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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

A BETTER upgrade than the new oly 300mm f4? (3 Viewers)

cango

Well-known member
Perhaps. Perhaps not. But for me I think so :)

A hide for water birds, to zoom "with my feet". And a shorter - the ts apo 480mm, for a wider view. Though it might be to long, but it all depends.

Had planned to build a home made "Hidrohide" first - even bought all the materials - til I stumbled across "MrJan". The portability of the project (or lack of) was what kept me from building my own. Now I can inflate it on site in 5 minutes, and ready to go.

But the main thing up here (or down) is to keep warm in the waters after the ice on the lakes have melted away, late feb/mars. for that a dry suit is needed.
Thankfully we have no alligators/crocs or hippos...

the telt cover is home made of materials I already had.
 

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That looks sweet! And a great idea. I never was that "die-hard" to get pics but I think you may have just motivated me. ;)
 
That looks sweet! And a great idea. I never was that "die-hard" to get pics but I think you may have just motivated me. ;)

Thanks :)

I must admit it's not entirely to get the pics. It's something very special to observe closely, without them noticing you. (No, I'm not a stalker in real life. not with people at least)

Lot's of info out there how to build one (not this particular one though) search for "hidrohide" to get most results.
 
Thanks! Hope it floats as well... ;-)

Very nice ! You will have to be careful with the waves; the scope is very close to the water. Having done a lot of duck hunting in blinds, camo boats and sinkers, I think you will need to add windows on all sides, covered with camo net, to see where you are going, see what is going on and watch bird movement.
 
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Very nice ! You will have to be careful with the waves; the scope is very close to the water. Having done a lot of duck hunting in blinds, camo boats and sinkers, I think you will need to add windows on all sides, covered with camo net, to see where you are going, see what is going on and watch bird movement.

Thanks, Jules. Yes windows are a must. Had not done it when photos was taken, because I was not sure where to place them, or how big. Need to raise everything up from the floor, so to simulate me standing in the water. Will be making fix and tweaks after first swim with it.

Hopefully it will not be that many waves where I'll be going (no motor/boat traffic) besides those waves I'll be making myself.
 
Perhaps. Perhaps not. But for me I think so :)

A hide for water birds, to zoom "with my feet". And a shorter - the ts apo 480mm, for a wider view. Though it might be to long, but it all depends.

Had planned to build a home made "Hidrohide" first - even bought all the materials - til I stumbled across "MrJan". The portability of the project (or lack of) was what kept me from building my own. Now I can inflate it on site in 5 minutes, and ready to go.

But the main thing up here (or down) is to keep warm in the waters after the ice on the lakes have melted away, late feb/mars. for that a dry suit is needed.
Thankfully we have no alligators/crocs or hippos...

the telt cover is home made of materials I already had.
Carlos,
Looks cool. Chest waders (neoprene) may be enough (and cheaper than dry suits) but you go that way you need to assess the risk venturing too far into too deep water... So after all a dry suit is probably better as it also provides some boyancy. What's the plan if you lose contact with bottom, by the way? Beware of off-shore winds...
 
Carlos,
Looks cool. Chest waders (neoprene) may be enough (and cheaper than dry suits) but you go that way you need to assess the risk venturing too far into too deep water... So after all a dry suit is probably better as it also provides some boyancy. What's the plan if you lose contact with bottom, by the way? Beware of off-shore winds...

Waders may indeed be enough depending on his position on the raft. A thin surfing wet suit may also be enough if the water is not too cold. Waders can become dangerous if they fill with water. These rafts are better used with fins for propulsion. 1 m. deep is more than enough.

I have a friend, Christian Chavalier, who specialises in bird photography using a kayak. He tells me that the birds are not afraid of him because he is low on the water. Being camouflaged, Carlos should do even better and it will be easier to carry. See some of Christian's photos here:
http://www.pbase.com/christian_chevalier/au_fil_de_leau
 
Yeah, the dry suit vs waders... that's why I haven't done this earlier. Could justify the dry suit cost, and waders would be too risky and limiting.

waters will be cold, at least after several hours, thus I opted for the dry suite route.

what happens if I loose contact with the bottom? I'll scream! :)
Not sure yet. I plan to start easy and test it slow and in safe waters, and take it from there.
 
