The cost of the training, equipment, practice, and knowledge of the limitations of what you may be seeing as compared to what you were seeing would be represented by the captured surface temperatures. When you gain knowledge of the restrictions of the imager, the lens along with other pieces of the device, it would affect what you may be looking at with it. 

Gaining knowledge about the boundary layer and its effect on the thermal images will help you purchase the best product suitable to your needs and budget. It would be pertinent to mention here that the price of thermal optics is relatively higher. 

You may come across a plethora of reasons for the high price of thermal optics. 

How expensive is thermal optics? 

You should rest assured that the expectations for camera pricing come directly from the visible camera market. Several people have purchased visible cameras earlier as well. As a result, they would be familiar with the pricing, have a decent idea about the potential increase, or decrease in the pricing. In the event of the price hike than the potential earlier price, they may deem it expensive. 

The component costs affect the price 

When it comes to the underlying technology, thermal imaging has been quite different from visible light cameras. With advanced technology components, the high volume production would help bring down the costs. However, with thermal imaging using the technique would be produced in relatively lower volumes than visible imaging, the component costs have been relatively higher. 

Material costs for the lenses 

Yet another main issue would be the material cost for the lenses. The glass used for the lenses may not be transparent for the wavelength range used by thermal imaging sensors. Therefore, you would need a different material for the lenses. A majority of thermal lenses are primarily manufactured from germanium. It is a rare metal costing a fortune in its raw form. The cost of refining the germanium and forming it into a precision lens would add to the cost. 

The higher cost of cooled sensors 

Another important aspect that increases the cost of thermal scopes would be the higher cost of cooled sensors. They are equipped in advanced or high-end thermal cameras. With the thermal imaging senses heat, the sensor would also sense the heat from the camera components. It would be added to the background noise of the resulting image. The cooled sensors would add a cryogenic cooler at the back of the sensor. It would lower the temperature of the sensors helping in the reduction of background noise along with increasing the sensitivity. A cryogenic cooler does not come cheap to be added to the camera system. It would add to the cost of the thermal scopes or cameras. 

It would not be wrong to suggest that thermal imaging would be made available in a wide range of prices and configurations. Therefore, you would come across a wide number of various reasons for higher prices. Nonetheless, the above-mentioned aspects would cover the major factors. You can get more information on www.agmglobalvision.com.