Telos disappointment.

[mealiejimmy]

I had a very brief look at the Habrock last night and they might just be an all in one replacement for glass binos
OK, the optical daytime image is nothing like as good as top end glass - but it's good enough, when used with the thermal channel to see stuff you simply would not see with even the best glass.
Given their size, weight, functionality and price, I'd seriously consider a pair of them before a pair of Swaro/Leica/Zeiss rangefinding binoculars

Cheers

Bruce

 

[FISH BOY]

I had a very brief look at the Habrock last night and they might just be an all in one replacement for glass binos
OK, the optical daytime image is nothing like as good as top end glass - but it's good enough, when used with the thermal channel to see stuff you simply would not see with even the best glass.
Given their size, weight, functionality and price, I'd seriously consider a pair of them before a pair of Swaro/Leica/Zeiss rangefinding binoculars

Cheers

Bruce

Any idea if Pulsar will be bringing out an equivalent of the Habrok?

 

[Rural Management Services]

Any idea if Pulsar will be bringing out an equivalent of the Habrok?

Most likely I would imagine. Both companies are after a slice of the traditional glass market it seems and we are seeing the first generation of those products coming to market now. HIK appears to have deeper R&D pockets at the moment having released Falcon late last year? Condor this year and now Habrok. Alpex 2 can’t be far away as well, but then the C50 has been out for 3 years this Christmas so I am guessing C50 2 is also on the way.

 

[mealiejimmy]

Everything i hear says that Pulsar are no longer interested in digital NV scopes like the C50 (too much competition and not enough profit) so don't expect a C50 V2 any time soon
The Habrock is HIKs version of the Pulsar mergers - but with more toys thrown into the box
HIk are a much larger company than Pulsar and they have the money to spend on R&D and on multiple product developments and production lines
Pulsar are being squeezed further and further up market and to some extent only brand loyalty is keeping them profitable.
New buyers into the thermal imaging market are more attracted to the high contrast/high brightness image on the HIKs and by their lower prices

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Blackwood Outdoors]

I have been testing a range of products over the last few month, in a range of conditions.

From my findings...

The absolute top of the pile is the Merger XL50 , just blows the rest out of the water....

I have also taken note of latency and over sharpening on images, as well as large denoise and I can say, I'm not a fan of these types of images in thermal devices, also for my own needs I want the optimum performance in winter weather when we get those muggy nights...

I was watching a covey of partridge the other night in bleak conditions and in one device I could make out heat sources 40 yards away as birds and I knew it was a covey of birds but no detail at all, I then looked through a Merger and I could make out the birds fully, including facial and eyeball detail.

Trust me when I say the XL is the one to save for... yes it's mega expensive, but it's good ! Moving on from this I would have a Telos or Helion Pro, again expensive but the fact they have zero latency or lag when panning, superb poor weather performance and a natural image, makes them for me, the one to own..

 

[phillips321]

Most likely I would imagine. Both companies are after a slice of the traditional glass market it seems and we are seeing the first generation of those products coming to market now. HIK appears to have deeper R&D pockets at the moment having released Falcon late last year? Condor this year and now Habrok. Alpex 2 can’t be far away as well, but then the C50 has been out for 3 years this Christmas so I am guessing C50 2 is also on the way.

They've also been making CCTV kit for years so understand how to get the best from optical channels.

 

[phillips321]

I had a very brief look at the Habrock last night and they might just be an all in one replacement for glass binos
OK, the optical daytime image is nothing like as good as top end glass - but it's good enough, when used with the thermal channel to see stuff you simply would not see with even the best glass.
Given their size, weight, functionality and price, I'd seriously consider a pair of them before a pair of Swaro/Leica/Zeiss rangefinding binoculars

Cheers

Bruce

I'm interested to know how the night vision performs on these.

 

[phillips321]

Pulsar's famous imageboost update extended the service life of some older models considerably.

The imageboost feauture on my accolade 2 xp50 make no distiguishable difference to me... literally cannot see a difference.

 

[User00040]

The imageboost feauture on my accolade 2 xp50 make no distiguishable difference to me... literally cannot see a difference.

It does much better on the older models

 

[Blackwood Outdoors]

I'm interested to know how the night vision performs on these.

In all honesty, I don't think many in reality will use the optical channel much... I would not personally... 99% thermal..

