Newbie. Which spotter

[Palle7688]

Hello
I’m Palle. I’m totally new in NV.
I’ve tried to do a little research befordre i ask.
I need a spotter, I guess you call it that, a monocular or binocular to watch wildlife such as Owel, Fox, Rabbits, ASO in my garden. I do not hunt, i do not own a riffle.
Because of this i need it to be able to focus on an object approx 4-5 meters away and preferably magnify it enough to tell which species it is.
I have clear vue over a 800meter valley where we see deer. I do realize the IR will not be able to reach that far, but in twilight i would like to see something far away.
I have seen Bushnell Z2 4.5x40. It’s 1080p video.
I want color in day and b/w at night, or green image.
This seems it fit my demands.
Any oppinion on this or alternatives in this picerange is much appriciated.

[phoenix]

Rather than the Bushnell, which is fixed magnification and does not have a very good IR illuminator, I recommend the PARD NV019 which has variable magnification from 1x to 6x and an excellent onboard IR illuminator that will work well out to around 150m - it's also significantly cheaper than the Bushnell. It also has onboard full HD recording and wifi to stream the video to any connected device
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pard-NV019-N ... Sw7zJdMFLp
The seller is UK based and a well respected member of this forum.
The monocular has undergone extensive testing by members of this forum and you can see some results on YouTube - just search for PARD019
One point to note with the PARD is that it does not have dioptre adjustment at the eyepiece, so if you wear reading glasses you may need to use additional lenses inserted into the rubber eyepiece to get a well focussed image.
These lenses are excellent quality and value and can be screwed together as necessary to get the best image
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andoer%C2%AE-M ... way&sr=8-4
If you want to view wildlife in darkness at ranges greater than around 150m, then you will need an additional IR illuminator
The best of these are:
Sirius XTL
Solaris SRX
Blacsun dark engine
These all use the new generation of IR lasers and are much more powerful than any LED based illuminator currently available.

Cheers

Bruce

[Palle7688]

Thank you.
I’ll check it

[jthyttin]

At distances IR illuminator cannot reach you'd be better off with traditional optics for lowlight hunting. Like quality 8x56 binos. Even older spotters (of the type now discussed) before this HD hype do not compare favorably. And HD needs more and more light.

If using digital spotter, you may want to use video-out. Of course you cannot use focus (or magnification) unless next to the device but bigger screen and stable device may give much better picture.

With e.g. NV019 you could leave it looking at garden at lowest zoom, and when you detect something from your telly inside you can go and have closer look.

[poppy mae]

A cheap way of doing this is probably old school now is find a bresser on ebay , mount on a tripod and play using the av out on a screen , with a decent ir , even an olson will give you a good distance and picture quality ,works well....

[Palle7688]

I’m almost ready to buy the Pard NV019.
Would you recommend an extra external IR torch for spotting above 200 meters?
Which one?
I’ve seen this one.
Is it good?
https://www.customriflescopes.com/shop. ... y=34270035
Is the Pard019 good with 940nm IR?
I like it’s not visible when 940nm.
A bit unclear for me if the torch runs the same batteries as the Pard019?

[jthyttin]

Only 850nm VCSEL lasers get you over 200m with Pard.

Sirius XTL throws the most distance, other options are Solaris SRX and Black Sun Dark Engine.

[poppy mae]

Disagree on that one , found a T50 olson a/s will give 300yds comfortably with a pard, especially using the digi zoom function and a wider field of view...

[phoenix]

I’m almost ready to buy the Pard NV019.
Would you recommend an extra external IR torch for spotting above 200 meters?
Which one?
I’ve seen this one.
Is it good?
https://www.customriflescopes.com/shop. ... y=34270035
Is the Pard019 good with 940nm IR?
I like it’s not visible when 940nm.
A bit unclear for me if the torch runs the same batteries as the Pard019?

That a big, heavy illuminator to hang on the NV019
940nm is less visible, but the camera in the NV019 is not as sensitive to 940nm as it is to 850nm and if you want long range, then it's better to stick with 850nm.
Only very rarely are animals spooked by 850nm.
My personal choice would be a vcsel based illuminator to get the range you want.
I'd choose from one of the following
Sirius XTL from Ian Sirrel at IR.light.builds
Solaris SRX from Blackwood outdoors
Blacksun engine from The Night Vision Store

Cheers

Bruce

[jthyttin]

In the first post he states 800m over valley to view deers so I'd rather get the best illuminator possible...