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Another affordable thermal - FLIR Thermosight Pro PTS233

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    Another affordable thermal - FLIR Thermosight Pro PTS233

    More exciting news in the thermal world and this time it's coming from FLIR. Today they are officially announcing their FLIR ThermoSight Pro PTS233 1.5-6x19 thermal rifle scope. I'll cut to the chase and give you the basic specs and price...

    1.5x-6x Magnification
    12 Micron Pixel Pitch
    30Hz Refresh Rate
    FLIRE Boson Core
    320x256 Core Resolution
    1280x960 FLCOS Display
    Built-in Video Recorder - w/Recoil Activation Option
    7 Color Palettes

    Price: $2,199

    I've already got units on pre-order and I expect the first shipment within a matter of weeks if all goes well. I'll post more details later this evening.
    Attached Files

    #2
    Any videos out for this thermal?

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      #3

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        #4
        Gahlee , all this advancement makes me wanna wait a couple years to buy anything else thermal related ...

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          #5
          That's pretty low resolution.

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            #6
            Originally posted by Sabineshooter View Post
            Gahlee , all this advancement makes me wanna wait a couple years to buy anything else thermal related ...
            The world of thermal imaging is not for luddites, that's for sure.

            Originally posted by ultrastealth View Post
            That's pretty low resolution.
            I know a guy who has played with every thermal toy there is. I have not seen the Flir Boson but he has. His exact words: "The 320 Boson core image view is as good as most any 640 core out there."

            It's important to understand that the 12um Boson pixel size means the sensor has a massive head start compared to 17-micron or even 25-micron images.
            Attached Files

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              #7
              Originally posted by 35remington View Post
              The world of thermal imaging is not for luddites, that's for sure.



              I know a guy who has played with every thermal toy there is. I have not seen the Flir Boson but he has. His exact words: "The 320 Boson core image view is as good as most any 640 core out there."

              It's important to understand that the 12um Boson pixel size means the sensor has a massive head start compared to 17-micron or even 25-micron images.
              By definition, a 320 is not as good as a true 640. Now there may be some companies that fudge their specs, but, a true 640 has twice the resolution of a 320, and it is noticeable. I have a Flir 320X240 monocular, and I can tell you that it is right at the edge of useable resolution for identifying animals at 100 yards and greater. Now, you get what you pay for, and the new Flir scope is very reasonably priced. I don't think 320 is what I'd want though for my applications.

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                #8
                Ya this is big news. The thing to understand is, the 12 microns is a huge jump down. As of today, the least expensive 12 micron optic available on the market is an $6,000 Trijicon MK II. When Pulsar announced multiple 17 micron units in the $1,899-$2,800 range people were shocked.

                I've held the (yet to be released) FLIR Q14B handheld unit at the SHOT Show in January and it supposedly has the same core and resolution as the PTS233. I was blown away by the image quality of that little unit, so I'm feeling optimistic that the 12 microns will compensate for the 17% lower resolution. My guess is, the 320x256 resolution isn't going to be noticeably any different than the 384x280 to the naked eye but as you move up in the digital zoom you will probably see it. However, even on a 640 core, I do not use more than 2x digital zoom, so I'm still hoping it's not a big deal. We will see.

                No matter what, the message is clear.....the price of thermal is coming down and the quality and features are going up. There is real competition in the market now and as we all know, competition is great for the consumer.

                Feel free to ask any questions and while we don't have all the info yet, I'll do my best to find the facts that we do know right now.