 

[Blackwood Outdoors]

So why would you buy a Telos ?

• Amazing build quality and rugged rubberised design.
• 8hr battery life and wireless self contained USB-C charge design..
• Ambidextrous design and strap that rotates fully 360 deg
• Independant focus and zoom ring
• Excellent LRF system
• Super large OLED eye display, much bigger than the rest when viewing
• 18mk NetD sensor shows more animal detail than others and performs better in poor weather...
• Zero lag or latency when panning
• Upgrade design, so you can use it and then upgrade to the XL sensor, etc when available without buying a full new unit

Yes there more expensive than the rest but so is a Porche over a Fiesta...

 

[2Ll’s]

So why would you buy a Telos ?

• Amazing build quality and rugged rubberised design.
• 8hr battery life and wireless self contained USB-C charge design..
• Ambidextrous design and strap that rotates fully 360 deg
• Independant focus and zoom ring
• Excellent LRF system
• Super large OLED eye display, much bigger than the rest when viewing
• 18mk NetD sensor shows more animal detail than others and performs better in poor weather...
• Zero lag or latency when panning
• Upgrade design, so you can use it and then upgrade to the XL sensor, etc when available without buying a full new unit

Yes there more expensive than the rest but so is a Porche over a Fiesta...

Agreed on all points, had one about a week and love it.

 

[HonestJohn]

Everything i hear says that Pulsar are no longer interested in digital NV scopes like the C50 (too much competition and not enough profit) so don't expect a C50 V2 any time soon
The Habrock is HIKs version of the Pulsar mergers - but with more toys thrown into the box
HIk are a much larger company than Pulsar and they have the money to spend on R&D and on multiple product developments and production lines
Pulsar are being squeezed further and further up market and to some extent only brand loyalty is keeping them profitable.
New buyers into the thermal imaging market are more attracted to the high contrast/high brightness image on the HIKs and by their lower prices

Cheers

Bruce

I think you are right that there will be a convergence on glass, NV, and thermal, it’s only a matter of time. Would you say that with the Habrock, you can confidently identify a cull buck from a non-cull at say 200yds? Or judge the condition of a doe as to whether it’s old/past its prime/etc.

How are they for up close work? Like scanning wet bracken at 30-50yds?

Asking out of wishing to know what your views are exclusively.

 

[Blackwood Outdoors]

I think you are right that there will be a convergence on glass, NV, and thermal, it’s only a matter of time. Would you say that with the Habrock, you can confidently identify a cull buck from a non-cull at say 200yds? Or judge the condition of a doe as to whether it’s old/past its prime/etc.

How are they for up close work? Like scanning wet bracken at 30-50yds?

Asking out of wishing to know what your views are exclusively.

I have one here, that I have been testing a lot .... I would say no. Currently the night vision is not close to any sort of Alpex quality. The design is better but the thermal/optical channel adjustment are on the wrong side for a right hand person, as the bulk of the use will be for thermal, this takes a little getting used to at first...

I've been testing the thermal side against a lot of other kit , in various conditions...basically everything out there...

 

[matty779blue]

I have Telos LRF on test now for a week.

Image is brilliant.

It could be smaller, especially when using it alongside binoculars.


I have one thing that bothers me.

When I short-press first button, LRF and PiP windows appears.

But LRF will just not measure any distance. For LRF to start working, I have to short press first button and then quickly long press the same button again to activate scanning mode and then LRF starts working. After that I can go back to non-scanning mode and LRF will or will not read the distance.

Am I doing something wrong? Did somebody experience the same issue?

Thank you

If you short press to bring up the lrf and then short press again it gives you the range. Problem is it’s not that easy to push the button and hold the telos at the object. Scanning mode is much better. Would personally prefer it without PiP

 

[Dari]

If you short press to bring up the lrf and then short press again it gives you the range. Problem is it’s not that easy to push the button and hold the telos at the object. Scanning mode is much better. Would personally prefer it without PiP

Thank you. I managed to figure it out after a while.

And yes, my preferred mode for LRF is also scanning, since it is difficult to hold laser on object while pressing button.

If you can live with the size of it and can afford the price of it, then Telos is really excellent spotter.

It is way too expensive for my needs and I am just lucky to have a chance to test some of the new models on the market, without need to actually purchase them.

