The Burris BTH35 V3: One Fine Handheld Thermal

Handheld thermal units are increasingly popular, and not just with hunters.  Yes, thermal handhelds are great resources for hunters. Night hunters scan using handhelds to find coyotes and hogs. Deer hunters use them pre-dawn as they head to hunting stands and make sure they don’t scare off bedded deer. To monitor wildlife populations, handhelds are great tools for discovering which animals use feeders and watering holes at night. Because thermal handhelds do such a fine job of tracking heat, law enforcement, search and rescue units, and firefighters also use these units. Thermal handhelds are also fine tools for the homeowners who live in cold weather locations and want to make their houses more energy efficient.

Burris Handheld

Recently, I tested the new Burris BTH35 V3 handheld thermal and I found it a first-rate unit. The BTH35 V3 provided clear images, had very easy to understand and use controls, and did a fine job taking photos and videos. BTH35 V3 specs include: 

• Resolution: 400 x 300
• Pixel Size: 12µm
• Focal Length: 35mm
  
• Refresh Rate: 50Hz
  
• Screen: 1280x960 Color LCOS
  
• Digital Zoom: 1x to 4x
  
• Palettes: 9
  
• Internal Battery: 18650
  
• MSRP: $2,160
  

Menus and Controls

The BTH35 V3 controls are very intuitive, easy to learn and simple to navigate. The control pad consists of a central M or MENU button, surrounded by Up, DOWN, RIGT and LEFT directional buttons. With the unit turned ON (power button left side of unit), a quick press on the M button brings up the various menus. Use the directional buttons to move to the application you want, Settings, for example, and press M again to enter that application. Then, use the directional buttons to move around within the app. Right below the DOWN button is the media button. A short press takes a photo, a long press starts a video, and another long press stops the video. The directional buttons can perform other functions, too, without having to go through the main menu. Press the UP button to increase the digital zoom, the Down button to decrease it. The LEFT button operates color palettes, too, and the RIGHT allows adjustment of the scene modes.  These are the most uncomplicated controls I’ve ever used on thermals. Great job, Burris!

Home Scans

I spent two nights outside, and two hours each night, running the BTH35 V3. I live in north-central Wisconsin and that first February night it was 12 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of 0 degrees, and a few inches of new snow covering the ground. My scanning started right out my back door, as I got the unit set up for viewing. I ran through palette options and the digital zooms and adjusted the various image settings. And one of those first heat sources I found was on my neighbor’s house foundation. My color palette set on RED HOT, I spotted a line of heat between the top of the foundation and the bottom of the house frame. See the photo. As I noted, thermal units can help homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their homes. I need to show my neighbor this photo, as there appears to be a small gap between foundation and the sill. Which means warm air is streaming out while cold air is rushing into the basement.

Detailed Images

My city has a large, open air animal enclosure holding bison, deer and elk over 10 acres in size. Next to the enclosure is an equally large pond. A public access road circles the pond and leads up to a parking lot at one end of the enclosure. Next to the parking lot sits an observation platform, and it was here I scanned both nights. The various animals in the enclosure were easy enough to spot, their warm bodies sending heat into the very frigid night. The BTH35 V3 didn’t simply show the outlines of these animals, though. The unit actually detailed different areas of heat within the animal bodies. For example, I watched a deer at approximately 100 yards, my unit set on RED HOT 3. The thermal revealed that the front of a deer’s body and the head and neck were warmer than the rear of the animal. The images also showed much detail, including the lines of the legs and neck, the ears and the outline of the heads. At 200 yards, the unit easily spotted vehicles on the access road. No surprise there. The  vehicle engines were very hot, the insides of the vehicles warm. But when the vehicles were turned broadside to me, the BTH35 V3 picked out the much hotter exhaust system, which showed bright red, including the muffler, while the rest of the vehicle was a duller red to amber.  Pretty amazing.

Thermal Protection

The Burris BTH35 V3 is among the most reasonably priced thermal handhelds I have used. Yet, it is still a relatively expensive high-tech unit, and the smart thermal owner will protect it when not in use. Falco offers a number of options for a handheld of the size of the BTH35 V3 (9.0-inches long x 2.5-inches at its widest). One of the best options in my opinion would be the V201 Wildcat- hunting scope and accessories pouch.