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High End Research Gear And Equipment


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31 minutes ago, wiiawiwb said:

Any equipment that gets us out at night and able to see our surroundings is a huge plus. It creates new opportunities as it allows us into their world...the dark of night.  

 

If it were me, the choice would be easy. I'd get the FLIR Scout TK before I'd get this.  On a thick, cloudy moonless night, maybe even under the canopy of trees,  thermal will give a significantly better result.  As we all know with sasquatching,  if something can go wrong, it will go wrong.  Why take a chance with a cloudy, moonless night when for almost the same price you can have a thermal that works regardless of the conditions you're in?

 

Here are two other YT videos showing the Aurora Sport at night. To my eyes, it is difficult to make out detail in the forest. You'll see that with the first video below. If you add an IR illuuminator, then you'll get a much better result but it comes with a +/- $400 price tag and you're adding IR into the mix. Haven't we suspected that sasquatches can pick up IR?

 

Check out the difference between using an IR illuminator and not using it at around the 5:00 mark and the Aurora is on the right:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7RZJLOaAc

 

This is a very thorough review of the Aurora in different conditions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3SN-ZSG7ls

 

I already have a FLIR Scout TK.  I am going to look through some more reviews, but I am leaning towards the Sport as of right now. For $300 it is not too huge of a gamble.

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As I mentioned BF knows us humans use light.    But how we use it seems to be perceived by them in different ways.     If we have a campfire they are known to approach and watch.    That light is steady and most likely not perceived as an immediate threat.   But if we hear a noise on the tree line, whip out a flashlight, and aim it their direction, they perceive that as a threat,  express their displeasure and move away.   I suspect they are pretty blinded if their eyes are as sensitive as I think they are.    So if you have a light source that seems part of your camp, like a camp lantern or camp fire, I do not think it would be seen as much of a threat as an IR illuminator on a FLIR scope.    Those passive sources would greatly improve the night vision of the Aurora.   Of course aiming the Aurora might be considered threatening.   

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On 11/27/2019 at 2:13 PM, SWWASAS said:

Oh and one visit by an emu that left prints in fresh snow.

 

OK,  I'll bite on this one.  Is this a test?   Emu in Skamania County?  G'day mate, please explain.

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I have a night vision monocular that is pretty darned good for the price. As a NV scope it does need a certain amount of light to function well. It also has a 7-level IR illuminator but then we get into whether not not BF's can see IR illumination. The device has image as well as video capture, no audio. I really like the unit overall. Price? Under $150 and even for a Gen One I have been impressed. I also picked up a FLIR Ocean TK low end model and IMHO thermal is THE way to go. It also has image and video capture of course. Also, no audio. Together these two devices pretty much cover my needs with each one ranging out to about 100yds. or better.

 

There comes a time when I simply have to draw the line on these kinds of things as far as upgrading goes. I did my research on both devices, knew what I was getting for the money and in each case they are a helluva lot better than what I had before which was nothing outside of a trail cam. The trail cam also does images, video, but it has audio as well an onboard review screen. All in all I think I've done well in my choices for what I do and the amount of time I get out there. I also had to weigh everything price-wise-and quality-wise for the area that I'm in and seriously think I'm well set up with the most bang for the buck. Total investment for the three devices? Under $800 over the course of about 4 years.  

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On 11/29/2019 at 4:57 PM, Madison5716 said:

I ordered a Sport model as soon as they went on sale.  I will let you know how it works out.  

 

I have a feeling that their next generation model is going to really be innovative.  The optical scientists who founded the company really want to push the envelope with civilian night vision.

 

The civilian market potential for quality/affordable night vision has exploded.  Hog hunters, airsofters, boaters, Bigfoot/alien/ghost hunters... There are people out there who are want these products.

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15 minutes ago, hiflier said:

I have to admit, the Cyber Monday sale for $299 with free shipping is a very tantalizing offer.

I jumped on it Friday. Amazon has the same price, so it shipped fast. Mine arrived about an hour ago and it's charging now.

I haven't even put an SD card in yet, but I will try it out tonight.

SiOnyx.thumb.jpg.cb7169736c9244555631eba0aef890eb.jpg

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26 minutes ago, Redbone said:

I jumped on it Friday. Amazon has the same price, so it shipped fast. Mine arrived about an hour ago and it's charging now.

I haven't even put an SD card in yet, but I will try it out tonight.

