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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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  1. 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.
  2. 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...
  3. 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...
  4. 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...
  5. 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...
  6. 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...
  7. 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
  8. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    this is quite interesting feedback, thank you! The Helion XP28 you are referencing is quite ancient, 5-10 years old, no? I find it to be noticeably worse than my new Telos XP50, so for the iRay to appear worse than the XP28 doesn't bode well. I wonder how much of it is the issue of eye piece...
  9. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    to my eye, they both look about similar that being said, a friend of mine just bought a new ZH38 for around $3200 USD, so once he gets it in we'll do testing with it and compare to the 3 pulsar models I have access to I have another friend who will probably purchase an AGM TM10-256 for around...
  10. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    Hmm I have it in my notes as <25mK. but now that I look at multiple sites, I see both. https://www.infirayoutdoor.com/thermal-imaging-monocular-series ^25mK https://irayusa.com/zh38 ^50mK I would imagine 25 is the correct number, as that price for a 50 mk unit would be a little insane. But...
  11. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    and my nonscientific approach, I think these would provide the best value for birders pretty much any optic with a FOV wider than 15 deg horizontal should be a good option. then it's just a matter of pick your NETD, sensor size, and budget
  12. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    as I've continued down the rabbit hole of specs and brand options, my spreadsheet has grown a bit. if anyone has any other models they'd like to suggest - please do so the 3 highlighted ones are either ones I own, or the one my buddy purchased that I will be testing soon I'm still sorting by...
  13. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    I have been doing a lot of research on the ZH38. I think if I were to start fresh, knowing what I know now - that would be my #1 pick on paper. With the 19mm focal length selected, it is 22.9 x 17.2 FOV, 12µm pixel pitch, 640x512 sensor and 1440x1080p display. All very good specs. You can...
  14. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    holding it in portrait mode is an excellent idea! I hadn't considered that. we'll give it a try during our next outing I find that if you have enough time and are stationary, yes a small FOV can work as well. but if you're trying to cover large distances (hiking) or viewing out a car window...
  15. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    we are talking about different XP50's. I have the newest Telos, you are talking about the Helion. as of right now, the Telos doesn't offer any interchangeable lenses :( I paid around $4200 USD for my Telos XP50. I just bought a discontinued Helion XP28 for $2000 USD on facebook. My buddy and I...
  16. N

    Request for information on thermal imagers.

    I went down this rabbit hole about 2 months ago and pulled the trigger on a Pulsar Telos LRF XP50, which was just about the most expensive unit I could find (~$4200 USD). figuring buy once... cry once.. I just returned from birding at the Sax Zim Bog and found it invaluable. as others have...
  17. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    here are some more pics that I took at the Sax Zim Bog recently. I found it to be the most useful tool in my arsenal. my party found more wildlife than any of the competing groups, and we estimated 90% of them would've been missed without the thermal pictured are Great Gray Owls, Squirrels...
  18. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    could be a silly question, but did you recalibrate it? at least on my Pulsar, there's a way to manually calibrate and I have to do that a couple times during use if conditions change, IE if I leave it inside the heated car and then want to use it outside. something like that could have affected it
  19. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    went out with the thermal today for more testing, found a lifer for me which was a long eared owl no way I would've been able to see this guy without the thermal. even once I knew where he was roughly, it was difficult to get between all the branches I definitely could've benefitted from...
  20. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    I believe it's a possum, with mice around it. The bright boxes are just upside down plant pots to prevent squirrels from climbing the posts. My guess is that since they are black, they must hold in a lot of heat from the sun
  21. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    I've had my Pulsar XP50 LRF for about 2 weeks now and love it. I've used it to spot all sorts of critters I wouldn't normally see. Mice around house/barn. Flying squirrels in tree canopies. Great Horned Owls across the river in the neighbor's trees. Short Eared Owls hunting in fields that I...
  22. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    In general, it would not be looking up in trees, they would be trees with other trees behind it. I have heard of many owl'ers being successful using this method :) especially for tree'd owls such as screech owls
  23. N

    Night vision equipment for mortals

    thanks to everyone posting in this thread.. I have just recently come across thermal and it has caught my attention as being useful for owl photography I was leaning towards the new Pulsar Telos LRF XP50, but have now been reading about the Hikmicro Falcon FQ50 pro. I just cannot seem to find a...
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