Thermal Units Competing with FLIR?

Originally Posted By: doublecheese One thing I realised though, the quality of the LCD screen could be better.

Probably on Friday, I might goto mountains to try to see the real power of the LS-XR.

DC.....Thanks for the posts on the LS-XR. The vids are about the best you can do to compare.........a lot gets lost in the recording and posting process but it's sure beats not having any comparison.

It seems that if the screen is the weak point FLIR could have gone with OLED instead of LCD unless his has to do with durability or maybe cost??

One thing is for sure....FLIR was the leader is this technology but the competition will give them a run for their money if they don't provide the quality and features that can now by purchased by the consumer with going to another brand.

I should have my LS-XR this Sat and will run it side by side with the LS64 with both units running @ 30Hz. Skypup is the "Go To" guy on this one so if I post a review it will be a very general observation of the differences that I can notice as a first time user of both units. Skypup will be able to give a technical in-depth evaluation based on lots of field time with FLIR products.

Looking forward to your vids from the mountains!!!


 
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For us to understand, When making a head to head comparison the best would be to take a picture of the screens of both units both pointing at the same direction. But taking a picture of the screen of the LS series is already hard.


I am in steel business and I export steel tubes and pipes mainly to Spain, Portugal and Ireland.

These tubes are loaded bulk into vessels and each loading lasts at least 3-4 days.

So during the loading period I supervise the loading and in the nights I manage to escape to the mountains
smile.gif
So this weekend I have a big loading that will last at least 4 days and will have plenty of time to escape to the mountains as the port is very close ....

By the way , here is a video I shot with my LS64 in 2013, you can see a herd of pigs...

FLIR LS64 - HERD OF PIGS
 
Originally Posted By: doublecheeseFor us to understand, When making a head to head comparison the best would be to take a picture of the screens of both units both pointing at the same direction. But taking a picture of the screen of the LS series is already hard.


I am in steel business and I export steel tubes and pipes mainly to Spain, Portugal and Ireland.

These tubes are loaded bulk into vessels and each loading lasts at least 3-4 days.

So during the loading period I supervise the loading and in the nights I manage to escape to the mountains
smile.gif
So this weekend I have a big loading that will last at least 4 days and will have plenty of time to escape to the mountains as the port is very close ....

By the way , here is a video I shot with my LS64 in 2013, you can see a herd of pigs...

FLIR LS64 - HERD OF PIGS


NICE!

No shortage of wild boars where you are....
 
Thanks again Doublecheese for all the pics and videos.

I was really hoping FLIR would have done better on the display. It is funny. We all debate and compare core size, lens size, batteries, and all sorts of other features. But, the bottom line is the image you see in the viewfinder. I'm not saying the LS-XR is bad or anything. It is just disappointing to hear they could have done better.

I think I am going to wait for a side by side comparison with the IR Patrol before I spend my $5K-$6K cash.
 
It may be disappointing to hear the IR Patrol could have done better too, in the meantime, my LS-64s will be assisting in taking out lots and lots of vermin instead of talking about it.
 
Have you looked through an IR Patrol and know something that we should be aware of?

This is a big investment for many of us. Certainly, both units will function in the field and be useful for hunting. The thing is, I want to do the research to get the biggest bang for my hard earned dollars.

It's kind of like having a budget for a big screen TV, you want the one that will give the best picture. Sure, they will all let you watch the big game. But, some units will show it to you better than others.
 
Have the IR Patrols been released for sale to the public yet (No)?

Does anyone have one. (No)

How long has the BAE 12um microbolometer been on the market (30 days)?

Any problems with a completely new setup that no one has been using for years? (Remains to be seen).

Not to knock anything new down, but it has a long way to go for any kind of reliability/use rating.


Keep your hopes up and maybe you can cash in on something good someday!
 
Originally Posted By: SkyPupHave the IR Patrols been released for sale to the public yet (No)?

I am hearing they will be available in April.

Does anyone have one. (No)

The people at TNVC are very excited about this unit, the company, and the man who founded the company. They have posted amazing photos of the quality of the image. TNVC is a leader in this market. I have purchased thousands of dollars of equipment from them and I trust their judgement. That, at a bare minimum, makes it worth waiting a month or so to take a look.

How long has the BAE 12um microbolometer been on the market (30 days)?

Sounds about right. And, people say the image is spectacular.


Any problems with a completely new setup that no one has been using for years? (Remains to be seen).

Everything is new at some point. I have only heard of one Mark II failure and the customer service that was reported was spectacular. Even FLIR has problems. The RS series scopes were not perfect when they first came out.

