FLIR LS-XR Scout II Review

SkyPup

New member
The LS-XR handheld thermal showed up at the house today after I had been jiving Jaimie @ TNVC to ship it out to me 2nd Day Fed-X!



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Having used a FLIR LS-64 since they first were released at the 2013 Shot Show two years ago, I was looking forward to the upgraded LS-XR debut at the 2015 Shot Show this year.

My LS-64 has seen lots of use (I don't leave home on a night hunt without it) over the past two years and is my favorite must have thermal accessory for both detection and identification purposes at night. It has hundreds if not thousands of hours of use on it and keeps on ticking, plus have not had to purchase a single battery to use with it yet!

My normal night hunting gear for use on my property that I am very familiar with consists of the FLIR LS-64 and/or FLIR M-24 helmet mounted and either the FLIR RS-64 ThermoScope or FLIR GS T-70 mil-spec thermal clip-on, all of these thermal instruments have the hardened TAU 2.7 microbolometer 17 micron core and are 640X512 pixel cores. I normally only add bringing my Night Vision gear when I am going onto some new property that I am not familiar with as it gives me much better situational awareness than any of my thermal gear can provide.

Externally, both the LS-64 and LS-XR are identical, their FOV through their 35mm germanium lenses is the same also. They both have a micro USB port for charging the internal lithium ion battery and this same USB port is also used for communication purposes to upgrade the Firmware/Software of the TAU core using FLIR's GUI software updater provided on their site.

Both of the LS series handheld scanners also have the 5mW 635-660nm red visible pointing laser too.

The older model LS-64 does not have analog video out capabilites through the mini-USB port, but can be customized using a handmade hot shoe to gain access to the video output signal. The new LS-XR has the analog video out signal available through the mini-USB port and comes with a mini-USB to RCA video cable to record direct to a remote DVR.

The older model LS-64 has 1X, 2X, and 4X step magnification views and a continuous zoom up and down from 1X to 8X.

The new LS-XR has 1X, 2X, 4X, and 8X step magnification views as well as the continious zoom feature. The new 8X mag view is particularly nice due to the improved higher resolution image viewer. There is improved image resolution at all magnifications with less pixelation of the microbolometer image due to the new imager, less pixelation at all magnifications than with my older LS-64 unit.

The InstaAlert feature has also been improved across the board as follows:

1. Reduce the sensitivity of I1 by 20-30%

2. Change I2 to the current I1

3. Change I3 to the current I2

4. Change I4 to the current I3

Basically, the I4 of the older LS-64 has been removed.

This allows for greater sensitivity in the InstaAlert modes with less washout of irrelevant reddness from other inanimate objects in the FOV. The muted down InstaAlert allows it use at lower selectable levels for varying environmental conditions, and the #4 setting now is primarily for when it is raining or foggy out.

I will get some video out of it this weekend and hopefully get some live hunt thermal images of hogs and coyotes if they show up and the weather is accommodating.

Anyone who gets a new LS-XR, be sure to register it for warranty purposes at:

http://www.flir.com/corporate/display/?id=57892



 
The video will be 30fps, not 9fps like the export models.

I already noticed that the muted out InstaAlert settings allow for much better scanning of trees for coons than the old settings did as there is little to no ancillary red blanketing of the background sky or leaves and branches, also the ground washout effect has pretty much been eliminated with InstaAlert. However, I am in Florida, not Alaska, so don't know how it functions on snow covered landscapes.....

I like the better long range ID due to the less pixelated magnifications too.
 
sounds very improved Skypup. to be honest I have never liked the InstAlert because pretty much turns everything red on my PS32 so making it less sensitive would be a good thing for me but I doubt it will ever be addressed on the old PS32 model but I very seldom use it on mine for that reason. sounds like you are happy with the LS-XR
 
Congrats on our new toy.

I am looking forward to your comparison and 30fps videos.

Btw. yesterday I spotted 8 wild boars thanks to my LS-XR and shot 3 of them . I have everything in video ( hopefully as my friend was holding the camera while I was shooting ) I will post the video soon.
 
Apparently, the software/firmware adjustments have decreased/changed the gamma correction specifically for the new high res display screen and adjusts the AGC automatic gain control for less ground and sky washout, basically it changes the gray scale levels by smoothing them out considerably. The increased resolution at the higher magnifications at longer ranges is noticeably improved.

Of course, those are just my initial impressions and it will take some hours of use under varying outdoor conditions to get a handle on how it performs overall.

That is why just looking at a photo or video of some thermal kit on the internet does not really tell you much of anything about the real life performance of the instrument, since with thermals the changes in atmospheric conditions is key to understanding it benefits/uses in the field for hunting detection/identification purposes.

There is so much more to rating the performance of a thermal instrument that seeing something about it on the internet....
 
Originally Posted By: doublecheeseCongrats on our new toy.

