Thermal or normal camera to find a lost dog?
A normal camera is enough in daylight over open ground. A thermal camera wins at night and at dawn, when a warm body stands out against cold ground. Neither sees through a dense tree canopy.
| Normal camera | Thermal camera | |
|---|---|---|
| Best time | Daylight | Night, dawn, cold days |
| Recognise the dog | Yes: colour, shape, markings | Hard: a warm shape |
| Midday sun | Good | Poor: the ground heats up too |
| Under light cover | Through the gaps | Somewhat better through gaps |
| Under dense canopy | No | No |
| Image size | 4K or more | Usually 640 × 512: fly lower |
| Drones | Almost all | Mavic 3T, Matrice 4T, Matrice 30T and other professional models |
Which one the app uses
The AI of Animal Drone Rescue AI is trained on normal colour video. It does not analyse thermal images yet. With a thermal drone you can still plan and fly the search with the app and review the thermal video yourself.
Night flights
Many countries allow flying at night only with lights on the drone, and some not at all for recreational pilots. Night flying rules by country.
App Store · coming soon Google Play · coming soon
Reviewed on October 23, 2026.
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