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  1. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    ahhhh.... annoying. I think I've probably been using sNETD on all of mine. I'll have to put some time in and double check everything. thanks for the correction. the fact that the Merger XP50 is cheaper than the Telos XL50 is ridiculous! do you experience the night blindness when using a bino...
  2. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    For more modern Pulsar thermals (I can't get it to work with my XP28s) I like to hook up an iPad in the vehicle, and then cast the feed from the thermal to the ipad. That way when driving, if we have more than just 1 person in the car - everyone can look at the thermal information. It was...
  3. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Can you share where you show that it's 40mK? All of the websites I see show <20mK: ---------------------------------- Yes I think I may. See above. I think I might get rid of some of the less important info (or atleast hide it): aperture, lens focal length, base mag. and then I could...
  4. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Agree on the cons of the Pulsar unit, though those aren't problems I've had before. I'm still thinking I might pick up a Pulsar XP50 (again) just because when I last purchased one I paid $4K, and now they're available for $2K or less (used). The XP50 line with lower NETD performs better in high...
  5. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    I added 5 of the Pulsar Binos to the chart: the only ones that look interesting are perhaps the XP35 / XT50 but those price tags are something... ----------------------------- and the Zeiss DTI 6 20/40 models: the DTI 6/20 looks pretty good for price to performance on paper. need to...
  6. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Yeah I definitely need to look into alternative brands. I really like Pulsar, but it seems they may be asleep at the wheel recently. A lot of the thermal hunting groups I'm in are using new "up and coming" brands. Other brands seem to be more open to wider FOV. The XP35 Merger does have better...
  7. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    I talked to some Pulsar reps about this, and it's because of the target audience - hunters. The main people buying thermals are hunting boars, coyotes, and foxes. They're often shooting from quite a range, so they prefer a narrow FOV with further detection and (potential) ID ability. I'm sure...
  8. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Ah I understand you now. I'm going to have to do a poll of friends and family to see how everyone does it haha. I never considered what you're describing. Basically you prefer to scan with your whole body/neck instead of mainly scanning with your eyes inside the thermal. The way I use it, is...
  9. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    I'm trying to understand what you're saying, and also make a comparison that will make sense for FOV lol. I am also generally looking for static subjects, not chasing moving ones. Best way I can describe it is that a wide FOV allows you to cover more ground in less time, and see more at once...
  10. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Mainly I'm just getting lazy and want more convenience. When I traveled to Yellowstone/Tetons recently I had a variety of different camera and drone batteries, and carrying 2 Helion thermals with extra batteries and proprietary chargers was an annoyance. More weight, items to keep track of, and...
  11. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Do you mean it has no focus ability at all? Or it just isn't as detailed as you'd like? I've only tested the AGM TM10-256, and I don't recall having any issues with focusing. The specs on that Pixfra Arc A613 look very interesting.... 13mm f1 lens and 640 x 512 sensor with 12um and <30MK NETD...
  12. N

    Best Swarovski Scope setup for digiscoping

    For camera gear yes, but I don't believe it can compete with digiscoping from what I've seen at the distances I'm interested in. I used to be willing to try and shoot anything at any distance with my camera gear, but as I've gotten better - I've learned that no matter how good your camera gear...
  13. N

    Best Swarovski Scope setup for digiscoping

    Thank you for the feedback Jason! I followed you on IG and looked at your blog, and love your stuff! Do you have any issue with the BTX being a fixed magnification as opposed to the ATX zoom? I'm thinking the BTX 85 or 95 may be the best all arounder for me. Seems the 115 will let in more...
  14. N

    Best Swarovski Scope setup for digiscoping

    apologies if this is the wrong forum for this. I looked at the digiscoping specific options, and the subforum options didn't seem to match what I'm looking for I am coming mainly from a photography background and have a Nikon Z9 + 600TC. I was just out in Yellowstone and while watching one of...
  15. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    if anyone has any other models they'd like added to my spreadsheet, please let me know... I haven't paid much attention to thermals in the last 9 months since it's been too warm to really use them. as we close in on winter, I'm starting to review again. looks like Pulsar recently came out with...
  16. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    not necessarily the case, as we've seen with the FOV and Helion XP28 :) released nearly 8 years ago and there's still nothing better, regardless of price. certainly nothing cheaper!
  17. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Usually I don't use my thermals unless it is below 55F (12.8C?). You can certainly use it at all temps - but you need there to be a certain level of temperature differential between you and your subject. The bigger the differential - the better your results will be, and the easier it will be to...
  18. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    I've had the opportunity to use both of the thermals you're considering (friend's units). Here are the specs against eachother for reference: The lens size is mostly irrelevant on its own. It comes into play when considering other variables, all else equal. Since your use case is quite varied...
  19. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    The chest carrier is still one handed operation. I tried the neck strap before and didn't like it "flopping" around while I walked. It was also a bit awkward having two straps - one for the thermal and one for the camera. I still haven't figured out a better solution yet.
  20. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    also I'm still trying to figure out the best way to carry the thermal with gear if you're using small lenses (70-200 f2.8, 300 f2.8, 400 4.5, 600 6.3) the cotton carrier system works great. I put the lens foot in the main slot, and the thermal on my side but with the bigger primes like my...
  21. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Everyday I get more impressed with this thermal technology. I will never go out looking for wildlife again without it. In a decade of going on walks and looking for owls, I would come up empty handed a majority of the time. Since I got my Pulsar XP28, I haven't had a single dry outing. I've...
  22. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    got to try the Pulsar Axion 2 XQ35 Pro today looking for owls. we successfully located two screech owls with it. for $1500 (30% of the Telos XP50 price) it offered about 80% of the quality and features. If you're going to go with a narrow FOV anyways, that's certainly a more cost effective...
  23. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    my friend is most likely going to be returning the iRay ZH38 as he finds the build quality is not up to snuff for the price here's my first review ish of the 3 units I have this weekend I'll get to try the Pulsar Axion 2 XQ35 Pro, and I'll probably buy an AGM TM15-384 eventually because I...
  24. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    a friend of mine got his iRay ZH38 the other day and these are his initial impressions: "Ok, first night under my belt with the ZH-38. It was a lot to take in at first as I got accustomed to how one of these thermals functions, but eventually I set out on a night walk to try and see what I...
  25. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    gotcha, good to know! if you ever end up wanting to sell that XP50/28mm lens, let me know. I'd love to purchase it
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