Night vision equipment for mortals (2 Viewers)

[nmerc_photos]

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 400TC for example, I have been wearing a cotton carrier just for holding the thermal, and then slinging the camera across my body with a peak design sling

if anyone has better ideas, I'd love to hear it

 

[Birding Bricker]

OK, I've just returned from West Africa, where I was able to give my T2 Pro a proper field test.

First off, the weight of the phone quickly made the T2 Pro carrying device work loose so my camera was flopping about and at a lop-sided angle. This was easily fixed once home by tightening up the holding screws with an allen key: something I will be carrying with me in future.

Onto how it performed in the field. The first place I tried it the weather was extremely hot during the day (40+ degrees C). Even in the cooler early morning it was still warm (25+ degrees C) and I was barely able to make out a Greyish Eagle-owl I was spotlighting because there was virtually no temperature difference between the owl and the surrounding vegetation. I was also surprised that nightjars sat on the roads at night actually appeared as cooler (i.e. blacker) than the road they were sat on (apart from their eyes). They were more easily found by looking for eyeshine with a spotlight. However, once found at distance, it was very useful to be able to approach them in the dark using the T2 Pro to see where they were before spotlighting them to identify the species. Once in a cooler part of the country, the T2 Pro proved invaluable in enabling me easily to locate a Northern White-faced Owl which stood out as a "hot spot" in the woodland.

So, clearly there's some limitations to the T2 Pro but overall I'm pretty impressed with it and it has certainly helped with night birding. I've no experience of using one of the expensive thermal scopes so can't comment on how the two compare in the field but I hope the above comments prove useful.

 

[Vollmeise]

@nmerc_photos: Well, I just strap my Pulsar XP around my neck. Eyepiece facing up, lens down. So it's 1 second with my right hand to grab and use it.

A chest mounted carrier needs two hands to unlock the thermal by turning and pulling it out and to take it the right way to use it then?

 

[nmerc_photos]

@nmerc_photos: Well, I just strap my Pulsar XP around my neck. Eyepiece facing up, lens down. So it's 1 second with my right hand to grab and use it.

A chest mounted carrier needs two hands to unlock the thermal by turning and pulling it out and to take it the right way to use it then?

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.