Pulsar Thermal XQ38 v XQ50

For the price difference get the better one.
you don't need field of view like you do in binoculars
you are not looking for brown against brown in low lights

you are looking for white hot against grey
you scan back and forth very quickly with small field of view to locate then focus in on target to confirm.

like looking for eye shine with a torch at 200m
significantly less than a 13m fov but you find foxes

hivemind!
 
artschool/brewsher. Good points especially in field situations. In woodland I still think that a larger fov would be an advantage but in saying that I am probably going to order the XQ50 as I got on well with it.. One slight issue though was that I was surprised how quickly I used up the 4 duracel batteries that I put in. I had the thermal out on several occasions over a few days and switched off or used the screen save option when not in use but still ran out of battery quite quickly. I did have the unit in my jacket pocket when stalking on Sat and did possibly leave it switched on so maybe it was my fault.
 
Have given an XQ 38 and XQ 50 a lot of use recently and would pick up the 38 to use out of preference!!Better field of view and seemed to have a sharper image than the XQ50.
On a different note one came with a new Design of battery cradle and one had the old style.The new one seemed to cure the problems we got with the old style and rechargeable batteries.Any one buying new make sure all the batteries negative's go to a spring,not like the old ones where a positive went against a spring!
[h=2][/h]e new one
 
Would also go for the XQ38 over the XQ50. If battery life is an issue, try Ansmann 2850mAH rechargeables or one of the new DNV battery modules.
 
Are they compatible with the EPS3/5 battery pack?

Compatible with both, but Quantum with EPS3 mounted on it becomes rather bulky and cumbersome.
Also need to fit an offset onto the Quantum rail if you want to use a neck strap in conjunction with the EPS3.
 
There's a new EPS pack out, the EPS3i which has a better run time and also a battery level indicator. I'm using the DNV pack in my XD50 as I prefer to not have the additional bulk on my spotter but both work really well and save the hassle and expense of normal AAs

as for which to go for, I love my XD50 but if I was buying again, it would be the XQ38 for the wider field of view.
 
playin with the xq50 very good for spottin at long range set lowest mag 4.1 optical.i wonder if the lenses are interchangable then you could have it all in one. but remember most expensive part off a thermal is the glass.
 
Ive now used both the 38 and 50. In my opinion if you want to identify anything a very long way away then go for the XQ50. I was seeing rabbits, hares and foxes many hundred meters away and deer much further. If you want to use a thermal in woodland as well as in a mixed farming area then the XQ38 is better. I found scanning through trees much easier and faster with the wider field of vision yet could easily see deer at many hundred meters away. If I wanted a thermal for vermin/fox control or for scanning for deer over wide open spaces then I would buy the XQ50. I have bought an XQ38 and have taken it out several times now and although I am finding that each outing throws up slightly different performance due to slightly differing temperatures I am very happy with my choice.
 
Apparently in March 2017 the new Pulsar units will have Bluetooth streaming capability for external screens etc

Well, if that's the case it will solve the problem with the crappy combined video out/DC in connector.
However, bluetooth video transmission isn't going to do anything good to the battery life and we might have finish up using the crappy video out/DC in connector to provide it with sufficient power to run the bluetooth video.

Cheers

Bruce
 
Well, if that's the case it will solve the problem with the crappy combined video out/DC in connector.
However, bluetooth video transmission isn't going to do anything good to the battery life and we might have finish up using the crappy video out/DC in connector to provide it with sufficient power to run the bluetooth video.

Cheers

Bruce
Totally agree on the dual cable,its a complete waste of time!

Pins on mine are all bent, hopefully replacement is on the way.

For those using an XQ50 with monitor, did you have any issues with it? My monitor just shows interference - until the pins got bent...!
 
Totally agree on the dual cable,its a complete waste of time!

Pins on mine are all bent, hopefully replacement is on the way.

For those using an XQ50 with monitor, did you have any issues with it? My monitor just shows interference - until the pins got bent...!

connected my xq38 to a 4inch screen, works great allowing companions to watch.
Might be even clearer than the eyepiece
 
For the price difference get the better one.
you don't need field of view like you do in binoculars
you are not looking for brown against brown in low lights

you are looking for white hot against grey
you scan back and forth very quickly with small field of view to locate then focus in on target to confirm.

like looking for eye shine with a torch at 200m
significantly less than a 13m fov but you find foxes

Sorry Brewsher but I would have to profoundly disagree with this. I have been using thermal for deer for over a year 3 or 4 times a week. You want as wide a field of view as possible. even with my XD38 I find the lack of field of view frustrating particularly in woodland. You want to have as wide a FOV as possible to be able to scan quickly .You do not need to have high mag to ID deer. It is nothing like flicking a lamp around as you have to hold the thing to your eye and move your entire head so not comparable.
With this in mind I would recommend the XQ19 as it has the widest FOV and more than enough magnification to ID anything .I tried one last week and it's great with higher definition than my XD38s. And you'll save £1000 into the bargain.
I bought this lanyard off ebay, it's great as you can unclip it to hand to someone else.
As for brightness turn it down to min and fiddle with the contrast to make it easy on the eye some of the colour pallets are alls good but you tend to loose detail.
 
One of my main uses is to take the dogs out for a walk, with a rifle. I've taken an XD38 with me recently for a few days and it really is great to watch all sorts of wildlife activity but I'm going to break a bone, or a rifle from the blinding effect & loss of night vision. I can normally find my way round without a torch fairly comfortably, but the 'loss' of one eye finds me tripping up endlessly. I would have though it possible to lower the brightness significantly and to use a red/black combination (although thinking about it that colour combination is terrible for contrast)

Dont laugh but I find my thermal spotter very handy when I take the dogs out to do their business last thing at night, if it's foggy the head torch can be us and with the dogs charging about, each pooing in a different place it's sometimes impossible to mark the piles of poo ( I have 12" sticks to make later picking up easier) the thermal really comes into its own being able to pinpoint piles of warm dog poo for nearly 30mins and up to 100yds away after the event. It's that sensitive that on a frosty night it will pick up the heat on the ground where the dogs have walked for several minutes, great bit of kit.

As said earlier just keep the brightness down as low as possible to reduce the effect on the eyes.

atb WB
 
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