Thermal spotter question

[39TDS]

I bought one a few months ago, a Hikmicro Lynx Pro LH25 to be precise.

All good, impressed with what it does etc but very recently I find the picture detail is much less defined than it was, this is in all palettes. 

Is this a decline in the spotter or is it due to everything being colder at this time of year and therefore less able to be defined by thermal imaging?

I suspect it is the latter but thought I would ask of those with more experience.

[jall25]

4 hours ago, 39TDS said:

I bought one a few months ago, a Hikmicro Lynx Pro LH25 to be precise.

All good, impressed with what it does etc but very recently I find the picture detail is much less defined than it was, this is in all palettes. 

Is this a decline in the spotter or is it due to everything being colder at this time of year and therefore less able to be defined by thermal imaging?

I suspect it is the latter but thought I would ask of those with more experience.

 

Morning

Every time you go out with the thermal is different - it can change dramatically with conditions at any time too

[Rim Fire]

As jall said it changes at any time also this time of yer make sure youe lenses are clean they fog up but use the cloth that came with it or you will take the coating off 

[matone]

Higher humidity seems to be the enemy of thermals.

[London Best]

I find my Pulsar thermal works best in the colder conditions. 
Animals are still the same temperature.

[39TDS]

Yes, it is still spotting the animals well, it was just the rest of the picture is less defined.

I assume everything is cold rather than everything heating up during the day and then cooling at various rates depending what they are made of at night.

Not broke then.

[Good shot?]

It is because of all the above posts and thermal sees differentials in temperature so in very cold conditions all the surrounding greenery is mostly the same temp but an animal will show up more clearly. That is not taking account of damp/ moist air (rain)  which ruins the picture 

The above is what I tell myself but I know nothing. 😏

[Wymondley]

6 hours ago, Good shot? said:

That is not taking account of damp/ moist air (rain)  which ruins the picture 

That's certainly what I've found with mist or light rain, although switching from white to black hot seemed to improve clarity for me.

[30-6]

I got the same as you but in 19mm. One part of a farm has lower ground and seems to be very humid and like mentioned above affects picture quality. Changing palette colour helps.

I carry a lens cloth on a length of string inside an old 35mm film camera tub. So when you pull the cord the cloth returns inside the tub. The lens mist over both ends of spotter, especially I find the eye side where I wear a balaclava ( warmth and camo ) the front by my mouth seems to get moist from breathing causing the lens to mist.

[39TDS]

I usually only spot rabbits but this week I saw a cat at about 100yards and could tell it was a cat from how it walked. Pretty good as you can't always pick out the shapes that well.

Last night I could see something but was struggling to figure out what it was. Finally worked it out when it spread its wings, it was a big owl stood on a post.

The third thing was a big object that I really couldn't figure out what it was, I told my missus about it and said it was pretty big but wasn't moving. In daylight the next day I discovered it was a bulk bag that had blown across the field.

[Dougy]

Altering both brightness and contrast will affect the image sharpness. 

As mentioned previously ambient temperature, atmospheric conditions will affect the sharpness.. I've been out the last 3 nights and with the fog, mist it's like looking through frosted glass. 

[Rewulf]

On 03/11/2024 at 22:34, 39TDS said:

I usually only spot rabbits but this week I saw a cat at about 100yards and could tell it was a cat from how it walked. Pretty good as you can't always pick out the shapes that well.

The limitations of lower end thermals Im afraid.
Its not often you can definitively ID something small past 200 yds, movement of said animal is key, Ive often been fairly convinced of something being a target until Ive looked through my NV scope and realised its something non shootable, which is why Im not a fan of thermal rifle scopes.

Its a learning curve, and eventually you will be able to ID a blob at 500 yds just by its distinctive movement.

As far as image clarity, this time of year, mist, fog, and even water vapour not visible to the eye will mess up the image, you may even need to keep manually refreshing the unit, rather than wait for the auto refresh (usually a combination of button presses)
But other times you might find the thermal just isnt performing due to the conditions.

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, I have a Pixfra Thermal Pixfra M 20 13mm any PW have same and what setting is good ?

Edited November 7 by oldypigeonpopper