tonyshooter Posted February 20, 2018 Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 Thermal Imaging Scope recommendation. Can anyone recommend a Thermal Imaging Scope. I have a pal who has a pulsar and I have recently used an ATN. All advice appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weejohn Posted February 20, 2018 Report Share Posted February 20, 2018 I think at the moment it is the ward wt75-3 which is at the top of the pile . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexsteve Posted March 30, 2018 Report Share Posted March 30, 2018 Yes the Ward WT1 75-3 is the only thermal scope in my opinion. Its so good I sold my drone pro. Had pulsar and looked through ATN neither meets my expectations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montey Posted March 31, 2018 Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 Has any one tried the latest offering from Pulsar the XP50 ? I have spoken to night vision uk but they are awaiting delivery of thier new model the web site seems to have a delivery date of 10 days permanently posted! I have foxs that I can't get on for as soon as I turn on the NM800 on top of my Drone they are gone very quickly.i want to try and then use a good thermal as we have lambs going out now and there's some big Wiley dog foxs around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oak tree Posted March 31, 2018 Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 I have been using a XP50 in the way of full-time deer control for the past 4 months. I cant compare it to anything else because its the only thermal I have used but it does get enable you to get more deer. I work in harsh conditions and so far its not gave me any problems other than the O ring on the lense cover has been lost. To me the lense cover could be better. It is the spotter that I am using and not the scope. The Phoenix on the nightvision forum has a good knowledge on thermals/night vision items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted March 31, 2018 Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 Have a look at this comparison between different Pulsar thermal spotters. The guy is speaking Polish or Lithuanian (I think) but it's basically a comparison of the XQ38/XQ50/XP38/XP50 at different ranges at base magnification and at maximum magnification OK, they're not scopes but they use the same lenses, sensors and display as the scopes so what you see when you look through one will be the same. The Ward WT1-75-3 is definitely the best bang for your buck thermal scope available at the moment, and IMHO the Trail XQ is a s close to it as Pulsar can get. The XP50 has lower magnification than the XQ and costs a lot more, but both have the same detection range, so I don't see any big advantage in it. Cheers Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montey Posted March 31, 2018 Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 Thanks for posting the link Scot country don't list it as a try and buy yet so I will wait for the night vision store uk stock to arrive as they are only half an hour away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexsteve Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 I had the trail xp38 for 2 weeks I sold it and bought the Ward. My mate uses the xp50. The ward is in a different league ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexsteve Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 On 31/03/2018 at 11:22 PM, Montey said: Thanks for posting the link Scot country don't list it as a try and buy yet so I will wait for the night vision store uk stock to arrive as they are only half an hour away. Look at the wt1 75-3 which is Clive’s offering if your near him before you order the pulsar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richiew Posted May 17, 2018 Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 Love my pulsar xq 38 , that is until I tried a xp50 which has the higher resolution sensor and found the detail much better then my model . its not worth the extra money tho. using the pulsar for spotting then firing up the drone pro 10 for the shot . also very happy with gen2 archer by starlight systems so at the moment prefer the detail of image intensifiers/digital units as rifle scopes go . thermal was great to use in winter but now summers here I have found it cant differentiate between hot land with rabbits on it and the rabbit itsself - have seen bunnies sat out on warm land with binos and when checked with the thermal its all one hot mass . try to have a look through both brfore taking the plunge .Military units still use very good intensifier technology .Have never seen anything like the images that are in the brochures so dont believe the hype as they say . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorlander Posted May 17, 2018 Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 Nothing beats Pulsar for price , quality and warranty back up , 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSOK Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 I upgraded to the XP50 the moment it came availible and i find it superb .... Like all Thermals there are nights when conditions make it seem as though your looking through a different unit but for spotting the 2.5x works well and I wouldn't want anymore . I can't say it's the best only the best that I've looked through and that does include a 'Military grade ' unit that goes for 4x the price . I'm always looking for a better solution even if the gains are small so being told the Ward unit is better than the XP50 makes me interested to see for myself . If anyone has the Ward unit and their not a silly distance away from Staffordshire I'd be able to compare . I assume that the Ward has the same size sensor to the Pulsar so the front 75mm objective is giving more mag but less FOV ? If that is the case that would be a plus on a weapons sight but a negative on a spotter for me . OSOK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorlander Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 3 hours ago, OSOK said: I upgraded to the XP50 the moment it came availible and i find it superb .... Like all Thermals there are nights when conditions make it seem as though your looking through a different unit but for spotting the 2.5x works well and I wouldn't want anymore . I can't say it's the best only the best that I've looked through and that does include a 'Military grade ' unit that goes for 4x the price . I'm always