That Raytheon IR 225 is a nice unit, fully portable, handheld like mine, but I think its 35mm lens may be on the small side. Mine is a Palm IR Pro with a 50 mm lens, which seems about right for night work. It gives a larger image and better resolution than 35mm.
Mine also has a color LCD instead of a B/W viewfinder, so it cost about 19k new. I bought it used, then had it refurbished by Raytheon. I never use its LCD, I wire the output from the imager into a Sony camcorder, which tapes the signal as B/W digital. I think grayscale thermal video looks more realistic and natural than color.
Is it too heavy to carry? Not really, about 10 lbs, plus extra batteries, but the imager and camcorder are two separate units so a monopod with a crossbar is very handy for hiking in the dark, mounting both units side-by-side, leaving one hand free. In camp, I set the crossbar on a tripod and swivel in a circle to cover the scene, both hands free.
In camp I also cover both units with a camo-color headnet made for wild turkey hunting. The tripod is sprayed camo too, so it looks less like a gun.
If you are thinking about getting the IR 225, you might like it better to have it furnished with their optional 50mm lens. For squatchin purposes, one does not want their optional 75mm lens, and one would never need their newer $22k model with color LCD.
BTW it is not waterproof, not even I think very moisture-resistant, so get a good stout plastic dry bag, like a kayaker's bag, to carry into the field.
Posted on Oct 1, 2002, 5:28 PM from IP address 159.121.9.50