AGM Global Vision Taipan TM15-384 Thermal Imaging Monocular 12 Micron 384x288 (50 Hz), White Hot, Black Hot, Red Hot, Fusion, Compact

Several months ago, I bought this unit for hog hunting, and it has worked well so far. Using a night vision scope, I scan fields and ATV trails through hardwoods and swamps for hogs at night, then approach within range of a rifle and begin shooting them. It is possible that my property has one of the longest views in the world I can still spot varmints like raccoons at 700 yards and can clearly see larger animals like cows at that distance even though the field is large. If you are close to that range, you will probably not be able to differentiate between a hog and a deer. A cat will not be able to differentiate between a possum and a cat. Depending on its size, you will tell whether it's a small critter, or a larger animal worth looking at more closely. I would estimate that the range for a quick, positive identification between deer and hogs is approximately 200 yards. Once you've got used to using a thermal device and understand how the animals move around, you might be able to see a bit further away. Those are more than enough for me to kill hogs in the fields and woods where I usually kill them. It became apparent to me after I first got this unit that I was able to learn the hogs' patterns and the closest thing to ambushing them was learning why they behaved the way they did. In the event I cannot shoot a hog, I can see the routes he has taken, where he is coming and going and how much food he's carrying. The thermals allow me to figure out how they're adapting to the hunting pressure, but they're smart and will try to adapt. Although they always try to come back to my property at some point, I have succeeded in keeping them away once they realized nowhere was safe to hang out and they lost relatives everywhere they have gone. I've had this unit out in light drizzling rain a handful of times and it's been fine every time. I also live in a very humid state and I've never had the glass fog up at all, Although this unit's clarity was better than expected, the image quality failed to match that of the zoomed-in version. The volume is always set to the lowest setting for me. One thing I like about this lens is that you only have to use one hand to turn the little focus knob on the side, and I don't have to zoom in at the distances I spot hogs at. It also becomes very intuitive to turn the screen off and on as well as to change the color modes using the buttons. I find that black hot is the best for locating animals, but I have also found that white hot and red hot work well too. In thick woods in particular, white and red hot might show a little more detail as far as making out This device should provide you with a 7 to 8 hour battery life It has been eight hours, and I am convinced. As of right now, I use this from 8 or 9 pm in the evening until as late as 2 or 3 am in the mornings, and there haven't been any issues with battery life. It can also be used with a battery pack if you wanted. It seems long to start up during the initial period. This is my only complaint. There's a timer on it for maybe 30 seconds (you can look at it after a few seconds, but you can't change the color mode or adjust anything else until it's on for about 30 seconds). Whenever you need to turn it off and on, you can quickly press the button once the computer is running. Once you've completely turned it off, hold the button for a few seconds to turn it back on. Additionally, if you want to record video you have to hold down the video button for a few seconds for it to begin, and I wish it had a faster start-up time. Additionally, you will need another device, such as a laptop, if you plan on watching or editing the It doesn't have any SD card or external storage, so there is no external storage. All in all, I find that this device works well for me and I don't think I would've gained much by spending $300 more for the next model. However, I wouldn't be content with anything less. Shortly, if you are looking for a thermal monocular to instantly identify hogs out to 200 yards or more, and to keep an eye over your property from far away, this one will make sense. The scanner was definitely a big investment, but one I won't give up now, so I will never go without visiting a thermal scanner again.

Kara KAY

| Apr 24, 2021

I like this thermal a lot. The Flir Breach has a better value than the Fir The mount I got on Etsy works great for helmet use. I got a Kiloohm bridge mount for helmets. In fact, the thermal does a really good job protecting the helmet. There was nothing I expected to fail. Additionally, I have a TM384, which also has a much larger screen, which I prefer much more than the Taipan. You can see it a lot better this way. As for the screen resolution, the Taipan also has a higher setting.

Oaklyn Hogan

| Mar 04, 2021

The Handheld is an excellent value for the price point. The scanner is very useful day and night for scanning heat signatures.

Mina Dalton

| Dec 02, 2020