HIKMICRO Falcon FQ50 2.0 Thermal Monocular

The HIKMICRO Falcon FQ50 2.0 Thermal Monocular is a handheld spotter for finding animals at distance before you decide whether to move on them. Detection runs to 2600 m from a 50 mm F0.9 lens, and at 569.5 g with the battery it is light enough to hang off your neck all night. The cylindrical body handles like a normal monocular, so it comes up to the eye without fuss.

Reach to 2600 metres from a handheld unit

The 50 mm lens at F0.9 gathers a lot of energy, which is what takes detection out to 2600 m. Magnification runs 2.7x to 21.6x with a field of view of 8.8° × 7.0°, or 15.4 m × 12.2 m at 100 m. Scan wide at the base setting to sweep a paddock, then zoom to work out whether that is a pig, a goat or a stray beast before you make a plan. Zoom Pro and Image Pro processing keep the picture usable at the top of the zoom range rather than turning it to mush.

15 mK sensitivity for the hours before dawn

The 640 × 512 detector on a 12 µm pitch posts NETD of less than 15 mK. NETD is the smallest temperature difference the sensor can tell apart, and the lower it goes the better the unit copes once the ground has cooled and thermal contrast collapses. Response waveband is 8 µm to 14 µm at 50 Hz, shown on a 0.49 inch OLED at 1920 × 1080. Six palettes are available including Black Hot, White Hot, Fusion and the monochrome options. The HSIS shutterless system means the image never freezes to recalibrate, which matters when you are following something moving.

Battery you can swap in the field

The 21700 battery is replaceable and rechargeable, giving 6.5 hours of run time, and you can carry a spare rather than being tied to an internal cell. It charges directly or runs off an external supply at 5 V DC, 2 A. The body is IP67 rated and works from -30°C to 55°C, at 205 mm × 69.6 mm × 82.9 mm. The 8 mm exit pupil makes it forgiving to get behind, with diopter from -5D to +3D. Snapshot, video and audio recording are on board with a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi hotspot for pulling footage off.

Ideal for

• Hunters who want to spot and identify before committing to a stalk
• Station managers doing stock checks and pest surveys after dark
• Professional pest controllers scanning large blocks quickly
• 4WD and outdoor users wanting a serious handheld thermal for the truck