Affordable thermal device that comes with a screen? (1 Viewer)

[OkamotoKeitaSin]

About a year ago I had the chance to use a thermal monocular (Pulsar Helion I think) but it made me dizzy within minutes. I'm fine with binoculars, but generally can't handle even ordinary monoculars. The experience put me off using thermals for birding, but I was recently able to play with an InfiRay PH35 which I loved, not just because looking at a screen was felt easier on my eyes, but also because others who were birding with me could look at the same thermal image.

I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for similar products that won't break my bank. There are some Youtube videos praising the Infiray T2 Pro, has anyone used it before for birding?

Edit: My main objective is to locate calling but hidden birds and not identify them through the thermal.

 

[Vollmeise]

OkamotoKeitaSin,

You could connect Your Smartphone to any Pulsar Helion and use it as a Display.

When mounted on a tripod, You even could align the thermal with a scope or with bins to find the objects you are looking for with ease.

 

[Torchepot]

Hi OkamotoKeitaSin

my Infiray T2 Pro arrives on Monday and I’ll be using it to scan for birds and mammals (amongst other things) I’ll post on BF when I’ve got some idea how it performs.
There are occasionally very good offers here in the U.K. which make it one of the most affordable thermal devices.

 

[OkamotoKeitaSin]

OkamotoKeitaSin,

You could connect Your Smartphone to any Pulsar Helion and use it as a Display.

When mounted on a tripod, You even could align the thermal with a scope or with bins to find the objects you are looking for with ease.

Oh I didn't even know that was possible! Thanks, that's great to hear, opens up more options.

Hi OkamotoKeitaSin

my Infiray T2 Pro arrives on Monday and I’ll be using it to scan for birds and mammals (amongst other things) I’ll post on BF when I’ve got some idea how it performs.
There are occasionally very good offers here in the U.K. which make it one of the most affordable thermal devices.

Looking forward to your updates 😃

 

[Torchepot]

Well that didn't go as expected! Got a good deal from Amazon on a warehouse deal (I've used these before and usually the item is new but the box is damaged) never had an issue previously and sometimes saved a bundle.
It arrived a day early (delivered on a Sunday!) but as soon as I opened the carton I could see there was a problem, basically the camera, lead, case and any paperwork or sign of the original packaging were missing. Just the grip and phone holder in a plastic bag! Looks like someone ripped Amazon off spectacularly and/or the warehouse people were totally clueless.
Good thing about buying from Amazon though is returns are usually pain-free, so now just waiting on a refund before I have another go.
Very frustrating as I was itching to give it a whirl.

I have looked at a heap of videos on you tube, mostly from the hunting fraternity, and it looks like a really good performance for the price.

 

[OkamotoKeitaSin]

Ah, that's a bummer! I hope the refund and the second purchase goes well...

The Youtube videos make the product look amazing, I think (hope) it'll perform well for birding too.

 

[Torchepot]

Refund was very quick and the replacement arrived today!

First impressions are very positive - super easy to set up and appears to be extremely well made.

I haven't used thermal gear for more than twenty years! so long ago that they were mains powered with cooled sensors (that took ages to get to working temperature) weighed a ton and cost megabucks.

By contrast this tiny little affordable beast is extraordinary. It's so small that a serious concern is that it would be very easy to lose!

Anyway it's going to be a steep learning curve but it certainly works well and as we live in a very challenging location for a device like this (heavily wooded and with water all over the place) it should be a good test.

Using the grip is very handy, extremely easy viewing which you can share with other people.

Checked out a bunch of issues with our property first (very old and draughty). Then ventured out on the lane. First bird I detected was a wren - pretty impressive considering its size and the density of the cover. I picked up two robins, a blackbird and what was probably a treecreeper. In a very swampy patch where I've seen woodcock previously I got a very bright static subject, but I lost it trying to get a better view.

Played around with palettes and finally settled on hot white, stuff really jumps out when you get on it but finding small stuff in dense woodland was pretty hopeless. I could hear contact calls but couldn't pick up any hits. Still it's early days and only went out for an hour.

Battery went down by about 40% without recording anything, so maybe 2 1/2 hours run time on a full battery.

Thinking about picking up a cheap refurbished phone with replaceable batteries.

I'll try it out in the dark tonight and post an update on my findings.

 

[Torchepot]

Went out after dark which was quite interesting. Thought I'd be able to "see" where I was going by just using the thermal but kept wandering off the lane and nearly went in the ditch. Maybe I'll get better with practice but I ended up shining a torch straight down with my other hand so I could see where my feet were going.
Went out for an hour - battery down by about 30% which is a bit more encouraging.

Two things I would change if I could -

The f.o.v. is a bit small, a wider angle lens would be easier to use, because it's quite narrow I ended up sweeping it back and forth a lot. I think this is an issue shared with many thermal devices from various reviews I've read.

Every couple of minutes or so the device makes a little click and freezes for a second then starts working again. I'd heard about this before so wasn't too surprised but it's still a bit of a pain in use. I think I read that it's recalibrating or something - not faulty. Funnily enough I barely noticed it in daylight use but at night because I used the device to help find my way it's more annoying.

The charging port on my phone is a bit temperamental which meant the device dropped out a few times so I'll dig out an old one today and see if it's compatible.

The angle on the grip between the camera and phone is adjustable (which I didn't realise at first) once I tried changing it, the viewing angle is a lot more comfortable - rather than holding the grip up at eye level, I adjusted it so that I was looking down slightly, making it more relaxing long term.

