Anyone switched from ATN 4K Pro ABL/LRF to HIKMicro Alpex A50EL LRF?

[ChrisPCarter]

Anyone switched from the ATN X-Sight 4K Pro with ABL 1500 LRF to HIKMicro Alpex A50EL LRF?
On paper the specs aren't actually that different so I'm wondering if anyone has changed and found it a worthwhile upgrade?
How many profiles does the Alpex have as I currently use my ATN scope on 3 different rifles with it zeroed for 2 ammo types for each.
Considering adding it to another rifle so would need at least 4 profiles.
How does battery life compare? The ATN is pretty good and lasts a few days on a charge.

 

[Blair]

Have had an ATN for years (TOUCHWOOD) never had an issue and been reliable for every aspect, mainly used for foxes but did have it on a stalking rifle for a short while and performed well, excellent battery life, held zero and was a reliable scope in all fairness to it for the money it has been excellent.
Just recently tried the Alpex, LRF is brilliant if your into that sort of thing, battery life is awful in my opinion compared to the C50 or ATN. Picture quality i would say is on par with a well set up ATN it certainly didn't blow me away. Sceen on the alpex kept going pink whilst it was on my back. Arsing about with the focus wheel for muntjac that are moving between 20 and 40 yards to get a half decent unpixelated picture probably cost me 3 Muntjac. lost zero settings twice after getting it bang on. The ALPEX is going up for sale and the zeiss is bank on the stalking rifle and not going anywhere soon.

ATN is still on the .243, I am far from saying its the best thing i've used but in my opinion of using both it performs better.

 

[ChrisPCarter]

Thanks Blair, that's exactly what I've found with mine it's been spot on for the 5 years or so I've had it.
I have mine on QR mounts and switch between .22LR, .17HMR and .223 rifles for pest control. I've stayed with S&B glass on my .243 and .30-06 for some "proper" stalking, though I'm sure this scope could replace everything with a single scope and save a fortune.
For shooting small targets such as crows, rabbits and fox at range the laser range finder has been superb - I'm not sure you really need it for deer when they are a big target and I rarely shoot them over 200 yards.
I had a look through the previous Alpex A50T and was shocked how small the screen was - a small square in a big glowing tube which didn't impress but I've never actually used one.
Apparently they have put a bigger screen in the new Alpex LRF scope and it also looks less pixelated when you zoom in but I'm not really seeing any standout features over the ATN.
Just based on your comments I think I will stick with what I've got for now!
The 4K Pro and ABL rangefinders are really reduced right now since the new 5K Pro scopes came out so great value but it's probably not the time to be selling it as they have halved in price.
I've seen the 4K Pro for under £400 and the ABL 1500 for £210. A bargain really but it is a quite bulky setup compared to the new fully integrated scopes.
Might check out the new ATN models and see if they are worth having at some point when prices come down a bit.

 

[Blair]

Mine is the LRF screen not a lot bigger on the new version really dissapointed with mine! I have yet to try the new ATN's as usual there is big noise from both the good and bad sides all i can say is i never did a firmware upgrade and touchwood it seems to work.

 

[ChrisPCarter]

The ATN scopes were really ahead of their time spec wise but never really seemed to get a big following here like the other brands.
If you look at reviews and videos on YouTube they all seem to be in the US.
They did have a lot of firmware issues at the start with features not quite working right and some scopes were being bricked with failed firmware and having to go back which wasn't good.
It took them a while to correct them but I never had a problem and just waited for one of the later versions to be released before updating it.
I've been really happy with mine I just wish it was a bit of a smaller package with the big laser unit on it.

 

[mealiejimmy]

I just got my hands on a XSight 5 5-25 LRF and this morning was testing it alongside a HIK Alpex 4k (non LRF) and an Arken Zulus 520R
So, in daylight looking at my 100 yard airbrick target which I use to see how good the resolution is, my initial impressions are:
1. Between x5 and x10 magnification the Arken has a very, very slightly sharper image than the XSight.
2. Between x10 and x20 magnification the XSight image is very, very slightly smoother than the Arken image
The Alpex 4k struggled a bit because it's base magnification is lower so more digital zoom had to be used to get the same magnification as the other scopes and at those magnifications the image was not as sharp
It's OK to put a 4k sensor in a scope, but if the display is not also 4k then there is no advantage when using the scope normally (i.e looking through it)
There might be when playing back video recorded on the scope - if it's actually 4k

Going back to the display issue
The resolution of a digital scope (think about it as the smallest thing it can "see") is simply the size of a sensor pixel divided by the focal length of the objective lens.
The answer to that little calculation is an angle in mrad, but it's easier to think of it as the size of a square at some specified distance (usually 100m)
The smaller the size of the square, the more detailed the image
For the Zulus, the pixel size is 2.9 microns and the focal length of the objective lens is 65mm, making a single sensor pixel see a square with sides 4.4mm long at a distance of 100m
For the Alpex 4k, the pixel size is 2 microns and the focal length of the lens is 50mm, making a single sensor pixel see a square with sides 4mm long at 100m
For the XSight the pixel size is 1.55 microns and the focal length of the lens is around 68mm, making a single pixel see a square with sides 2.3mm long at 100m
From those numbers it's obvious that the X Sight should produce the most detailed image
However, the displays used in each scope make a big difference to the amount of detail we actually see when looking through the scope
The Zulus uses a 1920x1080 sensor and a 1920x1080 display so each sensor pixel maps directly to a single display pixel, so the user sees the image in the same level of detail as is captured by the sensor - a resolution of 4.4mm at 100m
The Alpex 4k uses a 3840x2160 sensor and a 1920x1080 display so this time, 4 sensor pixels are displayed on a single display pixel so, instead of the resolution at 100mm being 4mm, it's actually 8mm - which is worse than the Zulus
The XSight uses a 4056x3040 sensor and a 1280x960 display, so this time more than 9 sensor pixels are displayed on a single display pixel, so instead of the resolution at 100m being 2.3mm, it's actually 6.9mm - which is worse than the Zulus
In reality, anyone looking through these scopes is unlikely to be able to discern these levels of detail at 100m, but it does show that using a 4k sensor with a much lower resolution display doesn't give the user what they might be expecting

Cheers

Bruce

 

[ChrisPCarter]

Thanks Bruce that’s something I’d been looking into myself.
I’m really surprised at the X Sight 5 having such a low res display but I hadn’t fully checked the specs on it yet.
I’m pretty sure my X Sight 4 has a 4K sensor and 1920x1080p display so that seems a step backwards, although it allows recording in 4K instead of just 1080p.
Looks like they have saved money on the sensor but with a screen so small most eyes wouldn’t be able to see such tiny pixels on a 4K display I guess.

 

[mealiejimmy]

The display on the old model of XSight 4k is no better - 1280x720
The old X sight used a wide screen sensor (16:9), so the display needed to have the same aspect ratio
The X Sight 5 uses a 4:3 aspect ratio sensor so needs a display with the same aspect ratio - which is what you get with 1280x960
Both the old display and the new display are LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon)
All the competition are using OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode)

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Tim1989]

I had my zulus 5x and my atn x sight 5 both at the range today, at 100 yard you can see the bullet holes better on target with the atn ,

I've not got a alpex 4k but I do have a alpex, it's a great scope in last light but as a day scope it dose pixelate alot

I used to use a atn 5x20 4k , great scope it was never had any issues with mine , it was just a big bulky scope especially with the abl