Most blunt review of FLIR camera ever!
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| FLIR Scout Lightning |
Sometimes when you're looking for a FLIR night vision camera, you just want to know that it works as advertised, without all the B.S. Here's a review of the FLIR Scout Lightning by Gizmodo, the number one gadget website known for their online snarkiness.
Also, make sure you watch their video to see a demonstration of how sensitive the $4000 camera is. The guy peed in the video to show how you can use it to track animals in the wild.
"The reason we peed in the video was to show that it could be used in animal tracking. That glowing white in the shot after was recorded minutes later. Impressively sensitive." - Gizmodo
FLIR Scout Lightning Review: IT LETS YOU SEE IN THE DARK, DUDE
As far as superpowers go, the ability to see in the dark isn't generally very high on peoples' lists. Suckas! It's awesome. And useful! The FLIR Scout TS-Series gives you those superpowers, Mr. Wayne.
What Is It?
It's a thermal monocular that lets you SEE IN THE DARK.
Who's it For?
Secret agents, security/surveillance professionals, well-heeled hunters, expedition leaders, trackers. Pervs.
Design
It feels like military grade hardware: strong, waterproof, and can be used right or left handed.
Using It
There's a lot of wow factor here, and once you're over that there's screwy ergonomics. Buttons are way harder to push than they should be, and the menu system is written like an engineering textbook.
The Best Part
You can see in the fucking dark! (And choose between several visualisation modes, which are really handy in different circumstances)
Tragic Flaw
Aside from the butterface menus and unresponsive buttons: it chews through batteries very quickly.
This Is Weird...
You need a screwdriver to remove the batteries, which is screwy because a) They're supposedly "field-replaceable" and b) The thing eats batteries like they're covered in sugar and sitting in a pie dish.
Test Notes
Should You Buy It?
Depends who are you are. Are you a rich hunter? Then yes! Are you a security professional? Then sure! Are you an average consumer who is curious about night vision? Then no, because it costs $4,000. Unless you're going to use it for your livelihood, or you've just got tons of money to burn, it's pretty hard to justify. If you can justify it, however, have fun!
FLIR Scout TS-Series
As far as superpowers go, the ability to see in the dark isn't generally very high on peoples' lists. Suckas! It's awesome. And useful! The FLIR Scout TS-Series gives you those superpowers, Mr. Wayne.
What Is It?
It's a thermal monocular that lets you SEE IN THE DARK.
Who's it For?
Secret agents, security/surveillance professionals, well-heeled hunters, expedition leaders, trackers. Pervs.
Design
It feels like military grade hardware: strong, waterproof, and can be used right or left handed.
Using It
There's a lot of wow factor here, and once you're over that there's screwy ergonomics. Buttons are way harder to push than they should be, and the menu system is written like an engineering textbook.
The Best Part
You can see in the fucking dark! (And choose between several visualisation modes, which are really handy in different circumstances)
Tragic Flaw
Aside from the butterface menus and unresponsive buttons: it chews through batteries very quickly.
This Is Weird...
You need a screwdriver to remove the batteries, which is screwy because a) They're supposedly "field-replaceable" and b) The thing eats batteries like they're covered in sugar and sitting in a pie dish.
Test Notes
- The modes you see in the video are White is Hot, Black is Hot, and Red is Hot (with varying sensitivities)
- The reason we peed in the video was to show that it could be used in animal tracking. That glowing white in the shot after was recorded minutes later. Impressively sensitive.
- Look how bright the cell phone was when we put it on the ground. It stayed that way for a long time, making this good for recovering lost objects.
- You can record stills and video clips to an SD card, but with a maximum resolution of 320×240. Pretty low-res
- That strange looking eye-piece you see in the photos is to prevent light-leak so you aren't detected, but it means you have to firmly press it against your eye, which takes a little getting used to
Should You Buy It?
Depends who are you are. Are you a rich hunter? Then yes! Are you a security professional? Then sure! Are you an average consumer who is curious about night vision? Then no, because it costs $4,000. Unless you're going to use it for your livelihood, or you've just got tons of money to burn, it's pretty hard to justify. If you can justify it, however, have fun!
FLIR Scout TS-Series
- Lens: 19 mm lens with 24° field of view (optional 2x extender) or a 65
- mm lens with 7° field of view
- Battery: 4AA
- Photo/Video: 240×180 or 320×240
- Rechargable: Yes
- Storage: SD card
- Waterproof: Yes (IP67)
- Price: $4,000
- Gizrank: 3 stars
[via Gizmodo]
We used a FLIR on our last hunt and it was really nice because we parked ourselves next to the caves where a bunch of bobcats were hiding out. The better quality, the more it sucks batteries. I got an IR pocket cam and that f'er sucks batteries just the same and the rechargeable is dead within an hour of charging the damn thing and if you go with alkaline batteries, you have to change them every 10 minutes.I wouldn't even mind wearing a belt-battery pack like with sound equipment for filming if it meant not having to pop in new batteries constantly. Great review.
ReplyDeleteWay too pricy for me.I'm just a lone BF hunter who makes an average wage Any FLIR is beyond my reach.
ReplyDeleteI could buy a lot of cameras and other gear for $4,000.
you can rent the FLIR i7 for $425/month! Google it. Yeah!
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is I think 780p and only takes stills, you can mount a video cam on a rail, whatever, and film real time with the benefit of sound on your video cam.
The light cast from the LCD screen is just about right for hanging out in known territory with even terrain...
because you won't be getting definition of features (it does have a decent gray-scale) move toward the subject. I was too passive. I needed more definitive motion on my footage. So, great for me and first attempt..but not sufficient!
I could actually use a FLIR.The spots I go to have quite a few predators.
ReplyDelete