Entry level Night Vision

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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by xDom » 05 Jun 2019, 2:05 am

I just spent about $80 getting some red filters for my various tourches and spotlights.
Hopefully this’ll compensate for my lack of funds to get into NV.!
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by marksman » 06 Jun 2019, 8:29 am

dont forget the green filters :drinks:
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by xDom » 06 Jun 2019, 5:30 pm

marksman wrote:dont forget the green filters :drinks:



Righto, I found this rundown.

"In my view green is a little riskier than red light because you are getting closer to the range of visible light that is detectable by most species that we hunt in Australia. As an option, it is still much better than pure white light and, in some circumstances, it has benefits that really come to the fore. Green light is the best colour for cutting through foggy conditions and is hard to detect from side on. It is also more intense than red light, the beam will cover more distance and images will appear sharper.
Many pig hunters swear by green light. Pigs are attracted to areas of bright light and green provides a great level of brightness without the unsettling effects of white light. It will unfortunately elevate the chance of casting shadows that may spook other animals."


Do you agree? Gives the some of the benefits of Red light without cutting back so much on the intensity?
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 06 Jun 2019, 7:17 pm

I have a mate who swears by green lights for hunting pigs and dogs...
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by marksman » 06 Jun 2019, 8:28 pm

xDom wrote:
marksman wrote:dont forget the green filters :drinks:



Righto, I found this rundown.

"In my view green is a little riskier than red light because you are getting closer to the range of visible light that is detectable by most species that we hunt in Australia. As an option, it is still much better than pure white light and, in some circumstances, it has benefits that really come to the fore. Green light is the best colour for cutting through foggy conditions and is hard to detect from side on. It is also more intense than red light, the beam will cover more distance and images will appear sharper.
Many pig hunters swear by green light. Pigs are attracted to areas of bright light and green provides a great level of brightness without the unsettling effects of white light. It will unfortunately elevate the chance of casting shadows that may spook other animals."


Do you agree? Gives the some of the benefits of Red light without cutting back so much on the intensity?



no I dont agree :unknown:
the green light is a good one to start the season with and is heaps better to see with than the red but if you keep hunting the same ground as I do later in the season you are best to go for a red lense after the animals become spooked
lately I have been going back to a naked halogen light instead of the leds with lenses as I'm seeing animals are not spooked as much by them
but will change back as they get used to the light or colour :thumbsup:
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by xDom » 17 Jun 2019, 10:07 pm

See this new thermal optic for under $900 on EBay. I know there’s a strong chance it’s not going to be much chop but the technology is there to start manufacturing these things cheaply.

Give it a few more years and there will be quite a selection of good quality NV gear for affordable prices.
I remember back in the 90’s during my apprenticeship we had an IR thermometer, cost $2k.
You can pick them up for around $70 now.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3749592578
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bladeracer » 17 Jun 2019, 10:24 pm

xDom wrote:See this new thermal optic for under $900 on EBay. I know there’s a strong chance it’s not going to be much chop but the technology is there to start manufacturing these things cheaply.

Give it a few more years and there will be quite a selection of good quality NV gear for affordable prices.
I remember back in the 90’s during my apprenticeship we had an IR thermometer, cost $2k.
You can pick them up for around $70 now.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3749592578


Don't forget the $100 of GST on that. 9htz and 80x60 pixels sounds like a very poor view?


I just remembered something. I saw a night-vision scope on Ebay for around $400 or so. It said it was good for hundreds of meters, but it didn't list any magnification. So I messaged the seller and asked, and it had no magnification so would be virtually useless at any extended distance for trying to identify an animal.
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by xDom » 18 Jun 2019, 1:48 pm

"... 9htz and 80x60 pixels sounds like a very poor view?"

After a bit of reading on the topic... yes, this is indeed pi$$ poor. Probably on a level only slightly higher than you'd expect from a Macca's Happy Meal Toy.

According to Night Hunter Australia... "... around the 320x240 or 384x288 is considered the optimum for value for money and performance."
The Leupold LTO HD Trackers seem like a reasonable buy.
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by mickb » 19 Jun 2019, 5:27 pm

Another option for night viewing but not rifle mounted is a 'cascade' unit. This stacks several old surplus gen 1 intensifier units into a single array in an aftermarket housing with optical viewer. There is some fisheye with it but it lifts the light gathering to legitimate high Gen 3 level. There are kits you can buy for a grand or so from the UK to put it together. The only problem is size being similar to a small spotting scope. Not good for rifle mounting but if you want the most NVG power for normal viewing at an affordable price, this is it.
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by Die Judicii » 19 Jun 2019, 8:06 pm

Hi xDom
I may be wading in here a bit late,,, but getting to some of your early ???s in this,, your thread.

FWIW, and from my reasonably limited experience, I would recommend that you do extensive homework, and then buy the absolute best that you can afford.
Like,,,,,,,,,, buy once cry once.
Sh!t NV equipment really is just that, "sh!t"

I saved for ages, and bought one of the most up to date models of top shelf brand, and have found that the performance is simply fantastic.

Since then I also purchased a Monocular (just for scanning) of the very Brand and Model that you were asking about.
Believe me, even though its a "good" brand,,,,, it cannot hold a candle to my main unit.
Its severely limited in range (Max of 100 to 150 meters) as opposed to over a kilometer of the main unit.

Even at 100 meters, it struggles to pick up anything smaller than a fox, and certainly not much help in identifying what animal.
I only use it as a base tool to pick up any "white blob" within 180 meters, then use the good one to identify and shoot with.

