I'm hip
Night Vision The Official: Steiner C35 Thermal Clip-on Review and User Thread!
- Thread starter TheHorta
- Start date
You dip shits come to the Ohio night shoot every November, you'd already know...
Damn man!! I running both an ATN Thor 4 - 640 and a flagship pulsar LRF 50 and was hoping to find a clip on I can get out past 400 yards mounted in front of my glass day optics. Before you people start lecturing me about ATN, know that the ATNs laser range finder/on board ballistic calculator is Stoopid accurate (so far max is a crow out to 400 yards), but gives up resolution to the Pulsar LRF. Pulsar's range finder SUCKS balls but image is amazing. I want something to replace both of them, that I can jump from rifle to rifle without dicking with zeros. That's the info that would be helpful to me, a guy who night hunts and shoots long range a lot. Seems like all these clip ons suck after about 4-8x magnification...maybe I'm wrong... enlighten me please, it is needed and I'd love nothing more that to have one thermal that serves all platformsImo clip ons are kind of a niche item and most people are better served with a dedicated scope especially if it's your only device. It's the last piece you get vrs the 1st if you are getting multiple devices. For me the benefit is eye relief and cheekweld especially when shooting prone at longer ranges. Not being much of a long range shooter to begin with it was worth the $ to me to just get something that clipped on in front of my day scope vrs reinventing the wheel for nighttime.
There are a lot of downsides the biggest being the weight and it trashes the balance of your rifle. The controls are also awkward to operate offhand. It's doable with some practice but much easier on a dedicated scope. These downsides can be mitigated with a smaller optic like an acog or the new chicom micro prisms but at that point you're basically at the functionality of a dedicated scope with some extra weight and complexity thrown in.
Clip-ons seem to be the latest hottness and that will probably end up with a lot of folks getting one because it looks cool and being disappointed in what they end up with. I'm hoping this will result in me picking up my 2nd yoter used at round 3.5k
Well on a bright note, this dude shot 27 people and only one died, so your chances of surviving can be pretty good.
Kids as young as 19 months old were hit.
But what is amazing is his bond was set at only $100,000.
Arkansas State Police agents make first arrest in shooting at Dumas car show
Officials with the Arkansas State Police said they have made their first arrest in the shooting incident at a car show in Dumas that left one person dead and 26 others injured.
www.kark.com Cadex surveillance rig does exactly this if you get the scope adapter with it. I have one and it is the tits. Not inexpensive though.
The yoter does 8x fine on my g3 and 10x when I tried it with an adjustable parallax. The yoter is the bare bones economy model of clip-ons . If you want much more than that you're probably going to have to bump up lense size and open your wallet.
Appreciate the info brother...still in research mode currently. The units in this thread have my attention
Going to confirm out-of-box POI shift today or tomorrow.
I know this is the c35 thread but since they are essentially the same here's some pics of the s35. These were taken through the Steiner Connect app, so I'm not sure if quality is degraded as the picture is compressed and sent over wifi to my phone. The first three pics are of rodents or squirrels or something across the street. 
This is an image after thermal crossover of an individual across the street maybe 150-200 feet away I believe at 1x (i was drinking so don't remember)?
These were three individuals at max zoom (8x) probably 300-400 feet away?
My settings for the unit was sharpness on and I was manually NUCing every minute or so to keep the image clean (again these pics were taken before, during, and after crossover). I think at 1-3x it seems ok however past that the image really becomes degraded. Those three individuals who were maybe 300-400 feet away were completely unidentifiable, i could tell they were human but other than that I could get no further detail. Even the picture of the person across the street was unidentifiable. I think maybe I'm still not using the best settings or not too smart on how to best operate it. Also my only comparison is using cooled thermals that hang off airplanes and are able to positively identify a person from extreme distances, so maybe my expectations were not fair. I think this thermal is a cool toy and should be able to detect animals out to "medium" distances but I'm pretty disappointed in the quality of the image.
This is an image after thermal crossover of an individual across the street maybe 150-200 feet away I believe at 1x (i was drinking so don't remember)?
These were three individuals at max zoom (8x) probably 300-400 feet away?
