Thread: Thermal scopes - best bang for your buck?

Have an older FLIR Scout hand held & thinking about upgrading to something with better resolution, image clarity and longer range performance. Also want to keep to a smaller compact unit which can operate as hand held or mounted as scope. Range finding capability would be a nice feature.
Would consider 2nd hand or new. What’s out there that’s worth considering & how much/little is the price tag.

Have a look at night vision NZ ken has some pretty cutting edge stuff, smaller with much better definition than anything else I've seen.

I run the xp50 now 4 years old. It does everything and more than I need. However it does not always hold the same zero when clicking on and off. I have heard the same comment from others with different models.
The ideal would be leaving it on and getting a cheaper hand held which is my next step.
They come up second hand a bit for around 4k

I use pard for work, get the return to zero mount and you can use as a handheld and put it on to shoot no worries they are smaller, lighter and a bit cheaper then some out there. Everyone has their own opinions so have a good shop round. What ever you get make sure you get a rangefinder. I recommend having a chat with Fraser who sells the pards as he really knows his stuff he even has videos on YouTube if you want to watch those

Thanks @FatNinja what model Pard would you recommend?

100% have a chat to Ken at Night Vision NZ. His range is extensive, and his prices are sharp.
Purchased 2 thermal spotters from him over the years (2 different brands), and I've been very happy with both.

I have the old thermal scope sa-45 am going to up grade when the new ones arrive

Any reviews on the Sytong monoculars? Heard some very positive comments but be good to hear for an owner.

Originally Posted by DBD

Any reviews on the Sytong monoculars? Heard some very positive comments but be good to hear for an owner.

I’m uploading lots of video from our pest control work to YouTube on our Nightvisionnz channel. Most venders will say “it looks better through the device than the video”. We don’t. Compare ours with everything out there.

I’m not a fan of clip on thermal. Repeatability will entirely depend on your scope and the thermals mount. Also as soon as you optically magnify, pixelisation becomes an issue.
At night vision nz we have some very affordable new gear coming that will blow the market wide open on thermals.
We have a booth at field days too if you want hands on.

Originally Posted by 55six

I’m not a fan of clip on thermal. Repeatability will entirely depend on your scope and the thermals mount. Also as soon as you optically magnify, pixelisation becomes an issue.
At night vision nz we have some very affordable new gear coming that will blow the market wide open on thermals.
We have a booth at field days too if you want hands on.

When will the new gear be available and any info on it?

Originally Posted by 55six

I’m not a fan of clip on thermal. Repeatability will entirely depend on your scope and the thermals mount. Also as soon as you optically magnify, pixelisation becomes an issue.
At night vision nz we have some very affordable new gear coming that will blow the market wide open on thermals.
We have a booth at field days too if you want hands on.

That sounds very interesting- any specifics that can be shared. Drop me a PM if that works,

Originally Posted by chainsaw

That sounds very interesting- any specifics that can be shared. Drop me a PM if that works,

The scopes are Sytongs new PM03 in 35mm and 50mm. They have the same sensor as the more expnsive models - 384x288, 12 micron, sub 25 NETD. Thats pretty much where the better thermals are speced on todays market but these are much more affordable being $2599 and $2999 respectively. A HIK Micro Thunder TH25 is 17 Micron sub 35mk NETD, lower specs and $1000 more.

We also have something for the tinkerers coming, build yourself a thermal that can be used on a gun, software development kit etc for around $700.

Originally Posted by 55six

We also have something for the tinkerers coming, build yourself a thermal that can be used on a gun, software development kit etc for around $700.

THAT sounds interesting!

Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

THAT sounds interesting!

Plugs into your cell phone.

Some footage here of deer from 125m to 500m: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWl8QD5atXI