A Second Look: The Voodoo M

[jstokes1]

Just recently picked this bad boy up and want to provide some information to the community. I'll be going on several pig hunts here over the course of the next 2 weeks, and will give some more indepth insights after said trip.


Preliminary findings: smaller than what I thought it would be, nice low profile, and the image.....one of the best Ive ever seen. I'm my opinion, it supercedes what the UTC X I had was capable of. That, and the digital magnification is out of this world. On 2x digital, I actually have a hard time of telling that the resolution has been halved. It looks like it maybe has decreased by 10%... if that.

But anyway, here's some pictures. All of the images are labeled with what I used optics wise.

 

[Kadams1563]

It’s posts like this that make me realize I do NOT make any sort of good money. Geez!

 

[Conqueror]

Can’t wait to see the xELR head to head.

 

[jstokes1]

It’s posts like this that make me realize I do NOT make any sort of good money. Geez!

Don't worry, I'm merely a secret poor that has literally only one hobby .

 

[jstokes1]

Can’t wait to see the xELR head to head.

Some here. I'm very curious on how these units stack against each other.

 

[Conqueror]

My guess is the end analysis will be “buy the Theon if you want best image by a small margin, or spend the extra 5k on the Voodoo if you need the smaller side and like 10oz less weight.”

 

[jstokes1]

My guess is the end analysis will be “buy the Theon if you want best image by a small margin, or spend the extra 5k on the Voodoo if you need the smaller side and like 10oz less weight.”

It depends on your use case. For me, I wanted a smaller unit that still can be used on an AR-type platform without looking like a boat anchor handing off of the front. On the scale, the Voodoo M weighs 1 lb 11 ounces with 2 cr123's, compared to the 2 lb 9 ounces the Clip LR weighed with 4 AA's (the xELR is going to weigh more). It also has an IR laser (a non factor for me, but still cool to have). This, and the ability to adjust the parallex and hold different rifle zeros is also damn nice. I've heard of people having collimation issues with the xELR. This is a non issue with the Voodoo M. Plus traceir (another non factor for me at the moment).

The profile of the Clip LR turned me off when I reviewed it, and when I carried it out in the field...man was it cumbersome. It was a unit (extrapolating the LR experience to the xELR) that I knew would stay in the safe and only used for stationary hunting..which is far from what I do in my AO. And on the other subjective notion, I like the way a BAE image looks. To me it's much more depth perceiving and pleasant compared to anything else I've played with. I've also learned from a good source that the Voodoo M has a high probability of having a truly optically demagged HD display (not a 1280 thats then digitally demagged to reach 1x optical unity). This would explain why the image is so smooth and doesnt really lose much definition when digitally zooming in.

The LR's image was okay (in reguards to realism, not magnification support) but I'll see if the xELR is an improvement in this aspect when I get my hands on it.

 

[Conqueror]

I had heard there were issues with the Voodoo screen before, something about bad pixel spacing maybe? I think I read they were going to improve the screen but unclear if that’s already been done.

 

[jstokes1]

I confirmed with someone that tested these as prototypes and he stated that the current production models fixed the display issues based on the photos I sent him.

 

[jstokes1]

How she's sitting right now. Have a pig hunt coming up and I'll be shooting video through this setup.

 

[stefan73]

Don't worry, I'm merely a secret poor that has literally only one hobby .

One in college and one going to college soon, a farm and a boatload of hobbies. Sometimes it's about focus, I have none!

 

[jstokes1]

Took some pictures of items in close proximity. Currently 43⁰, 91% humidity and has been raining for the last 4 hours.

 

[jstokes1]

Also, here's a small sample video through the M using a G33 magnifier.

 

[jstokes1]

Deer close up, 3.5x optical mag. PID CE set to show as much detail as possible.

 

[jstokes1]

Finishing up the review on the Voodoo M. Here's some screenshots from video samples I took through the Triggercam of some goats at roughly 90 yards away; the first one is at 4x optical mag and the second is at 10x optical mag. Side note: I find that the Triggercam doesn't give me a 1:1 representation of what I'm seeing to my eye like using my phone to record does...but it's was easier to film this way (obviously).

 

[jstokes1]

Shot a little more video through the triggercam to add to the review. Here's some screenshot snippets of it: