ENTS,
My brand new Nikon Forestry 550 arrived
this morning and I just completed going through all its
features. I give the instrument two solid thumbs up. It is a
real hypsometer that c an compete with the LaserTech TruPulse
200 for half the price. The 550 doesn't compete with the
TruPulse 360, which has added functionality .
I am thrilled to report that t he
Forestry 550 does the math right. It has a single point mode and
a double point mode. In the single point mode, you shoot a
target and the 550 returns the linear distance of the point,
vertical distance (height) of the point, horizontal distance of
the point, and angle of the point. The double point mode
measures the full height of the target tree. You shoot the crown
an then t he base (or vice versa) and the 550 returns the full
height (vertical separation of the two points) and several other
returns and shows them in an external LED that is easy to read.
The 550 has two target
acquisition modes: 1st target accessed and fartherest target
accessed. The latter mode is appropriate to shooting to the top
of a tree with a cluster of branches. It is easy to switch
between the modes.
Distances can be displayed in
yards, meters, or feet. Angles are always in degrees. Sweet!
This is the instrument for measurers who don't want to fuss with
the math, but who want the internal process to produce the right
answer in contrast the manufacters who mindlessly program in the
tangent method for tree height determination, when they could
have just as easily done it right .
I'll provide more
information over the next few days, but as of this point my
$350.00 hypsometer is a very, very good buy. Nikon or their
Chinese manufacturers must have been paying attention to ENTS.
Better late than never.
Bob