Base magnification vs. Digital zoom tradeoffs for night thermal setups?

B

Bastain

New member
Hey everyone,
I’ve been looking into upgrading my thermal setup lately, and I'm wrestling with a bit of a technical dilemma regarding magnification that I'm hoping some of you experienced guys can clear up.
Most specs list a low base magnification (like 1.5x to 2.5x) paired with a wide field of view, relying on digital zoom to punch in on distant targets. But when pushing past 300+ yards at night, cranking up that digital zoom obviously starts pixelating the image and eating away at target identification.
For those of you hunting predators or shooting at longer ranges:

  1. Do you prefer a lower base mag with a wider FOV for scanning, or do you opt for a higher base mag (like 4x+) out of the gate?
  2. At what point does digital zoom become totally unusable for you in the field?

Curious to hear what specs work best for your specific terrain and typical engagement distances. Thanks in advance!
 
my base mag is 3x and my PIP is 6x, rarely do I zoom and I can only speak to the scopes I've used 1st hand.
1) I use a handheld scanner
2) for close up work, a lower base mag works well, more field of view
3) medium to long range 3x and up IMO
4) most of my hunting is open bean or corn fields where shots may exceed 300yds
 
It depends on the terrain you're hunting. Most of mine is wide open and long shots are possible. I like a 3x base mag. I haven't really noted in the field, and it depends a lot on humidity, but when zeroing, I think after about 16-20x it becomes unusable.
 
I shot a dillo @ 60 yds with a 380 res, rabbit, dillo and possum at 100 (640). Rabbit not pixilated but ID only by ears and action, at max digital magnification. I don't use PIP- on max digital mag it does pixelate small targets. Optical mag just magnifies the display - I chose no optical mag. I can change digital as fast as optical. I opted for a 1024 for long range - my location has a lot of farm dogs I don't want to shoot.
 
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