                - Jason

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                  #9
                  Thanks for the review, still trying to talk myself(and CFO) into one of these.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by ultrastealth View Post
                    By definition, a 320 is not as good as a true 640. Now there may be some companies that fudge their specs, but, a true 640 has twice the resolution of a 320, and it is noticeable. I have a Flir 320X240 monocular, and I can tell you that it is right at the edge of useable resolution for identifying animals at 100 yards and greater. Now, you get what you pay for, and the new Flir scope is very reasonably priced. I don't think 320 is what I'd want though for my applications.
                    I think we are going to have to wait and see I'm not comfortable going on the record one way or the other. I will say this though, with 384 17 micron Pulsar I can absolutely identify deer vs hogs at 250-300 yards in the right conditions. Yes it takes experience and yes it might take 5-10 seconds if a deer is standing in 2ft tall grass with it's head down but it is do-able at the upper end of those ranges much of the time. Again, identifying and shooting at those ranges is two totally different things.

                    I think what is worth noting that the difference in a LCD display vs an OLED/AMOLED or FLCOS can be huge in identification. Last year an upgrade from a Pulsar LCD to an OLED was a $1,000 upgrade on any unit. $1,000! This year scopes are getting better displays and the retail is around $2,000. Technology is improving and changing fast.

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                      #11
                      I have a flir monocular and love it but I run night vision on the rifle because of my concerns with not always being able to tell what you are looking at with thermal.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Outdoor Legacy View Post
                        I think we are going to have to wait and see I'm not comfortable going on the record one way or the other. I will say this though, with 384 17 micron Pulsar I can absolutely identify deer vs hogs at 250-300 yards in the right conditions. Yes it takes experience and yes it might take 5-10 seconds if a deer is standing in 2ft tall grass with it's head down but it is do-able at the upper end of those ranges much of the time. Again, identifying and shooting at those ranges is two totally different things.

                        I think what is worth noting that the difference in a LCD display vs an OLED/AMOLED or FLCOS can be huge in identification. Last year an upgrade from a Pulsar LCD to an OLED was a $1,000 upgrade on any unit. $1,000! This year scopes are getting better displays and the retail is around $2,000. Technology is improving and changing fast.
                        There's no question that thermal is getting better and cheaper. The same thing happened with night vision stuff about 10 years ago. IMHO, at similar resolution, thermal has big advantages over night vision. I'm very optimistic that more companies will get into this market, and I'll be very surprised if Leopold doesn't have a flir rifle scope by this time next year that is very affordable.

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                          #13
                          Jaso, I have seen a couple of videos on youtube of this particular scope.
                          When do you expect they will be in retailers hands and also are they still on track for the last quarter of 2017 for releasing the other 2 versions of this?


                          Thanks

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Kbar View Post
                            Jaso, I have seen a couple of videos on youtube of this particular scope.
                            When do you expect they will be in retailers hands and also are they still on track for the last quarter of 2017 for releasing the other 2 versions of this?


                            Thanks
                            Yes sir FLIR released a couple demo units and the videos from the scope look really nice. The reviews have been good too. I spoke with FLIR last week and they are saying there is still a chance of seeing the first shipment of the PTS233 in August. I guess we will know within a couple weeks if that's true or not. I'll call them next week and get another update.

                            I'll also check on the other 2 models last week and I was told there might be a delay on them. I'll get some info and report back.

                            - Jason

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Kbar View Post
                              Jaso, I have seen a couple of videos on youtube of this particular scope.
                              When do you expect they will be in retailers hands and also are they still on track for the last quarter of 2017 for releasing the other 2 versions of this?


                              Thanks
                              I just spoke with FLIR and the first shipment of these scopes are in their warehouse and they should be shipping out (hopefully!) this week. My rep said they are short staffed right now and they are overloaded with paperwork and phone calls in the office but they are doing their best to keep everything rolling.

                              As for the other models, he said he honestly had no information on whether they would make it out in 2017 or not. He made me laugh because he said FLIR doesn't tell the sales reps anything until it's fact and until it's ok for public consumption because they know the sales reps are going to tell their dealers. He did say there was going to be a handheld monocular being released sometime this fall that would be using the same core as the PTS233. He had no details, no pricing and no dates.

                              I put in 2nd order for more of these PTS233's so if anyone is interested in one, just let me know and I'll be glad to put you on the list.

                              - Jason

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