The thermal market is experiencing quite a boom with products getting smaller, better, and cheaper seemingly every few months. I emphasize the "er" in cheapER because none of the current options are anywhere near cheap, but the market is developing rapidly and good options are appearing regularly.
L3's EOTech is promoting its handheld X640 Thermal Imager at SHOT show this year. It is an updated version of the X320 scope featuring a 640 x 480-pixel resolution with digital zoom up to 4x. It can switch between white hot, black hot, and color overlay hot modes, as well as feed live video to a screen or recorder. It will run for five hours on two AA lithium batteries and detects human-sized objects out to 1,100 yards.
All that technology is housed in a shockproof, submersible polymer body that measures only 5.25 x 4.5 x 2 inches and weighs 13 ounces.
It is available in two different models, each having a different field of view, either 18 degrees (MSRP $5,699) or 24 degrees (MSRP $5,499). It is shipping now.