There is a tripod socket on the base of the grip so I'll run through all the menus with it mounted like that, should be apparent what effect the different options make that way.

It's very cold here at the moment - just above freezing - and we're at the bottom of a steep valley with a river on one side of the road, a water filled ditch on the other, patches of standing water all over the place and little streams running down the valley sides. I believe that the water must be warmer than the ground as in some places it really glows and even seems to reflect up the banks. The effect is like a kind of light show, it can be like walking through a fairy grotto! In addition parts of the bank beside the lane lights up strongly, I'm wondering if this could be decaying leaf mould or maybe ground water seeping through - its quite distracting - but it'll be interesting to see what happens when things get warmer (or colder!)

It's quite amazing what it picks up, I could see a hot band across the lane from considerable distance which really puzzled me ( no power or other utilities out here) eventually I realised that it's an old blocked culvert which must still have a trickle running through it and it's heating the road!

A tawny owl was calling from the far side of the valley but despite pointing the device at the woodland I never detected it.

Decided to walk to the neighbouring fields to see if the farmer had left his sheep out (he hadn't) and picked up a barn owl in flight which was a real surprise. I would estimate it was at least 200 yds away and partially obscured by trees.

I'm really wondering what is the ideal size smartphone for optimal viewing. I've plugged it into a whopping great 12.5" tablet which looks great but I wouldn't want to roam around in the wild with it.

I'm guessing that because the camera's not very high resolution that different resolution phone screens should make little or no difference?

Thinking of a dedicated phone just for the device and wondering if I can get away with something cheap and cheerful.

 

[Torchepot]

Wondered about the difference in battery usage over similar period of use. The palette that I used at night is "bird mode" where the screen is mostly shades of grey and hits pop up as white. I think this may use less power than the other modes which I was experimenting with during the first hour, particularly the "rainbow" mode.

 

[pppppvvvv]

My Pulsar model, I've experimented with white hot, black hot, and red hot /rainbow pallette.

Black hot is excellent for seeing the background and natural features. I think the performance for seeing animals is pretty similar for the three modes. One doesn't leap out as being clearly better. I've a feeling black hot works best overall on my unit.

 

[Torchepot]

Here's the different palettes available, it's the top one that seems to work best. It's some kind of tweaked version of white hot with the background dialled down I think.

 

[Torchepot]

Don't know how many people use their thermal gear in bright daylight but this type of device is at a disadvantage I imagine. In the sun today it was very hard to make out anything. Switching to rainbow mode and boosting the phone brightness helped but will use the battery up faster. Once I've decided which phone I'm going to pair it with I'll probably make some kind of shade hood to suit.

 

[pppppvvvv]

Don't know how many people use their thermal gear in bright daylight but this type of device is at a disadvantage I imagine. In the sun today it was very hard to make out anything. Switching to rainbow mode and boosting the phone brightness helped but will use the battery up faster. Once I've decided which phone I'm going to pair it with I'll probably make some kind of shade hood to suit.

Yes, especially in winter. Once a full sun has started to heat up foliage though, then it gets put away in most cases.

 

[Torchepot]

Thanks Peter, but I don't think what I'm experiencing is to do with what it's pointed at, more the limitations of viewing a phone screen. The "bird" mode produces a pretty murky image at the best of times, providing good contrast with hot spots, but in decent light the background is impossible to make out. I'll try white hot next time.

 

[OkamotoKeitaSin]

Hi Torchepot

Thanks for the various details!

The battery life seems a little short, not quite sure if 3 hours will be sufficient for owling sessions...how is the camera charged, and is it possible to use it while charging it with a portal battery?

Also have you encountered any problems so far when the camera clicks? It's a recalibration thing that's universal across thermal cameras from what I understand (?) but one of the youtube videos reported the entire app hanging when that happened. Not sure if it was just his camera/app system being wonky.

Hearing that you managed to find a wren and a far away barn owl is very promising though! I really wonder how it will fair in the tropics, but I guess there's only one way for me to find out.

 

[Torchepot]

Hi OkamotoKeitaSin

The run time is entirely dependent on the battery of the phone (or potentially tablet) being used. I've switched phones from Pixel to Samsung but it will run on either so options for longer life are to carry more than one phone, to use a phone with a bigger battery or to use a phone with interchangeable batteries.
One other point to consider here is that leaving it connected but not in use seems to flatten the battery completely over time. I charged my phone up ready for a night foray, hooked it up to the camera, put the camera to sleep and was very surprised to find the phone battery on zero when I came to use it. I don't know if turning the phone completely off stops this happening but I'll check soon, at the moment I just unplug the lead when not using it.

Incidentally if anyone is considering purchasing one the info and specs on Amazon are far better and more detailed than those supplied with it. But the photos of HD and non HD mode seem to be transposed.

I don't know if it's still available but there was a £40 voucher reduction offered when I got mine so it came out at £359.

Since I changed phone the clicking and momentary hiccup are much reduced, it hardly does it at all with the Samsung, but I don't know if it's the phone or the settings that I've been fiddling with, easy enough to switch phones and find out. It hasn't seized up with either.

I'll check out some bird feeders on a bright sunny day soon and see how it copes with a little shade hood I've rigged up.

 

[OkamotoKeitaSin]

Ah, you were referring to the battery of the phone and not of the camera!! I assume that means the camera itself doesn't require any charging?

 

[Torchepot]

Sorry, should have made that clear, the camera has no battery, it uses the phone's battery and screen which is probably the main reason for the low price.

 

[OkamotoKeitaSin]

That sounds great, thanks! Would be very happy to hear more news if you happen to play around with the device more 😁