My settings for the unit was sharpness on and I was manually NUCing every minute or so to keep the image clean (again these pics were taken before, during, and after crossover). I think at 1-3x it seems ok however past that the image really becomes degraded. Those three individuals who were maybe 300-400 feet away were completely unidentifiable, i could tell they were human but other than that I could get no further detail. Even the picture of the person across the street was unidentifiable. I think maybe I'm still not using the best settings or not too smart on how to best operate it. Also my only comparison is using cooled thermals that hang off airplanes and are able to positively identify a person from extreme distances, so maybe my expectations were not fair. I think this thermal is a cool toy and should be able to detect animals out to "medium" distances but I'm pretty disappointed in the quality of the image.
Pretty sure you nabbed Sasquatch on thermal.
Pretty sure he did in pic 7 of the original post.
That Steiner Connect app is making my Flir Breach look steller.
Looks like Sasquatch in a cemetery fixing to do some grave robbing.
Bigfoot gotta make a livin’ somehow.Looks like Sasquatch in a cemetery fixing to do some grave robbing.
Are you able to get better details or is this obviously just user error (which it probably is
)?I am going to try to figure out a mounting solution for my breach when I get back from vaca...going to mount in front of my Steiner tx5i 5-25. I'll send images if there's anything close to success.
Any suggestions for mounting would be appreciated!
Any suggestions for mounting would be appreciated!
If that motherfucker would learn to shave, he could become the First Lady.
I get what your saying on a lot of that but I sure find it handy hog hunting. Before dark a guy can be hunting with day optic then when it gets dark use the clip on. I hunted with a group of guys that were swapping day optics for dedicated thermal daily and that was a pain if you wanted to only take one gun.Imo clip ons are kind of a niche item and most people are better served with a dedicated scope especially if it's your only device. It's the last piece you get vrs the 1st if you are getting multiple devices. For me the benefit is eye relief and cheekweld especially when shooting prone at longer ranges. Not being much of a long range shooter to begin with it was worth the $ to me to just get something that clipped on in front of my day scope vrs reinventing the wheel for nighttime.
There are a lot of downsides the biggest being the weight and it trashes the balance of your rifle. The controls are also awkward to operate offhand. It's doable with some practice but much easier on a dedicated scope. These downsides can be mitigated with a smaller optic like an acog or the new chicom micro prisms but at that point you're basically at the functionality of a dedicated scope with some extra weight and complexity thrown in.
Clip-ons seem to be the latest hottness and that will probably end up with a lot of folks getting one because it looks cool and being disappointed in what they end up with. I'm hoping this will result in me picking up my 2nd yoter used at round 3.5k
Breach will really struggle with 5x minimum (my NOX18 maxes out at 4x in great conditions). Wish I had a way to help you with the weapon mount.
ETA: I don't use the NOX as a clip on for anything other than for fun. It isn't collimated well enough to function as a clip on
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This right here^^^
Plus, I don't know about you fellers, but I like to confirm my zero after swapping optics...I've found that "return to zero" is a relative term fo sho
Here is imaging through steiner connect app. The Steiner products have exceptional image quality. S35
youre having connection/bandwidth issues.
That is a huge difference! Thanks for sharing that.
Double the objective without doubling the weight. 4lb clip on is a no for me dawg
I’d take a 3lb (48oz) 75mm thermal clip on with a 12um core for $5000 street all day long.
Yes it was 100% user error on my part (obviously), the other picture posted is more representative when someone other than a knuckledragger is operating the unit. 
You were fixing to give the Breach a good reputation.Yes it was 100% user error on my part (obviously), the other picture posted is more representative when someone other than a knuckledragger is operating the unit.
"I'm not really sure how to use it and I was drunk but here are some pics, see how bad it looks"
Basically the SnipersHide Credo.
Must have been the good stuff if @Twistid couldn't tell a difference between a compressed file and real life.
ETA: drunk pics are better than no pics
It's like when my dad says it looks like trash, and I have to remind him all of our thermals are manual focus.
Consider my amazement when I read the manual this morning (albeit with a hangover) and realized you could focus it
Been there.Consider my amazement when I read the manual this morning (albeit with a hangover) and realized you could focus it
Ha I did the same when I got my first FLIR PTS. I was like "man this image kinda sucks tbh" and then I realized you could turn that thing on the front. 
Would love to see some side by side comparison pictures between this the rico and the Yoter C.
Also can't wait to see pics of the Theon LR.