SiOnyx.thumb.jpg.cb7169736c9244555631eba0aef890eb.jpg

I almost bought mine from Amazon, but I still cringe when I have to pay sales tax for online purchases.  Sionyx direct was free shipping and tax free.

 

Depending on how long they take to ship, I might end up regretting not buying it from Amazon.  

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I'll make this brief. I haven't given it too much effort yet.

 

The good.

  • With only a little ambient light, you can see things that you wouldn't otherwise see, and you can do this without an IR light source.
  • I see this as a perfect tool for detecting animals in near darkness. Based on my own experience, this will make eyes pop out of the darkness.
  • It takes still pictures or video, and does so with much better results than I get from my cheapo night vision device
  • It does have day mode, which means you can use this as a regular camcorder in daytime.

The bad.

  • It's sad that a device at this price comes without a lanyard or lens cover
  • There are no "operating" directions included. I had to stumble around to figure out how to install the battery, and then how to set date and time. Once you get through that, it's pretty easy to figure out the rest. I haven't messed too much with other settings yet.
  • It took me quite awhile to figure out how to focus it. There's a dial on the back, and I finally figured out I need to remove my glasses to use this. (I'm sure those with better eyes will be ok)
  • The quality of the video (in near darkness) is not great, but neither is video from a thermal camera. It's not likely to rise to the level of 'proof' if I capture a sasquatch on video. It should be very compelling though.
  • In total darkness, you may need some (but not much) light source. A little light will go a long way. I may purchase an IR illuminator to go with this. I will run a test first using my own IR nightvision device to see if that might be worthwhile.
  • Most of the buttons are easy to access and use, except for the "set" button. Imagine this is to prevent accidental engagement, but it also prevents 'on purpose engagement' in my case.
  • Audio does not seem that good, but there are settings there I have not messed with. No big concern to me because I always have an audio recorder on when I am squatching.

I ordered a generic water proof case so this can go safely into my backpack and I will look for a lanyard and lens cover.

 

I don't have a video ready to share (maybe after some editing to trim down the size) but here is a still pic of my beagle, in near total darkness. Had just a little light coming through the doorway. With naked eyes, I could see her white face but that's about all. This is indicative of what night video will look like, but quality goes way up with just a little light. If I took this same picture with my night vision device, you would not see the pattern in the pillow cases.

134235869_beagleinthedark.thumb.jpg.521fa3bfee7e8c30a0e75ef388b4d214.jpg

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8 hours ago, Redbone said:
  • The quality of the video (in near darkness) is not great, but neither is video from a thermal camera. It's not likely to rise to the level of 'proof' if I capture a sasquatch on video. It should be very compelling though.

 

Interesting because my experience has been that thermal has been remarkable even in the total blackness of night.  Here are two videos of something as tiny as a chipmunk recorded when it was so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of me.  I looked for years before I bought and I'd buy a FLIR Scout TK in a second. Cloudy? Who cares! No moon? Who cares!  It provides opportunities that I believe night vision can't offer, at least at this level of investment. I ended up getting a Pulsar thermal which, in my opinion, gives you the best quality image per dollar in the hand-held monocular market.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLtaIbiS9qM

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbca0qjPIFY

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I almost pulled the trigger to purchase one......but I didn't. Since I have a thermal I think I already have a leg up. My NV monocular has active IR capability should I choose to use it and depending on the level of intensity I'm good out to a hundred yards or better. At this point, if I was going to purchase another device I would save up for a really good thermal with image/video with a high Hz. Color would be nice to have but having such a feature wasn't enough to make me spring for the Aurora even with the cyber sale that was going on. If I didn't have or know about the two devices that I already have then yes, I wouldn't hesitate for an instant on the Aurora. At my age and for where I live I think I have already outfitted myself pretty well.

 

This is for you Redbone: https://www.sionyx.com/aurora-user-manual/

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13 hours ago, wiiawiwb said:

 

Interesting because my experience has been that thermal has been remarkable even in the total blackness of night.  Here are two videos of something as tiny as a chipmunk recorded when it was so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of me.  I looked for years before I bought and I'd buy a FLIR Scout TK in a second. Cloudy? Who cares! No moon? Who cares!  It provides opportunities that I believe night vision can't offer, at least at this level of investment. I ended up getting a Pulsar thermal which, in my opinion, gives you the best quality image per dollar in the hand-held monocular market.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLtaIbiS9qM

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbca0qjPIFY

Which pulsar model do you own?

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