Well been playing with these things for a few weeks now, getting ready for a coyote hunt in TN in the next few days. Here are my 2-centavos.
1. Packaging is top notch. Ended up getting 3 of the 35mm 640 1-9 units. One of the units came with a slight imperfection in the rear ocular glass. FLIR is sending out a replacement and letting me use the one in hand until it arrives. So, I am pretty impressed with the customer support. Video cables are still on hold, but I can live without them for now i guess. Unit size and build is also impressive.
2. Charge takes a few hours or so. Have been goofing with them off and on for a few weeks now and just topped them off tonight. Power saving function works great and is a must have. I really do not think an external battery is needed unless you plan on doing some 8 hours stake outs. Unit makes no noise except for the reset now and then which is a click.
3. Larue mount is also top notch. So far I have one unit on a scar 17s and the others on a pair of 300 blackout rifles. 300 blackout doesnt seem to affect the video. 308 jogged it a couple times while in the lead sled. Hand held seemed to work just fine. Repeatable zero works very well. All 3 units were only slightly off at 100 meters. Very impressed with that. Horizontal and gertical adjustments seemed to affect each other slightly when sighting them in. The scope really isnt meant for fine adjustments. The hand warmer 2x4" seemed to be obtainable at 100 meters with no problems. Also found that duct tape reflects plenty of heat on warm targets, so the hand warmers really were not needed in florida weather.
4. For the money I do believe that the 35mm 640 1-9 is the unit to go with. The 1x and 2x resolutions are very clear and crisp. Focal distance in 1x should be at least 15-feet. Used the unit to find ac ducting leaks in my house the other night. So that helps. Spying on the wife at night requires a little more distance than im used to with night vision.
2x in 340 res is very nice and used the most. So the 340 res 1x units are prob worth the cash if your trying to save a little. 4x still works pretty well but starts to get grainy. Still can identify animals and bipeds no prob. 8x is def the units end point. Used this for sighting in at 100 meters with no issues. Pixel size is still okay but at distances of 200 to 400 meters may be to much. At the 640 and 340 res the unit has no issues detecting animals and bipeds at 500 meters. Will have more info later this week at further distances. If anyone is trying to touch out past 500 meters the adjustable 640 may be the ticket. Still, not really needed IMHO since you have xray vision and can get pretty close.
5. Eye cup works pretty well for day time ops. Plenty of light in the scope. Eye cup is needed in day time unless you want a black eye from recoil. Picture has a little distance but is not noticed after a few hours on the scope. Buttons are also nice. Menu function is fast and easy to use. Reticles are great. Would love to see an option for custom ballistic drops as this is a full digital scope and should be easy to do. The reticle off function is also nice for hand held spotting. Goofed with the function set s1 s2 and s3. All work very well different uses.
6. Pallet settings are a must. White/black hot are great for regular use. The magenta and yellow bring out fine details in everything and are great for scanning tree lines and brush where the others tend to wash. The insta settings are amazing and are used the most for game and picking up hidden critters. Everyone i show these settings to are amazed at the level of detail and how critters stand out. Even found a few in the back yard that i didnt know were there all the tine. I finally have a way to spot the wipper wills now that keep me awake at night. Moles are now gone as well thanks to the insta setting and my suppressed 22.
7. My next purchase will be a 32 1.5 to 5 unit as it is most likely the budget unit and in florida will be the most used in the 1x feature with the occasional zoom. 4k goes a long way for this scope. Is the extra 2.5k worth the next size up? Yes, if you are going to use the scope at distance. But i truly feel that both can do the same job in the 50 to 400 meter kill zone. Night vision is a must for the spotters. All 3 FLIR rifles are equipped with PEQ units to help the spotter identify the targets at distance. Makes NV kills very easy with the IR splash.
8. I havent had any can heat issues yet. Started using a wrap to see if it made a difference, but for hunting wasnt really an issue. Do get some minor heat signature in 1x but with the s2 setting it nixes it pretty well.
If anyone is close near the Ocala area and is on the fence shoot me a PM and ill try to meet up with you to seal the deal. Believe me once you see it your done, so beware. Im really not a picture guy, but ill see if i can bring something back from the hunt this week. I really think ill be coming back with zero units as deep pockets and toys dont last long around my friends. So ill be pushing yet another order next week some time. Hope this helps someone out.
Regards,
Jesse James