Not to knock anything new down, but it has a long way to go for any kind of reliability/use rating.

Sounds like you are knocking them down.


Keep your hopes up and maybe you can cash in on something good someday!

I am in no hurry. If waiting a month or two helps me pick the best unit for my hard earned money, I am willing to do that. It may be the LS-XR. It may be the IR Patrol. I am open minded to the best solution.



 
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Like I said, good luck and I hope that your hunt for thermal is a success sometime in the future for you, in the meantime I will continue to be out hunting with all my thermals now instead of waiting to hear about someone's else thermals that they hope to buy at sometime in the future.....
 
I prefer InstAlert over better view anyday .....

Before Flir LS64, I was using my Flir T360 as my thermal scanner. With T360 you can manually control the color intensity and for example you can make T360 to show objects over certain temp if you like.

This feauture is really good as I would make all forest and trees show as dark blue in the background and all the animals to show Orange-Red color. Or tones of grey in Black Hot mode.

On this below link you can see the pictures I shot with the T360

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/for...1052&page=2

I make al the back ground dark blue and the animals to show orange-red.

Unless IR Patrol manually control the color intensity manually according to temperature, I would not buy it. InstAlert is way too important for me to detect the hog.
 
IR Patrol does not have InstaAlert, it does have another algorithm that produces an outline around suspected thermal objects to try to enhance them, but from what I hear it basically sux compared to FLIR's InstaAlert algorithm.
 
Here is a short video from my FLIR PS-32 out to about 225 yards across the gator pond behind the deer:






Here is another FLIR M-18 video just goofing around in the backyard, but looking out across the gator pond out past 225 yards too:





It seems kind of a shame that these FLIR thermal devices perform so well and reliably for me when I could have gotten something newer and so much better than this at sometime in the distant future?
blush.gif
 
Boy, it seems like I am being sold a FLIR used car. "Buy today or you will be left out". That is some pushy product promotion there.

Is Skypup the reincarnated Joe Izuzu of FLIR thermal imagers?

Skypup in a previous life

 
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These posts are sort of amusing if you think about how quickly WE have all become spoiled. Just a few years ago it was Red Lights.....then Gen3.....then.....

WOW.......THERMAL!!!!......the PS32 was magic.

Now it's gotta be a HD Quality "count the hairs" image or it just won't do the job. LOL

I plead "guilty" too......




 
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Very true Gman. This technolgy is changing fast. It is not like a PVS-14 that has been essentially the same for years.

All I was trying to say was $6K is a lot of money for most people. Waiting a month to make a good decision is reasonable and prudent. No one is going to miss out on anything in a month.
 
Originally Posted By: dh223Boy, it seems like I am being sold a FLIR used car. "Buy today or you will be left out". That is some pushy product promotion there.

Is Skypup the reincarnated Joe Izuzu of FLIR thermal imagers?

Skypup in a previous life



Make sure you get your free bottle of Snake Oil as well!!


Gman said it pretty well, wasn't long ago i had a HUGE spotlight that had the type of bulb that heated up to same temperature as the Sun surface and the battery lasted minutes!

I now have the D740 and PS24. World of difference and would i like to upgrade? Of course, when money grows on my trees or i become the PM resident FLIR spokesman!
 

Okay...best I could do without a video cable.

IR Hunter 20mm Mark II Holding the scope in my left hand and took the pics with my iPhone thru the scope.

THE SCOPE WAS NOT MOUNTED ON A WEAPON !!!!

1jETDmE.jpg


Looks like a calibration needed in this one??
VTaRqmF.jpg
 
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Originally Posted By: dh223Boy, it seems like I am being sold a FLIR used car. "Buy today or you will be left out". That is some pushy product promotion there.

Is Skypup the reincarnated Joe Izuzu of FLIR thermal imagers?

Skypup in a previous life




Have no idea what your story is, but I can assure you that I am not selling you anything?
 
Originally Posted By: SkyPupHave the IR Patrols been released for sale to the public yet (No)?

Does anyone have one. (No)

How long has the BAE 12um microbolometer been on the market (30 days)?

Any problems with a completely new setup that no one has been using for years? (Remains to be seen).

Not to knock anything new down, but it has a long way to go for any kind of reliability/use rating.



All true.......

It should also be noted that the IR Hunter can be purchased with a FLIR core.

http://www.irdefense.com/irh-main.html

You should always have a reliable backup.....

CYekgva.jpg
 
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Gman, now that is a crystal clear picture. I assume it was at 1x? How far away was the house? Can you get some other pics at longer distances and with some zoom?
 
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