Joining the thermal club - Good deal

Under $400 for factory refurbished Canon….Free shipping. I may try these this season, as these are game changer when trying to quickly assess a deer to pass or shoot.

My fear is they won't work on the water. A lot of reviews I've read for various stabilized binoculars say for use on the ocean they need to be gyro stabilized. Sure would be nice to see birds working in the distance with a good pair of binoculars but $5K isn't something I'm ready plop down for them 😁
 
My fear is they won't work on the water. A lot of reviews I've read for various stabilized binoculars say for use on the ocean they need to be gyro stabilized. Sure would be nice to see birds working in the distance with a good pair of binoculars but $5K isn't something I'm ready plop down for them 😁
Use on water is definitely different….I did see some in the sub $2K range that had good reviews from sailers. The price of all electronic optics has gone down. The ATN thermal RGrizzz is getting is half the price today as it was when introduced. Of course, the question is “buy yesterday’s technology at half price” or “today’s technology at full price.” As I read about the Canon IS gen 1 vs gen 2, the difference was too subtle to justify paying more, but that is not always the case.

RGrizzz, be sure to post some use reports for us! Thanks
 
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I am close to pulling the trigger on thermal. I am still trying to decide on something around the $2k mark. The AGM rattlers are still among the top picks for me.
386 resolution is the price of 256 from a couple years ago. 640 is now becoming affordable.

This is hard.
 
Get 640. Check out pard.
OK, you convinced me to go 640 and my price range did not change much. Thank you. I checked out some of pards offerings and am wondering what their advantage is? Their prices seem to offer a bit more.

Do you know anything about Guide IR? I am getting mixed feelings based on their website. The prices look right. Are they rebranding? They claim "Guide IR ranks Top 2 as global infrared thermal imager manufacturer," Looks like the wording may be open to interpretation. I have heard of Flir, BAE, etc, but not these folks.

and their gun handling isn't something I want to be around:

1753923432178.png
 
OK, you convinced me to go 640 and my price range did not change much. Thank you. I checked out some of pards offerings and am wondering what their advantage is? Their prices seem to offer a bit more.

Do you know anything about Guide IR? I am getting mixed feelings based on their website. The prices look right. Are they rebranding? They claim "Guide IR ranks Top 2 as global infrared thermal imager manufacturer," Looks like the wording may be open to interpretation. I have heard of Flir, BAE, etc, but not these folks.

and their gun handling isn't something I want to be around:

View attachment 80837
Not familiar with guide.

Pard is Chinese made. You just get more when you go Chinese but then you are sending money to china.

Check our pard dealer on eBay. I made him a lowball offer and got a 3500 model for 2000.

I have two pulsar and they are the Cadillac but you pay more.

Nocpix is getting good reviews.
 
Not familiar with guide.

Pard is Chinese made. You just get more when you go Chinese but then you are sending money to china.

Check our pard dealer on eBay. I made him a lowball offer and got a 3500 model for 2000.

I have two pulsar and they are the Cadillac but you pay more.

Nocpix is getting good reviews.

I suspect guide is Chinese as well, likely same sensors as other Chinese.

I found a good deal on a Pard landsat 640, multispectral that really has me tempted, but I am not real hip to digital NV and am reading at least one guy who regrets it because he never uses the NV, only the thermal. I think the same guy was saying his image quality on the pard is better than his Pulsars, but thats just one guy.

Pulsar keeps coming up as a favorite, so I will focus on those today and see if this landsat deal still looks good at the end of today.

I need to pull the trigger soon, Everytime I have got to this place of being debt free I get hit with something; transmission failures, medical, attorneys, something.
 
I suspect guide is Chinese as well, likely same sensors as other Chinese.

I found a good deal on a Pard landsat 640, multispectral that really has me tempted, but I am not real hip to digital NV and am reading at least one guy who regrets it because he never uses the NV, only the thermal. I think the same guy was saying his image quality on the pard is better than his Pulsars, but thats just one guy.

Pulsar keeps coming up as a favorite, so I will focus on those today and see if this landsat deal still looks good at the end of today.

I need to pull the trigger soon, Everytime I have got to this place of being debt free I get hit with something; transmission failures, medical, attorneys, something.
What’s your budget and I’ll look around too.

My pard is multispectral and I never use the NV either. But the thermal is 640 and great. The image is as good as the pulsar. But the overall clicks and icons are not as slick as the pulsar.

I hear you on something always coming up!
 
What’s your budget and I’ll look around too.

My pard is multispectral and I never use the NV either. But the thermal is 640 and great. The image is as good as the pulsar. But the overall clicks and icons are not as slick as the pulsar.

I hear you on something always coming up!
The budget keeps growing, now at around $3500, but feeling better about $3k.
Is LRF worth it? I have no desire for built in ballistic calcs.

I am also more interested in compact designs rather than those that mimick a daylight scope.
 
The budget keeps growing, now at around $3500, but feeling better about $3k.
Is LRF worth it? I have no desire for built in ballistic calcs.

I am also more interested in compact designs rather than those that mimick a daylight scope.
So yes. It is worth it for sure. Hard to judge distance through thermal. It’s monocular and you’re looking at a screen.

If I was you I would split the 3500 and get a 2k scope and a 1500 spotter (probably demo models at that price). And get the lrf on the spotter. If you get just the scope get lrf on that.
 
I always use a local thermal guy that gets me great deals. DM me and I’ll share his contact. Call him and tell him what you want and budget and he will get you best for the price.

He always has alot of demos and trade ins.
 
Omicron's thermal guy is out living life this week so my compulsion drove me to Guide Sensmart and a TR-630 after checking every review I could find; all positive. They are not well known, but the same sensors manufacturer that Steiner and number of other name brands use. I got a 30% discount with my various public service roles and am into a 640 res unit for $2k. I will be getting an add on LRF later.

One of my buying points was that it uses 18650 batteries, which are scattered around my place.

Coyotes are going to die, and perhaps a couple big cats. Probably going to help in finding lost idiots too.
 
Omicron's thermal guy is out living life this week so my compulsion drove me to Guide Sensmart and a TR-630 after checking every review I could find; all positive. They are not well known, but the same sensors manufacturer that Steiner and number of other name brands use. I got a 30% discount with my various public service roles and am into a 640 res unit for $2k. I will be getting an add on LRF later.

One of my buying points was that it uses 18650 batteries, which are scattered around my place.

Coyotes are going to die, and perhaps a couple big cats. Probably going to help in finding lost idiots too.
It’s addictive. Might be my favorite form of hunting these days.
 
It’s addictive. Might be my favorite form of hunting these days.
Calling contests are a big thing around here, I think this is why. Perfectly normal people who stay up all night without the help of chemicals. I used to do some nocturnal wildlife research when I was in school, and even without a rifle I found good NV to be pretty addicting too. This has been a want for quite a while. Hopefully Monday night....might be missing work tuesday.....damn, just checked the tracking, it might be here tomorrow.
 
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