Earlier I made a post on the thermal thread that is running in the stalking section: I then read Paddy's comments on my "Paired up foxs" thread and the problems he was facing with this mild damp weather.
So some more comments. I have been fortunate to have on loan for a month a new xt 38 and had a chance to compare it with a HD38s but the main problem has been so warm and everything including trees has some degree of heat signature. Also with night teperatures of 10-15 c its not given me a real oppourtunity to see how good the new unit is. One thing we have found out that in warm misly damp evenings in both units cases viewing was poor, lack of range and clarrity. Contrary to what you have been told light rain/mist make life v difficult even with a thermal. I don't think i have been out on a night which was sub 10c but on a few nights vissibility has been better. The new unit is a bit sharper than the original and the image focus appears more precise, but as in both cases quite narrow. I find best to focus on top most branches of a tree at 100-200yds. Also image quality is quite dependant on the contrast setting I found 6-8 being best for me.
I found that when using red heat there was unacceptable image flare out so reverted to white hot which worked well. Rangefinder option is ok but as we have Geovids we can use them for precise ranging and generally are aware of the likely ranges on our ground. Then again with a DP on a .204 no issues with bullet drop under 99% of situations.
Overall some what improved site picture but questionable gizzomos of limited use.
Just hope it gets cold and mate comes down so we can see what they are both like in cold conditions.
Update to follow
D
So some more comments. I have been fortunate to have on loan for a month a new xt 38 and had a chance to compare it with a HD38s but the main problem has been so warm and everything including trees has some degree of heat signature. Also with night teperatures of 10-15 c its not given me a real oppourtunity to see how good the new unit is. One thing we have found out that in warm misly damp evenings in both units cases viewing was poor, lack of range and clarrity. Contrary to what you have been told light rain/mist make life v difficult even with a thermal. I don't think i have been out on a night which was sub 10c but on a few nights vissibility has been better. The new unit is a bit sharper than the original and the image focus appears more precise, but as in both cases quite narrow. I find best to focus on top most branches of a tree at 100-200yds. Also image quality is quite dependant on the contrast setting I found 6-8 being best for me.
I found that when using red heat there was unacceptable image flare out so reverted to white hot which worked well. Rangefinder option is ok but as we have Geovids we can use them for precise ranging and generally are aware of the likely ranges on our ground. Then again with a DP on a .204 no issues with bullet drop under 99% of situations.
Overall some what improved site picture but questionable gizzomos of limited use.
Just hope it gets cold and mate comes down so we can see what they are both like in cold conditions.
Update to follow
D