I am looking forward to your comparison and 30fps videos.

Btw. yesterday I spotted 8 wild boars thanks to my LS-XR and shot 3 of them . I have everything in video ( hopefully as my friend was holding the camera while I was shooting ) I will post the video soon.



NICE, DC! Will look forward to that too, even if it is 9fps....
 
I am working on the video, I am actually editing it , because it was my friend/guide who was filming the video and he couldn't keep the camera straight for god's sake and the video is all shaky , so I am trying to turn it into a decent watchable video right now
 
I like the new feature that when it first boots up it turns on in the same setting as when you turned it off instead of always starting off on White Hot like the LS-64 does.
 
Originally Posted By: SkyPupI like the new feature that when it first boots up it turns on in the same setting as when you it off instead of always starting off on White Hot like the LS-64 does.
that would be a great addition to the RS-64 if that would be included in their next firmware update also!
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I had the chance to use the new firmware on the LS-XR today.

Wow , what an improvement on the InstAlert compared to previous firmware.

For the first time, I can use I3 and I4 without everything else at surroundings getting Red. I mean when I used to press I3 and I4 all the trees, rocks around would become Red as well, so it was mainly useless for me. Now I can use all the InstAlert steps and simply choose the best contrast I like according to my surroundings.

Secondly, W/H now seems like the continuation of I4 with a continued higher contrast. So with I1 the surroundings are less contrast more washed out, the with I2 more contrast less washed out, I3 even more contrast without all the surroundings getting also red. I4 very contrast and still the surrounding are NOT red. And W/H now is with a very good contrast like I4 but without any red.

Thirdly, it felt like when I made the zoom on especially on 4x and 8x the things I am looking at is more clear. Everytime when I finish my hunting I drive back to main road thru the gravel mountain roads and when I get to pavement road, I always check out the 4 old military buildings about 600-700yds away. This time with the improved firmware these buildings looked more clear from that far away with 4x and 8x.

Finally B/H and W/H are both with very good contrast and not washed out as much as it used to, I can say the wash out has disappered.

For the first time I really had the most fun tonight .... I am 100% happy that I got the LS-XR ....



 
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Yup, I agree 100%!
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That is a very nice improvement for sure in the InstaAlert settings and much more manageable with the change in the gamma correction for the gray scale smoothness and the increased resolution quality at high magnifications, really outstanding!

I am working on a LS-XR video I took last night of six deer bedded down in the backyard sleeping. A large live oak limb snapped off and fell to the ground about 25 yards from me and startled them. Some of them got up to investigate and came over and were eating the moss and lichens off the fallen limb, so I thermal video recorded them with the LS-XR.

Video turned out very nice and you can see the high resolution clarity on the higher magnifications up to 8X (but difficult to hold the LS-XR still at that magnification), also the nice gray scale smoothness and the new InstaAlert settings.

The RS-64s Thermoscopes will look the same way as my video when the update is released for them in addition to some other new features for the RS series that folks will enjoy!

I'll upload the LS-XR video once I get a chance to edit it down some.
 
Originally Posted By: doublecheeseSecondly, W/H now seems like the continuation of I4 with a continued higher contrast. So with I1 the surroundings are less contrast more washed out, the with I2 more contrast less washed out, I3 even more contrast without all the surroundings getting also red. I4 very contrast and still the surrounding are NOT red. And W/H now is with a very good contrast like I4 but without any red.

That is an important feature that is missing on this unit..... No contrast adjustment. I found myself using the InstAlert mode as a contrast setting also.

I would like to have seen adjustable contrast and an OLED screen in the LS-XR.






 
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The InstaAlert is the contrast adjustment on these instruments, it is a proprietary item only available on FLIRs.

Without it (InstaAlert), hand scanning large areas in dense woods and forests at night is a major pain in the you know what. If you are scanning open wheat fields or soybean fields you do not really need it that much, but for any forested canopy or fields with thick brush/ground cover, it is a total brain saver!

Be sure to bring some aspirin/Advil after using a handscanner on an entire night out hunting when your instrument does NOT have InstaAlert!
 
Originally Posted By: Gman757Originally Posted By: doublecheeseSecondly, W/H now seems like the continuation of I4 with a continued higher contrast. So with I1 the surroundings are less contrast more washed out, the with I2 more contrast less washed out, I3 even more contrast without all the surroundings getting also red. I4 very contrast and still the surrounding are NOT red. And W/H now is with a very good contrast like I4 but without any red.

That is important feature that is missing on this unit..... No contrast adjustment. I found myself using the InstAlert mode as a contrast setting also.

I would like to have seen adjustable contrast and an OLED screen in the LS-XR.

The one that you tried out did not have the upgraded video drivers with the gamma correction for the improved gray scale gradients, the improved automatic gain control (AGC) to the DDE software or the improved higher resolution and the improved InstaAlert settings....
 
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