Yeah, the dry suit vs waders... that's why I haven't done this earlier. Could justify the dry suit cost, and waders would be too risky and limiting.

waters will be cold, at least after several hours, thus I opted for the dry suite route.

what happens if I loose contact with the bottom? I'll scream! :)
Not sure yet. I plan to start easy and test it slow and in safe waters, and take it from there.

You won't have any problems using fins unless the current is very strong.
 
Perhaps. Perhaps not. But for me I think so :)
Had planned to build a home made "Hidrohide" first - even bought all the materials - til I stumbled across "MrJan". The portability of the project (or lack of) was what kept me from building my own. Now I can inflate it on site in 5 minutes, and ready to go.

Carlos,
This is very interesting. I have thought about doing something like this for quite some time. Can you tell me more about this "MrJan" product? I could not find anything in a Google search. Good luck with your project and please keep us updated on how it goes.

Dave
 
Carlos,
This is very interesting. I have thought about doing something like this for quite some time. Can you tell me more about this "MrJan" product? I could not find anything in a Google search. Good luck with your project and please keep us updated on how it goes.

Dave

http://mrjangear.com/product-overview/

here is another similar, though not as portable (depends how far one must go from the car to the waters.

http://www.floating-hide.com/index.php/en/product

some links regarding "hidrohide"
http://www.alejiga.com/fotografiar-con-hidrohide/

a diy
http://www.canonistas.com/foros/blo...e-se-pueda-transportar-maletero-cualquie.html

http://mrjangear.com/richard-stehlik/
http://www.naturalfoto.es/clips/48785/4182/
 
Carlos,
First have a question related to your new scope and how you attach it to the head. Can you share some more information about what looks like a home-made attachment that replaces the CNC rings? Any idea about the weight? (Refer to attached picture, green arrow).

Next - I have been thinking about your concept. One idea I have is to design an add-on to a so-called "belly-boat". Just add a platform and a dome/camo net. The scope would be at ~20-25 cm above water level and needs to be operated through the LCD, which is not an issue as long as the distance to eye is comfortable. Not being constrained by water depth would be an advantage, and with flippers you can explore quite large areas. Launching and landing without putting the setup at risk might be a bit tricky though...
 

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Carlos,
I have been thinking of just getting a piece of camo net, maybe 3x3 or even just 2x2 meters to drape over me when I sit somewhere. Don't want to bother with any kind of hide. What would you reccomend? Where to buy?
 
Quick Google search returned this local retailer:

http://www.rodastjarnan.com/kamouflage-och-maskering/kamouflagenat

Width is 2.4 meters. Relaxed width is about 1.6 meters

Costs 99 SEK (~11€) per meter.

I got one of those awhile ago (army camo net) downside is that they are quite heavy to have over you. I prefer one of those http://www.engelsons.se/jakt/camouflage-1/lov-camou-set-wildtree-10066

I have a light green one as well for summer (from the US) Great mobility,
 
I have done a lot of waterfowl hunting and I didn't find these camo nets very useful. IMO, the 2 most important factors are 1- immobility 2- break your silhouette by sitting in front of a rock or a small tree. When hunting on rocks by the sea, we used to cut a small conifer and bring it with us to somewhat hide behind it. It did the job quite well and lasted a whole season.
 
Problem is there are places at the North Sea where there is NOTHING to hide behind and little or nothing to hide in front of. Immobility really is the best tactic.
 
Problem is there are places at the North Sea where there is NOTHING to hide behind and little or nothing to hide in front of. Immobility really is the best tactic.

Laying on the ground, where possible is also very effective. I have also used camo material hanging on a few sticks to give it the form of a rock about 1 meter high, making sure it doesn't move with the wind. No need to make it like a box blind, hiding behind it cuts the human silhouette and works well as long as you don't move. Make sure you use material with appropriate colors for the surroundings.

Camo clothing seems to help but is useless if you move.
 
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