Also can't wait to see pics of the Theon LR.
After messing with the settings and getting it in focus, the C35 out performs the Yoter-C. I will get pics and make a post next week.
Details!
I had a buddy take both out last night and compare them, those were his exact words. He said that the C35 had a clearer picture at higher magnification with sharper details. He believes it is due to Steiner's image processing software and extensive settings as he was able to use settings to make the image very sharp and detailed. He also didn't see any POI shift when putting it on multiple guns. However, take this with a grain of salt and wait until I can post tangible evidence.
He also said "it's a big bitch". But he likes how the aluminum housing makes him confident and comfortable about its durability. He doesn't feel the need to baby it, especially at the price and he previously broke a Steiner IFS scope (dropped it out of a hunting stand onto concrete) and was impressed when he got a new scope in the mail. So he isn't worried about the warranty.
I’ll do a 10-foot drop test onto concrete with my loaner unit. For science.
Fuck don't do that. That concrete was good to you.
If you do drop that mofo make sure you are out of the crush zone. Put down some Yellowjacket tape to make sure that you know where it's gonna hit. Wear eye pro for the concrete chips.
I’ve already pee’d on it.
Figured that was a given.
Figured that was a given.
Ok. So its pee proof.
Now give it the scientific sensitivity test like below.
And Publish Your Findings.
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So… can only speak to “my” loaner C35, but POI shift on this unit is 6-8 MOA low and 0-1 MOA left. Like any “non-collimated” unit, this one may likely need to be adjusted to your various rifles. Fortunately, it stores multiple profiles and the adjustment process is pretty simple and quick.
Confirm Day Scope Zero
Pop C35 on Rifle
Shoot a group
Note POI Shift
Enter Adjustment Menu
Enter-in recorded POI shift
Re-shoot group
Check/Verify collimation
Save to rifle profile.
I’ve run into a few things I either do not really like — aside from the weight and Soviet-era design any negatives are relatively minor — but I keep having to repeat to myself that this thing is only $3,999 MAP! If I only had $4K to spend, there really is no other clipon out there that offers this level of performance. I’m sure we’re on the cusp of a Chynah-inspired price war, but until that happens, this is the price/performance leader.
I’d like to see a 50-75mm model. 35mm leaves me wanting, but is great for inside 200 yards.
All that said, I took out the “Stable” to compare — wondering just how close the RH25 and C35 are to the Big Dogs that cost 3-5x as much. I was out at about the time of the dreaded “Thermal Crossover.” Both the C35 and RH25 really struggled to show a clearly defined steel plate at 100 yards. It just about completely melted into the background, even with the gain and contrast cranked-up and regardless of color palette. The Voodoo-S, UTM-X, and UTC-Xii could easily present a well-defined plate without having to crank-up the image setting and, with a quick turn of the eyepiece, everything came into razor-crisp focus and there was basically zero POI shift.
Are the Big Dogs worth the extreme price differential? To most, probably not. To me, hells yeah!
Confirm Day Scope Zero
Pop C35 on Rifle
Shoot a group
Note POI Shift
Enter Adjustment Menu
Enter-in recorded POI shift
Re-shoot group
Check/Verify collimation
Save to rifle profile.
I’ve run into a few things I either do not really like — aside from the weight and Soviet-era design any negatives are relatively minor — but I keep having to repeat to myself that this thing is only $3,999 MAP! If I only had $4K to spend, there really is no other clipon out there that offers this level of performance. I’m sure we’re on the cusp of a Chynah-inspired price war, but until that happens, this is the price/performance leader.
I’d like to see a 50-75mm model. 35mm leaves me wanting, but is great for inside 200 yards.
All that said, I took out the “Stable” to compare — wondering just how close the RH25 and C35 are to the Big Dogs that cost 3-5x as much. I was out at about the time of the dreaded “Thermal Crossover.” Both the C35 and RH25 really struggled to show a clearly defined steel plate at 100 yards. It just about completely melted into the background, even with the gain and contrast cranked-up and regardless of color palette. The Voodoo-S, UTM-X, and UTC-Xii could easily present a well-defined plate without having to crank-up the image setting and, with a quick turn of the eyepiece, everything came into razor-crisp focus and there was basically zero POI shift.
Are the Big Dogs worth the extreme price differential? To most, probably not. To me, hells yeah!
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