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Pulsar Axion XQ30 Pro? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Hermann
- Start date
Hermann
Well-known member
Download the manual from this page: Pulsar Axion Compact | Pulsar Vision. You'll find the specifications in the manual.
Hermann
Sc0tty
Well-known member
I look forward to your report. I’ve got the older Axion 2 XQ35 which has been superseded by the XQ35 Pro. Mine is fine for spotting birds. Yours should be better, having a better sensor and wider FOV.
Can you identify animals or even birds with yours? I mean at least tell a goose from a chicken or a cat from a weasel? And if so, at what sort of distance?
Sc0tty
Well-known member
If you can see them with your eyes you’ll be able to see the difference in shape through the thermal. There are lots of videos on YouTube which will give you a good idea about how birds and animals appear and the range. I mainly use it to see heat spots of small birds in bushes fairly close at 2x mag and then switch to bins to identify them.
Hermann
Well-known member
Well, I got the Axion XQ30 Pro. It's far too early to say anything about it and whether I find it useful for my style of birding. At the moment I'm still trying to learn how to use the thing. It sure ain't as easy as using a straightforward binocular or scope ... 
Hermann
Hermann
Hermann
Well-known member
Well, I'm still busy learning how to use the XQ30. Getting there, slowly. It's my first thermal camera, so everything is new for me. Finding the right settings for different times of the day does take some time, e.g. brightness, contrast, colour mode and so on.
My first impressions ... Well, I quite like the XQ30 - it's small, seems well-built and rugged. Size was an important factor, I've got more than enough stuff I carry in the field anyway. Image quality is better than it's predecessor. However, it's still a budget model, compared to some of the other cameras Pulsar makes. Works pretty well at night and during the day as well to find birds in bushes, at least when the sun isn't out.
BTW, one of the first things I did was update the firmware. There was an update in August which my device didn't yet have. Worth it.
Hermann
My first impressions ... Well, I quite like the XQ30 - it's small, seems well-built and rugged. Size was an important factor, I've got more than enough stuff I carry in the field anyway. Image quality is better than it's predecessor. However, it's still a budget model, compared to some of the other cameras Pulsar makes. Works pretty well at night and during the day as well to find birds in bushes, at least when the sun isn't out.
BTW, one of the first things I did was update the firmware. There was an update in August which my device didn't yet have. Worth it.
Hermann
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What is the available Pulsar range? I thought the Axion 2 XG and XQ 35 were the latest ones out, but reading up thread it seems I'm wrong.
How do the Pulsars compare with the Zeiss ones?
I really don't know which one to get. All I want it for is on twitches where I'm trying to locate a skulker, and this is usually in cover that is fairly close. So, I'm not bothered about locating stuff a long way off. I'm also not bothered about capturing images and video. I don't want to spend more on a better model, only to find the additional features are for elements I wouldn't really use. Any help much appreciated.
Edit: I also need one that works well with a glasses wearer.
How do the Pulsars compare with the Zeiss ones?
I really don't know which one to get. All I want it for is on twitches where I'm trying to locate a skulker, and this is usually in cover that is fairly close. So, I'm not bothered about locating stuff a long way off. I'm also not bothered about capturing images and video. I don't want to spend more on a better model, only to find the additional features are for elements I wouldn't really use. Any help much appreciated.
Edit: I also need one that works well with a glasses wearer.
Hermann
Well-known member
No idea. A couple of friends have got Pulsars, and they are quite happy with them. So I decided to stick to Pulsar.
The Axion XQ30 Pro would work for that as long as you understand it's limitations: Once the sun comes out and there are sun spots, things become quite difficult. On wet, foggy days you may not get clear signals that there is "something". But that's a problem all thermals have to my knowledge.
Of course, the Axion XQ30 Pro can do a lot more (like taking videos or locating larger mammals such as people at long range), but that seems to be standard nowadays. BTW, locating people at long range can be quite useful if you're out birding at night. And it's very small and seems well-built.
It works with glasses.
