High End Research Gear And Equipment

[wiiawiwb]

I did a fair amount of research and ended up getting the Helion XQ28F.  The two issues I wrestled with was FOV and whether to go with the higher resolution XP series.   The XQ28F gave me the widest FOV of any Helion model they offered in the US.  The XP series has a higher resolution (640x480 vs 384x288) but its native magnification is lower than the XQ series. You pay extra (~$600) for the higher resolution but in order to get the same size figure with the XP as the XQ, you must optically zoom. In so doing,  you reduce the resolution which you just paid extra for.  The added benefit of the XP series is you can swap out lens and go from a 30mm to 38mm to a 50mm lens if you so desire.  That option is not available with the XQ series.

[BlackRockBigfoot]

Image quality looks great.  I might look into one of these in 2020...upgrade from the Scout TK.

14 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?

[NathanFooter]

1 hour ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

Image quality looks great.  I might look into one of these in 2020...upgrade from the Scout TK.

Which pulsar model do you own?

 

 I have used all makes and models ( outside of the long range military models ), the Pulsar Helion series is the best there is on the market for durability, battery life, flexibility and resolution.  The only con is that the internal video storage is around 5 hours before you need to offload the video.   Makes recording stationary overnight a pain as you only get half the night.    For price and features there is no better option out there.

[wiiawiwb]

5 hours ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

Image quality looks great.  I might look into one of these in 2020...upgrade from the Scout TK.

Which pulsar model do you own?

 

I have a Helion XQ28F which is no longer made but may still be available from a retailer. 

 

I think many people have considered the XQ38F the best all around Pulsar model when considering both price and performance.  As with everything else there are tradeoffs.  The  XQ38F can pick up a figure in the distance better than the XQ28F.  Where I go sasquatching, it is a dense forest so there are almost no circumstances where I will need to see something beyond 800 meters. The XQ38F goes out to 1,350 meters.   I probably don't need a detection range beyond 100 meters.  My XQ28F has a wider FOV so it can detect more than the XQ38F can without scanning.

 

Pulsar now has its Axion line of thermals.  If I were looking again, I'd look at the Axion line and decide between that and the Helion XQ28F or XQ38F depending on the terrain you going sasquatching in.

Edited December 4, 2019 by wiiawiwb

[wiiawiwb]

4 hours ago, NathanFooter said:

 

 I have used all makes and models ( outside of the long range military models ), the Pulsar Helion series is the best there is on the market for durability, battery life, flexibility and resolution.  The only con is that the internal video storage is around 5 hours before you need to offload the video.   Makes recording stationary overnight a pain as you only get half the night.    For price and features there is no better option out there.

 

I've called Pulsar a few times to see if there were any new developments, or attachments, that would allow for a longer recording time.  The last time I called, they confirmed there was still no way to extend the recording time without offloading the existing video and deleting it from the unit. 

[BlackRockBigfoot]

On 12/3/2019 at 9:39 AM, Redbone said:

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.

If you don't mind, let me know which case and lens cover you end up going with.

[Redbone]

5 hours ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

If you don't mind, let me know which case and lens cover you end up going with.

Here is the case and it is perfect for my needs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P9TLFBB/?pldnSite=1

I have not figured out what lens cap to get yet, but I think it's 48 mm. I have to find my calipers to be sure. No freaking idea where they are at the moment.

 

I also bought a cheap pack of neck lanyards which seem like they will work great. I'm going to use at least two of the extras for my radios:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DQSHN31/

[BlackRockBigfoot]

8 hours ago, Redbone said:

Here is the case and it is perfect for my needs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P9TLFBB/?pldnSite=1

I have not figured out what lens cap to get yet, but I think it's 48 mm. I have to find my calipers to be sure. No freaking idea where they are at the moment.

 

I also bought a cheap pack of neck lanyards which seem like they will work great. I'm going to use at least two of the extras for my radios:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DQSHN31/

Awesome.  Thanks for posting the links.  Probably going to grab those neck lanyards today.  I would like a case that had attachment points, similar to what I have for the FLIR.

 

The lens cap has had me stumped, honestly.  I  am not a cameraphile, so I am not even really sure how to measure the lens for the proper fit.

Just saw that some of the Sport bundle packs being sold include this lens cap:

Flip up lens cover

 

I may go with this option.

[Redbone]

Did a field test last night. attached is a very short clip to show how it looked on a moonlit night.

 

[Wolfjewel]

Whoa! Pareidolia! On the first pic I see what looks like a giant deer (?) to the left of the people,,  including dark eye and nose, with the pink from the back of someone’s jacket even looking like a tongue. Of course in the video all look like normal people.

[SWWASAS]

There has been a discussion of LIDAR on another thread.    If someone had a couple of million to develop this system for movement detection it would be a great tool.    While LIDAR is normally used from a moving airplane or drone and software strips away vegetation to show bare ground,   it seems to me that a stationary laser scanner set up in a forested area could be programmed differently.       Police departments are using the device to document crime scenes.     They set up the scanner and it scans the area, and it produces a detailed three dimensional picture that shows the crime scene with very accurate measurements.     Change that software and there is no reason that a stationary scanner could not scan and look for motion.       You could take a block of data that reproduces the scan area in great accuracy.    Then have the software eliminate anything that has not moved in 30 minutes.    If some squirrel runs up a tree, or a bigfoot peeks out from behind a tree,  the computer would display the object in motion.    There would be no guessing how tall it was or how far away.   We would know within a centimeter.    I suppose existing hardware could be modified but the software changes would be daunting.  

[wiiawiwb]

19 hours ago, Redbone said:

Did a field test last night. attached is a very short clip to show how it looked on a moonlit night.

 

 

 

Redbone. Nice, you will definitely be able to detect movement in the woods. That's huge.

 

What is the source of the two yellow orbs in the background?  Are you going to get an IR illuminator for nights when there is no moon or the sky is covered with clouds? It might be interesting to have an IR flashlight and when you detect movement shine the IR flashlight on it.

Edited December 10, 2019 by wiiawiwb

[Redbone]

1 hour ago, wiiawiwb said:

 

Redbone. Nice, you will definitely be able to detect movement in the woods. That's huge.

 

What is the source of the two yellow orbs in the background?  Are you going to get an IR illuminator for nights when there is no moon or the sky is covered with clouds? It might be interesting to have an IR flashlight and when you detect movement shine the IR flashlight on it.

I have to note that the moon was high and bright during this outing. The lights were too far for me to speculate, and I'm disinterested in dealing with the snark that could follow. I can say the lights we see here are not always there. You see one red flash a little to the right that I know is distant tower.

 

I did a test with IR source from my night vision monocular, and it made the camera less effective. For the time being, I am not planning on another IR source. If I change my mind, it needs to be a flood light (or adjustable beam)

[Redbone]

Here is another example clip from Saturday night.

[hiflier]

Very cool RB. Thanks for the share.