Thermal camera's

[Tonyk777]

Hi all
Just curious to hear of any experience and successes with thermal camera's.☻

Thinking of a purchase but if infrared fails to provide evidence is thermal imagery a better option.

Anthony

Eumundi QLD

[Dion]

Hi there Anthony

Firstly welcome to the forums.

Thermal is certainly the better option, I dont have one personally but have used them out in the field on a number of occasions.

They do have the ability to destroy/limit your own night vision however if you are constantly looking through them.

In regards to success with them, you have to be extremely lucky to come across a Yowie even without Night vision equipment, I cant think of anyone who has captured a Yowie with one, there maybe someone who has however? There are a few you-tube videos (dont know if they are still on you-tube) where Bigfoot supposedly has been seen through thermal but even in this instance you are looking at white blobs.

Other than that they are a great asset to have as a piece of equipment and certainly would be the better choice over infrared.

[Tonyk777]

Thanks Dion

I have been wondering about their aversion to infrared. I cant recall from my basic reading on this subject similar reactions to infrared by other mammals. Its unique to avoid this light wave form. Tricky

The thermal cameras I have looked at the top end are expensive but if its possible to blue tooth a confirmed image & locations from a spotter to a series of hand held devices then tracking day and night by a team potentially improved.

I have no experience except bush craft so this may be impractical.

[Slats]

Hi Tonyk777
I had a FLIR Scout 240, it was a great piece of kit only it didn't record, being ex army I've had experience with night vision devices and the image intensifier tubes are very sensitive to bright light and can be damaged easily, digital night vision is less in better in that respect and it can be purchsed in 4K Camcorders but they require an IR light source and consumer night vision devices are ridiculously expensive for good quality.
As Dion said you would have to be very lucky to see one period, however, If you are looking at thermal imagers, FLIR has two I would suggest, firstly, the FLIR One it attaches to your smartphone and operates though an app average price is around $500 but obviously not that rugged. The next is the FLIR Scout TK or Ocean Scout TK it's a handheld device that can record and take pictures. It's more rugged the ocean scout is generally cheaper (ebay). Range and resolution of these devices is limited but are good options as a lower cost thermal imaging devices

Cheers Slats

[Rusty2]

Thinking of a purchase

Hi Anthony !
I've bought a lot of tech over the last 10 years and can tell you from bitter experience that buying something that only does half the job is a waste of time and money and you'll be disappointed .

Buy the right tools for the job and you'll be glad you did .

https://www.nightvision.com.au/product/ ... monocular/

"Helion thermal imaging monoculars can detect big game sized heat signatures up to 1800 meters away."

Good luck !

[Slats]

Hey Rusty
That's one bad boy of a thermal imager...

[Rusty2]

That's one bad boy of a thermal imager...

, yeah totally sick .

[aaq]

Thanks Dion

I have been wondering about their aversion to infrared. I cant recall from my basic reading on this subject similar reactions to infrared by other mammals. Its unique to avoid this light wave form. Tricky

The thermal cameras I have looked at the top end are expensive but if its possible to blue tooth a confirmed image & locations from a spotter to a series of hand held devices then tracking day and night by a team potentially improved.

I have no experience except bush craft so this may be impractical.

Hi Tony,

I don't think it's necessarily unique: deer are well known to be startled by infrared flash/light. The Yowie having eyeshine is interesting (as large primates and humans do not) but seeing infrared light is not a far stretch by any means. The source of IR would be quite obvious, and there would also be surroundings to, say, 5-15m, that would be illuminated. If you're sensitive, you'd see it all. Deer certainly do, and I'm sure many other animals do too.

But I believe, like others have said before, that you're on the right track with passive/thermal as it relies on a highly sensitive sensor in a fairly narrow band, rather than moderate sensitivity with full illumination.

[Tonyk777]

Hi all

I do appreciate advice. I did not know that deer are sensitive to Infrared. Not as an uncommon reaction as I previously presumed!
I looked at Flir thermal cameras hand held .. and attached to DJI Matrice drones.
The top end Flir cameras utilised in search and rescue. You can spend upwards of 30k - 40K for this type of setup plus CASA UAV licensing.
Sure if you plan to launch a business besides yowie spotting it may be the thing.

However impressive capaciity.

Tonyk777
.

[Tonyk777]

Just following up on this conversation.

Has anyone actually had success yet spoting a Yowie with their thermal camera gear?



Tonyk777

[Slats]

Hi Tony
Not that I'm aware of, there's not many people who have thermal camera's. It's a matter of right place and time.
In saying that though, you would have a better chance capturing something at night with a thermal camera than any other means because they are a passive infrared device. If your willing to sit/move quietly at night without any other light source

[Mad Academic]

I am just about to leave Russia. Have been here several months.
Saw a shop selling everything for hunters the other day and ducked in for a look.
They had some nice gear...guns galore as you'd expect but also night vision stuff.
I asked about "star-scopes" (those that simply amplify ambient light and don't have an IR source) and the guy showed me 2.
Brilliant pieces of kit but the cheaper one was about $3700 so I couldn't really justify it!
Not sure if they are legal in Australia or not...I know some are for law-enforcement only.

Cheers,

MA

[Ballbearingbird]

Just following up on this conversation.

Has anyone actually had success yet spoting a Yowie with their thermal camera gear?



Tonyk777

see the latest ayr vid ...impressive capture in thermal