looking for a better solution even if the gains are small so being told the Ward unit is better than the XP50 makes me interested to see for myself . If anyone has the Ward unit and their not a silly distance away from Staffordshire I'd be able to compare . I assume that the Ward has the same size sensor to the Pulsar so the front 75mm objective is giving more mag but less FOV ? If that is the case that would be a plus on a weapons sight but a negative on a spotter for me . OSOK Be careful of retailers who use the term Military Spec , the genuine Military Spec hand held ones I`ve seen are £70k + ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 3 hours ago, Moorlander said: Be careful of retailers who use the term Military Spec , the genuine Military Spec hand held ones I`ve seen are £70k + ? The handheld thermals the military use are definitely no better than we can buy commercially. The military get their advantage with vehicle mounted equipment where they can use bigger lenses to get more magnification/detection range and possibly the use cooled detectors to get better temperature sensitivity Cheers Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorlander Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 Then I wonder why they cost £70k + when a civvy ones are generally up to £7-8 k ? I`ve recently looked through through military ones and they far exceed anything I`ve seen on the foxing scene . Recognition range 7km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted May 19, 2018 Report Share Posted May 19, 2018 The thermal you linked to costs £70k and has a recognition range of 7Km because: a. It works in a different wavelength band than the thermals we use (it works in MWIR 3-5 micron, we work in LWIR 8-14micron) b. It is a cooled sensor, the thermals we use are all uncooled sensors and as I said earlier, cooled sensors are more sensitive c. It has a 150mm focal length lens which is 3 times bigger than anything Pulsar do It also weighs 3.5Kg, which is a bit too much for me to lug around!! Cheers Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorlander Posted May 19, 2018 Report Share Posted May 19, 2018 3 hours ago, phoenix said: The thermal you linked to costs £70k and has a recognition range of 7Km because: a. It works in a different wavelength band than the thermals we use (it works in MWIR 3-5 micron, we work in LWIR 8-14micron) b. It is a cooled sensor, the thermals we use are all uncooled sensors and as I said earlier, cooled sensors are more sensitive c. It has a 150mm focal length lens which is 3 times bigger than anything Pulsar do It also weighs 3.5Kg, which is a bit too much for me to lug around!! Cheers Bruce And like I initially stated , far better than civvy ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSOK Posted May 19, 2018 Report Share Posted May 19, 2018 Again without seeing with my own eyes I can't say but if I'm understanding it right then that unit has 2.1x mag with only 384x288 resolution ? OSOK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montey Posted May 19, 2018 Report Share Posted May 19, 2018 The ward site is still showing 10 days its been showing this for some time now perhaps he needs a new calendar !! I would still like to purchase a thermoscope although the lambs are grown up now and we have not lost one all season ? I've read the reviews and the scopes keep coming out top however I wonder what the customer service is like from nightvision store ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted May 19, 2018 Report Share Posted May 19, 2018 Correct, it's a £70K thermal with a low resolution sensor. Pulsar will sell you a handheld thermal with a 640 x 480 sensor for around £3k. The £70K price gets you the following: a. A 25-150mm zoom lens - and that bit alone is approx £25K b. A cooled sensor that works in the MWIR region (3-5 micron) as opposed to the uncooled sensors we use that work in the LWIR region (8-14 micron). MWIR is preferred at higher temperatures, whilst LWIR sensors are preferred at room temperatures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_vision Cooled sensors are much more expensive than uncooled sensors c. A roughy toughy case designed to handle battlefield conditions d. Strong arms and a sore neck from carrying it around BTW it doesn't have a RECOGNITION range of 7KM it has a DETECTION range of 7Km. It's RECOGNITION range is 2.5KM About 3 years ago I bought a 640x480 thermal core and 100mm lens from a company in China and built my own spotter. It has a DETECTION range of approx 5KM and cost me less than £4k to build. Cheers Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 I hear good things about Ward hand held devices, better than Flir / Pulsar offerings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorlander Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 29 minutes ago, Ronin said: I hear good things about Ward hand held devices, better than Flir / Pulsar offerings? Doubt it , too small a company for R&D investment and back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSOK Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 So basically ... a total waste of money ? It's a pity Pulsar don't bring out a 75mm lens for the XP range ... I wouldn't want to loose the 2.5x mag of the 50mm for scanning but I'd love to see how it would effect the resolution through the 75mm . Maybe someone could bring out a Pulsar to Canon adapter for the XP ? OSOK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorlander Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Not a total waste of money , more a case of horses for courses . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 2 hours ago, Ronin said: I hear good things about Ward hand held devices, better than Flir / Pulsar offerings? FLIR I would avoid. - Because of ITAR, for or any market outside USA, they are only allowed to sell kit with a refresh rate not exceeding 9Hz - that makes looking at anything moving like watching a silent movie. Pulsar is the benchmark in thermal spotter and scopes for hunting purposes. Guide are OK, but seriously overpriced for what they are. Clive Ward sells a two handheld thermals, IMHO neither is quite as good as the equivalent Pulsar Helions. When it comes to riflescopes, the Ward 75mm thermal scopes (75-3 and 75-6) are better than anything Pulsar sells - simply because of the 75mm lens. Cheers Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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