Hermann
HeatSeeker
New member
The Axion XQ30 Pro are tiny units and benefit from the fact they have a 25mk netD and excellent European build quality. Pulsar have just released new compact models with higher resolution 640x480 Lynred European sensors that are the same size format, just with added detection range and better detail.
Pulsar Axion Compact XG35 Thermal
Pulsar Axion Compact XG35 Thermal
Hermann
Well-known member
True. From what I've seen so far the XQ30 Pro is a very capable and well-built unit. And it's really small. It does everything I want from a thermal imager.
Interesting model, and probably quite a bit better than the XQ30 Pro. However, I doubt I would have paid the extra over and above the price of the XQ30 Pro.
Hermann
I am trying to decide between the XG30 compact and XG35 compact. The XG30 has the advantage of being cheaper and a wider field of view. The XG35 has a higher magnification and greater range detection. I'm not sure that range detection is that important for bird watching purposes and believe the wider field of view of the XG30 would be more useful. I would welcome comments/opinions from others.
Thanks
David
Sc0tty
Well-known member
I got one at Birdfair. I already have an InfiRay ZH38, but it is rather bulky and so I don't take it with me very often (Infiray is the company that makes the Leica Calonox 1, but apparently they have another vendor for the new and very expensive Calonox 2).
The Pulsar XQ30 Pro is made in Latvia by Yukon Optics, a Lithuanian company, using a 384x288, 25mK netD French-made Lynred sensor (very good specs). Lynred is a professional company that makes sensors for military and space applications (e.g. the Venus Express probe), those numbers are not going to be fudged as can be the case by some less scrupulous consumer-grade vendors.
It's really compact and convenient. I wish they had an option to measure the temperature like thermal cameras do, so it could also be used around the house (I had a Flir One that helped me find a major heat leak and save a lot of money by redoind the insulation on my bedroom roof when I had the roof redone). Focus is manual.
One thing that can be annoying is the regular sensor recalibrations that pause the camera for 5 seconds. It's unavoidable with an uncooled sensor that requires compensating for the heat generated in the sensor itself. You have the option to leave it off (manual) or in semi-automatic mode, whereby the image slowly degrades until you force a recalibration.
As others have pointed out, it's best used at night. Also, infrared thermal cameras cannot see through glass.
Be aware that there may be export control restrictions on this gear. Don't try to travel to Russia with it!
The Pulsar XQ30 Pro is made in Latvia by Yukon Optics, a Lithuanian company, using a 384x288, 25mK netD French-made Lynred sensor (very good specs). Lynred is a professional company that makes sensors for military and space applications (e.g. the Venus Express probe), those numbers are not going to be fudged as can be the case by some less scrupulous consumer-grade vendors.
It's really compact and convenient. I wish they had an option to measure the temperature like thermal cameras do, so it could also be used around the house (I had a Flir One that helped me find a major heat leak and save a lot of money by redoind the insulation on my bedroom roof when I had the roof redone). Focus is manual.
One thing that can be annoying is the regular sensor recalibrations that pause the camera for 5 seconds. It's unavoidable with an uncooled sensor that requires compensating for the heat generated in the sensor itself. You have the option to leave it off (manual) or in semi-automatic mode, whereby the image slowly degrades until you force a recalibration.
As others have pointed out, it's best used at night. Also, infrared thermal cameras cannot see through glass.
Be aware that there may be export control restrictions on this gear. Don't try to travel to Russia with it!
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Hermann
Well-known member
I've got a lot more experience with the XQ30 Pro by now, and I really like it. It's just like you wrote: Compact and convenient. I'd add it's light and very well made. Manual focus is no problem, after all, the magnification is only 2x. But an option to measure the temperature would really be nice. OTOH I don't need it. Not really.
True. OTOH that's probably the price you pay for the small size and weight and the fairly low power consumption. Automatic mode gets on my nerves, so I settled for semi-automatic.
True. However, it also works quite well during the day as long as the sun doesn't shine. But it doesn't like foggy days (or nights).
Hermann
