalist Dom Wiseman recently got a first-hand look at the units. The M132 is a tilt only option. It points directly ahead and can move only up or down while the M232 is a pan and tilt camera. It can spin 360 degrees in addition to move up and down.
The cost of these units are considerably less than anything previously available with the M132 priced from $3,595 and the M232, $4,995. With the recent reductions in radar it makes the perfect accompaniment and the FLIR units complement the Raymarine Axiom Multi Function Display with a plug and play operation with the addition of a HS-5 switch.
The cameras use infra red to see what's ahead by separating temperature differences down to 0.1 degree allowing boaters to see and identify obstacles. A radar will show you an object but it sometimes takes a little time to establish what exactly you are looking at. The new thermal cameras are useful in direct sunlight, heavy fog/sea mist and of course darkness. You can combine them with radar enabling you to identify wharves, pylons, buoys and of course other boats.
The M232 was designed to be the smallest, lightest and least power consuming infra red thermal camera. It allows vision in 320 x 240 and both units come with a 4X digital zoom allowing fast identifications. The effective operable distance depends on the size of the object but as best we could identify the unit can see a ferry at around 1.3 kilometres while a smaller object like a person in the water is 450 metres.
Boatadvice.com.au got to experience the true capabilities of the thermal units simulating a man overboard scenario at night on Pittwater. As soon as a man overboard situation arises, push the man overboard icon on the Axiom MFD and the camera swings into action automatically panning to the position to locate the heat signature.

[@matthewadams9900]

Awesome! I am getting one. I salmon fish a lot in Astoria Oregon and have to deal with the fog all the time.

[@nuttintoseehere9141]

That's what radar is for.

[@thypanhapich2935]

How much ?

[@metaobserver657]

gimbal stabilisation function for swell?

[@nickking8317]

Are these compatible with Lowrance and simrad ?

[@jans2166]

Far to expensive. Producing those cams costs approx $ 750,-