Commercially available portable image x‐ray intensifiers have found their usefulness with all existing x‐ray topographic techniques. Real‐time x‐ray topography can be employed to align the diffraction images rapidly before recording them on high resolution film. As a quality control procedure, real‐time Berg–Barrett x‐ray topography can be used to assess macrostructural quality of HgCdTe with approximately 100 μm spatial resolution. As a x‐ray screening technique prepared samples of HgCdTe can be assessed in real time before undergoing unnecessary costly processing on poor material. The advantages and disadvantages of the three basic types of x‐ray topographic system will be discussed. The usefulness of real‐time x‐ray intensification as a support tool to Berg–Barrett, Lang, and ACT topography techniques is evaluated. Also, instrument characteristics of the x‐ray intensifiers which are useful in real‐time x‐ray topography applications will be presented.