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Old 12-28-2017, 09:01 PM   #1
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Default FLIR vs Leopold

I am thinking about buying a thermal imaging scope. I am undecided between FLIR and Leopold. Has anyone here used either?
How good are they at finding your way in the dark?
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Old 12-29-2017, 12:01 AM   #2
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I can't comment of the latest technology. However, I bought a night vision scope about 25 years ago. Supposedly developed for the Israeli military, it was an interesting instrument. In most cases I used it navigating my way into darkened marinas after hours. It was better, for that job, than the ancient radar I had at the time. There was also some real benefit when trying to navigate Indonesian waters, peppered with unlit fishing net buoys, at night.

Where it was truly worthwhile was for finding the boat in dark anchorages on moonless nights, and I was able to see people walking about, or dinghy-ing about, in the marina or anchorage at night. This was valuable to spot people whose intent was less than honest.

At the time it was a relatively expensive piece of equipment. It's major drawback was that it only provided a 2 dimensional image and when pointed to moderately bright light, it would shut down to protect the user's eyes and the sensitive equipment inside.

They are still quite expensive. But I imagine that similar to the rest of the technological world, they have become far more detailed (not just a fuzzy green image) in their imaging.

In summary, it was a superb night time toy and in some cases, was a well worthwhile piece of safety navigational equipment.

Please let us know if yo end up buying one.
Happy new year...
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Old 12-29-2017, 02:18 AM   #3
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I have a FLIR which came as part of my Cat S60 smartphone. Other than a few issues with the phone itself (SD card slot doesn't work), the FLIR camera is fine.
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Old 12-29-2017, 11:12 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by delatbabel View Post
I have a FLIR which came as part of my Cat S60 smartphone. Other than a few issues with the phone itself (SD card slot doesn't work), the FLIR camera is fine.
How is the resolution on a dark, moonless night ,enough to find you way into a totally dark cove?
Reflector tape on my boat and dinghy, along with an LED flashlight, make them easy to find, both for me and for other boats entering the anchorage at night.
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Old 01-11-2018, 11:11 PM   #5
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I just did some intersting research on night vision.
Seems generation 2 is a huge improvement on generation1.Gen 3 is only a slight improvement over gen 2. Then, they mentioned digital, almost as good as Gen 2 ,but much cheaper ,and immune to having things fried by a flash of bright light. Lots of really cheap ones from China on Ebay.
Sure glad I didn't buy the FLIR. The image they showed was shapeless blobs; terrible optics, and far more expensive than digital IR ,which are as low as $100US, compared to $800 CDN for a flir scout ,their bottom of the line FLIR.The FLIR Scout also uses a USB charger on an internal battery, which, when it quits, makes the unit useless.
I have had too many electronic devices rendered useless that way.
Give me AA batteries any time
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