Choosing The Right Hunting IR Scope - X-Vision Optics

As the summer continues on and the weather warms and nights grow longer it is becoming a better and better time to go on some night hunts. Hunting at night has become more popular as the price of thermal optics, also known as infrared/IR optics, has dropped drastically from what it previously was. This has led many hunters, looking to try night hunting, to ask the question, “What is the best IR scope?” The answer that question comes down to a few things you will need to consider.

Back to basics

Firstly, I should explain what an IR scope is and how it works. In short, thermal scopes detect infrared light to create images. That is, through an IR scope hot things appear brighter and cold things are darker. If you are curious of what the images look like, here are some videos from our X-Vision Optics website to help demonstrate it. Now, with that explained there are some important factors when considering an IR Scope. These include, budget, image quality, detection range, and other special features.

Budget

The first thing to consider when on the market for a new piece of expensive gear, such as an IR scope, is your budget. IR scopes can run from anywhere between $999 and $5,000 or more. Our own long range IR scope comes in close to the middle of that range. The bottom line is, whatever your budget is, you want to get the optic with the best features to get the most out of it.

Image Quality

When hunting at night, the ability to see is the number one priority. You can’t shoot what you can’t see. For that reason, the image quality of an IR scope is very important. Image quality is typically measured by resolution. Our own scope’s resolution is 400x300 pixels with a respectable 50 Hz frame refresh rate. With improved refresh rates and resolution your visibility is improved, and you gain an edge during your night hunt.

Range

Another important factor of an IR scope is its range. This can come down more to personal preference, a person who like to be closer to the game will want a shorter scope and someone who likes to keep their distance will want a longer-range scope. Our own X-Vision Optics IR scope offers 2,600-yard detection and 1,100-yard recognition range.

Other features

IR scopes will also come with a laundry-list of other various features, some more important and some less, that is largely up to what you want/need and what you can afford. If you have more questions about thermal scopes here is another helpful source. Otherwise, you can always contact us with any questions or concerns!

720nm (Standard Infrared Filter)

This is the tried-and-true classic IR filter. It allows for some great blue sky false color and provides great contrast and dynamic range for black and white. This is equivalent to the Hoya R72 and Wratten 89b.

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When to use this filter: This filter is good if you are interested in shooting some mild color and black and white. This filter produces the traditional dark blue skies and can also be processed for color.

While not as high contrast as the 850nm, people prefer this filter over the 850nm for B&W work, as it allows a little more color for B&W processing. This filter requires post-processing and is compatible with a full spectrum camera or a lower cutoff IR converted camera. This filter can also be used with stock cameras with a long exposure.

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850nm (Black and White Infrared Filter)

This filter is suitable for a dedicated black and white infrared camera. It will produce bright whites and pronounced darks. With a custom white balance in camera, the picture is close to pure B&W without any processing. Equivalent to the Wratten 87c.

When to use this filter: This filter is the best for the highest contrast B&W, resembling traditional B&W IR film. Also good for forensics and other applications where the deep IR wavelengths are helpful. This filter is compatible with a full spectrum camera or a lower cutoff IR converted camera. This filter can also be used with some stock cameras with a long exposure.

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Considerations for choosing an infrared filter

The first thing to consider is whether you will shoot color or not.

If you plan to shoot only B&W, then the 850nm filter is the best choice. If you plan to shoot color even occasionally, you should go with the 720nm ir filter or below.

When choosing between 590nm, 665nm, and 720nm, the first consideration is your aesthetic preference. If you like the yellow leaf effect, you should choose the 590nm or 665nm option. If you want to shoot regular color shots with white leaves and blue skies, then the 720nm ir filter is probably right for you.

Pros and Cons of the 590nm and 665nm ir filter

With these enhanced color filters, you will have an increased color range to work with. With processing, it is possible to desaturate photos from these two filters to look like the 720nm image.

This adds more flexibility when shooting and allows for good color results in some shooting situations that would not work so well with the standard 720nm filter.

Some cameras don’t have very good color results with the 720nm filter, such as the Nikon and some Canon PowerShots, but the 665nm filter can overcome this.

Another nice benefit of these filters is that you can use higher cutoff IR filters over them.

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For example, with a 665nm conversion, you could use a 720nm or 850nm and still take handheld pictures that will look exactly like the higher cutoff filter.

However, you couldn’t use a lower filter, like the 590nm filter. If the camera you are converting has live view, this is an easy way to take advantage of both the color and B&W aspects of IR.

A downside to these two filters is that they have less contrast for B&W images.

These filters can be more unpredictable, yielding different results depending on the camera model and shooting conditions.

Cameras will also have a harder time setting a white balance with the enhanced color filters. 

Another thing to watch out for is that the 590nm and 665nm filters can be a little less sharp than the 720nm and 850nm filters. Since they let in a broader light spectrum, there are more chromatic aberrations and a bit softer focus.

Considerations for point-and-shoot cameras

The replacement filters on most compact cameras need to be very thin and leak more visible light, so 590nm, 665nm, and 720nm filters can produce duller color.

The 850nm filter will also leak a little visible light. They will still be monochromatic but may be red or blue-tinged and require processing.

A custom white balance is crucial to achieving a good false color effect with the 590nm and 665nm filters. You should only order these filters if your camera has a custom white balance option.

Keep in mind that just because your camera has a custom white balance setting does not guarantee that you can achieve images like those above with these filters.

Camera white balances were not made to work in infrared, and the camera may not be able to measure a white balance correctly, leaving you with unexpected results. 590nm filters have the most trouble with this.

If your camera does not have a custom white balance option, the 850nm filter still works for B&W photography. The 720nm filter can still be used to get good false color results even with auto white balance, although the results are not quite as reliable.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Optical Coating. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.