 

[Elmer fudd 1]

Had a play with the Telos last weekend. Cool bit of kit, certainly a good image. Would sum up comments below with reference to options on other kit for reference

Fair warning, in the interest of snappiness this is quite opinionated and others' mileage may and likely does vary. comments below a mixture of field use and playing with friends units.

Telos - Pretty much identical to Helion XP50Pro but felt heavier in hand and overall quite bulky. Yet again a proprietary battery from pulsar and different to older versions, I suspect this is so you have to buy new ones! Couldn't tell which way up the unit was very easily. For the money, some of the non pulsar bino's are now coming into play (Hik Habroks) which might provide a better offering than this product. The whole "swappable sensor" gimmik sounds great but who in the right mind is going to be paying over £1k for a brand new sensor to put in their 5yr old shagged out unit. Also pulsar don't have a track record of sticking to a single design so look forward to non compatible sensors for the XL's successor!

For ref, my opinion on a few other bits of kit I've used:
Axion Xq35 - Fantastic performance for size, image was good enough for most stalking, field of view a little limiting and batteries/charge system silly. let down by smaller screen, not unusable though.

Axion Xq35 PRO LFF - better in every way than the non pro version, field of view sensitivity and general image usability all up and some insane bargains for this model on forum at the mo.

Axion XG35 - supposedly better than the XQs. i just found less battery life and a slightly more crispy image - go for the XQ35 Pro and save £800

Helion XQ38F - if using a lot, the helion screen is miles better than the axion, image negligible differences but the Helion unit is objectively better in all ways aside from unit size

Helion XP50Pro - best thing I've used but you'll pay for the best.

Hik Gryphon FQ35 - didn't really rate, felt plasticy, the merged colour mode felt like a gimmick - get an axion or condor

Hik Condor FQ35 - impressive bit of kit, not much different to the Falcon in usability, better shape than the axion if looking for an LRF unit but rear eye cup is an odd shape vs the pulsar equivalent

Hik Falcon FQ25 - Hiks version of a Helion. Struggle to pick faults with the unit. Great battery system. The 25mm lens gives an almost natural FoV (1.4x). Great for woodland and under 500yds, Detail does drop off a bit at range but depends if you are identifying deer vs selecting a deer as to whether you care.

Hik Falcon FQ50 - Identical to the 25 apart from better identification at range (at the cost of FoV naturally). Slightly bulky but worryingly close to the XP50Pro if you were working for Pulsar and £1k cheaper


Of all of them I've settled on the Falcon FQ25 - for my shooting, which is mainly woodland it offers the mix of features I need.

 

[NickJ]

I had a very brief look at the Habrock last night and they might just be an all in one replacement for glass binos
OK, the optical daytime image is nothing like as good as top end glass - but it's good enough, when used with the thermal channel to see stuff you simply would not see with even the best glass.
Given their size, weight, functionality and price, I'd seriously consider a pair of them before a pair of Swaro/Leica/Zeiss rangefinding binoculars

Cheers

Bruce

Me too, Glenn the HikMicro rep was at Malmo Guns last week and I got my hands on a pair, I was very impressed. With using the zoom function on 'day' mode you could easily sex deer at up to 800m.

I would say they just could be the answer for around 80% of deer management situations, the exceptions being where you need that detail from top glass for exacting situations with stag/buck head selection and hill red hinds when you have the time to be very selective

 

[jimmy6050]

I have been testing a range of products over the last few month, in a range of conditions.

From my findings...

The absolute top of the pile is the Merger XL50 , just blows the rest out of the water....

I have also taken note of latency and over sharpening on images, as well as large denoise and I can say, I'm not a fan of these types of images in thermal devices, also for my own needs I want the optimum performance in winter weather when we get those muggy nights...

I was watching a covey of partridge the other night in bleak conditions and in one device I could make out heat sources 40 yards away as birds and I knew it was a covey of birds but no detail at all, I then looked through a Merger and I could make out the birds fully, including facial and eyeball detail.

Trust me when I say the XL is the one to save for... yes it's mega expensive, but it's good ! Moving on from this I would have a Telos or Helion Pro, again expensive but the fact they have zero latency or lag when panning, superb poor weather performance and a natural image, makes them for me, the one to own..

What is the Merger XQ35 like?