Even if you have to wait, and save $$$ till you can afford the best,,,, you'll be a happy camper at the end.

Hope this is of some assistance.
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by Blr243 » 19 Jun 2019, 9:40 pm

I agree. Any money spent on thermal or nv gear as a practice run or entry level is a waste of time and money ... Just get some matches and burn your cash instead. Or buy some jack Daniels ......I spent nearly 7 grand on a thermal scope and then another 7 on thermal binos for scanning ....it works and I don’t find myself wishing it was any better... you can’t go crawling around in the bush in the dark with stuff that does not work. .this new gear has transformed my hunting. Imagine looking for pigs actively feeding in the old days in summertime about 45 mins before dark .and then again in the morning you might find them still wandering round about an hour after sunrise before they bed down if your lucky ..... in a twenty four hour period it’s too dark to see them at night and it’s too hot for most of the day to find them out feeding. So I just forget the days now and I rest up with a book. Then as the sun drops below the horizon in the arvo I know I have 12 hours of darkness ahead of me so I never run short of hunting time
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by mickb » 03 Jul 2019, 10:38 pm

BLR243 whats the warranty and product support in Aus like for these units?
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by Blr243 » 04 Jul 2019, 4:42 pm

My first thermal I have had for prob six yrs but it still going well so not had to worry. I do feel more comfortable buying in aus rather than trying to get something cheaper thru the net
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by xDom » 17 Jul 2019, 9:52 pm

Well I went ahead and bought the Pard NV007 clip on with an IR torch.
I’ve been using it the last few nights and I’m happy with it.
If Im driving along with the main spot light in the Ute and I see something moving I kill the spotty and get out and scan the area with the Pard.
It’s not as though it displays the landscape in brilliant detail, far from it.. what it does do though is highlights the eye shine. The critters are relaxed because they don’t have visible light bearing down on them, then.. pop.
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 18 Jul 2019, 1:58 am

I'm about to drop the hammer on the same thing.
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by xDom » 18 Jul 2019, 8:53 am

bigpete wrote:I'm about to drop the hammer on the same thing.

Pete, I don’t know what your plans are to source one but I did read some unsavoury reports on the eBay specials. Things like the menu being in Chinese, missing bits etc.
I got my setup through a bloke in Melbourne. Very good to deal with.
If you want his details, shout out.
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 18 Jul 2019, 11:11 am

I'm getting a proper one...
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by marksman » 18 Jul 2019, 11:12 am

it looks alright, I'm interested to hear more
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by SCJ429 » 18 Jul 2019, 5:57 pm

What did the Pard set you back? $700?
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 18 Jul 2019, 6:26 pm

400
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by SCJ429 » 18 Jul 2019, 7:11 pm

$400 is sounding better, and you get everything you need to set it up on your scope?
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 19 Jul 2019, 11:03 am

Yes,it's brand new
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by xDom » 20 Jul 2019, 10:09 am

Die Judicii wrote:Hi xDom
I may be wading in here a bit late,,, but getting to some of your early ???s in this,, your thread.

FWIW, and from my reasonably limited experience, I would recommend that you do extensive homework, and then buy the absolute best that you can afford.
Like,,,,,,,,,, buy once cry once.
Sh!t NV equipment really is just that, "sh!t"

I saved for ages, and bought one of the most up to date models of top shelf brand, and have found that the performance is simply fantastic.

Since then I also purchased a Monocular (just for scanning) of the very Brand and Model that you were asking about.
Believe me, even though its a "good" brand,,,,, it cannot hold a candle to my main unit.
Its severely limited in range (Max of 100 to 150 meters) as opposed to over a kilometer of the main unit.

Even at 100 meters, it struggles to pick up anything smaller than a fox, and certainly not much help in identifying what animal.
I only use it as a base tool to pick up any "white blob" within 180 meters, then use the good one to identify and shoot with.

Even if you have to wait, and save $$$ till you can afford the best,,,, you'll be a happy camper at the end.

Hope this is of some assistance.



Gday, You mentioned that you had the Leopold LTO Tracker? Was that the HD Tracker or the Standard tracker? Do you think it'd be suitable for locating dropped game for the distances you spoke of?
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 23 Jul 2019, 9:18 pm

I got my pard nv007 today. Must say I'm quite impressed by it,but it really does need a scope with parallax adjustment
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by xDom » 23 Jul 2019, 11:21 pm

Well I’m yet to hear a bad report about it.
I got an Optisan 3-12 scope specifically for it.
I’ve been telling the other hunting fellas at work about it.
It’s not about the landscape detail, it’s the eye shine.
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 24 Jul 2019, 4:59 am

Hmmmm,see,I want detail too. Coz I don't do shooting at just eye shine. That's how you end up shooting something you're not meant to. Luckily,with a parallax adjustable scope you get a fair amount of detail too
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 24 Jul 2019, 5:02 am

Screenshot_20190724-043133_Gallery.jpg
15m
Screenshot_20190724-043133_Gallery.jpg (377.2 KiB) Viewed 5822 times
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 24 Jul 2019, 5:03 am

Screenshot_20190724-043036_Gallery.jpg
About 70m
Screenshot_20190724-043036_Gallery.jpg (373.13 KiB) Viewed 5822 times
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by bigpete » 24 Jul 2019, 5:05 am

Both pics just using my phone camera. That's on a Nikko Stirling gold crown 4-12×50 scope and just using the on board IR torch,which is actually really good imo
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Re: Entry level Night Vision

Post by Stix » 24 Jul 2019, 10:07 pm

Have you an idea yet of how far out the built in light will reach in terms of identifying a fox by shape Pete...?
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