Pard Ds35 or the pulsar c50

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Well-Known Member
One for the NV experts
Guys
if you were looking for a new NV out of the DS35 or the C50 range which one would be your choice for shooting out from 20 to 120 mtrs max
I‘m not looking for a range finding scope just best picture, clarity, battery life and durability

thanks in advance

phil
 
What rifle and quarry?
blaser rifles 22 rimmy on rats/ rabbits and 22 hornet foxes / rabbits
from 20 to 120 mtrs looking for a clear easy to work uncomplicated NV with no LRF
i’m not good on fancy computer work so one that just works properly without the faffing about at upgrades or improvement downloads preferred
any recommendations welcomed
cheers

phil
 
C50 is the most versatile in those scenarios for sure, better field of view for the rats, and with it’s low light gathering ability you will be able at see enough to have the fox in the cross hairs before flicking the torch on for the shot if there’s any ambient moonlight. You won’t need to be messing about with any updates or downloads as it’s been out long enough now without needing them. Only negative it’s a bit heavier than the Pard but I’ve never found it an issue even after being on foot for over 6 hours.
 
C50 is the most versatile in those scenarios for sure, better field of view for the rats, and with it’s low light gathering ability you will be able at see enough to have the fox in the cross hairs before flicking the torch on for the shot if there’s any ambient moonlight. You won’t need to be messing about with any updates or downloads as it’s been out long enough now without needing them. Only negative it’s a bit heavier than the Pard but I’ve never found it an issue even after being on foot for over 6 hours.
most of my NV is a pulsar or yukon which have served me very well with thermal on the 204 and 222, 20 - 120 mtrs NV is what i’m looking to replace as a upgrade on new pieces of kit
range finder, PIP, multi rifles etc, i won’t be using at all so it would be wasted on me
thanks for your advice Pp appreciated
phil
 
Ive recently got the Pard, really impressed with it. As said above it’s got a higher base mag and narrower field of view than the pulsar which may be the better choice on really close shots, flip side being a better image on longer shots without any digital zoom that the pulsar may need.
the Low light colour mode on pulsar is definitely very good and better than the pards low light colour mode, but its no big deal to switch over to night mode (black and white image).
The Pards built in IR is excellent, you wont need an add-on external torch adding weight and bulk at the ranges you’re talking about.
I really like the Pard built in range finder alongside the ballistic software. Totally understand if you dont like all the bells and whistles and hesitate with tech, but if you’re using the rim fire at night (where it’s not that easy to gauge distance) it’s easy and fast to range the rabbit and have the software give you the correct aim point. It’s simple to set up and has been reliable so far (early days but Ive tried it on targets from 25-100m with subsonic and it’s been spot on.
The circular image is very easy on the eye too, great quality and feels very natural (also a reason why I like my Infiray TH50 thermal).
Mounting the Pard on my Blaser was dead easy as it’s a relatively shallow scope with plenty of eye relief so haven’t needed a bespoke mount, the standard mount is good (I’d check with a Blaser owner to make sure which mount fits the pulsar).
and of course the weight, price point and availability are all very good.
 
I love the idea of the LRF in the Pard so will get one for my .22RF. If it mounts with good eye position without having to use cantilever mounts then all the better.
 
HIK Alpex
Better image than the C50 and £400 cheaper
I must admit, any video footage I have seen of the Alpex always looks better than the C50, and in recent video comparisons from Bruce and Russ, the Alpex looks better footage than the new Pard.
I dont own any of them, nor have I looked through any of them, and understand the image through the scope can be totally different from the video footage.
 
HIK Alpex
Better image than the C50 and £400 cheaper

Now that's interesting. I looked through a C50 earlier on in the year and was not blown away. I've recently had the opportunity to compare side by side the Pard and Alpex (in daytime). I thought the Alpex image was 'brighter' - but that could just have been settings. Ultimately though the ballistic/lrf sells the Pard to me overwhelmingly.
 
HIK Alpex
Better image than the C50 and £400 cheaper
£400? have they dropped the price of the Alpex again?

For anyone comparing the C50 and Alpex here’s my findings from another thread.

I’ve got the C50 and had a play with the Alpex there’s a few differences and for me the C50 is still king.

Daytime image on a par but there were a few things I prefer on the C50.
The reticle choice is better and it’s finer on the C50, there’s only 5 on the Alpex with only one being FFP and it doesn’t have a black option, switching between my C50 and 008’s i didn’t realise how distracting a big vividly illuminated reticle is in night mode.
The magnification on the Alpex is set at x3.5 x7 x14, The C50 has the same default options but also goes up in .1 increments using the side wheel so you can have it wherever you want between 3.5 and 14, much more versatile and the same for the PIP box, you can set the mag to whatever you want rather than the 2 fixed options on the Alpex. This means you can keep that big field of view on x3.5 and have the PIP box cranked up to your preferred mag to nail the shot.
The PIP box is far more user friendly on the C50, firstly it’s a direct scaled representation of your main screen and reticle so say you are holding over 2 mildots on base mag, it’s still 2 mildots in the PIP box regardless of the mag. The Alpex PiP box is just a basic cross with no reference points the same as the Iray TD50 so if you shoot air or rimmy you can’t use holdover with the PIP.
The Alpex screen is a little smaller but not really a big deal.
The zoom wheel on the Alpex is very sensitive one click and you have doubled the mag, it’s really easy to go over and end up having to go through the sequence again, with cold hands or gloves i could imagine it being a bit of a faff to get it right and I’ve already seen an image of someone fixing a bar across it to stop it from being turned accidentally
The focus ring on the Alpex was incredibly stiff!! I’ve read others saying the same.

The Alpex is a good bit of kit but the above are the differences I found, certainly not a deal breaker for some and bear in mind I’ve been using the C50 since April so I’m used to it.
One thing that really frustrates me with the C50 is the quality of playback, compared to the view though the scope it’s frankly crap, must be a Pulsar thing as the others all look ok. But videos don’t kill things so I can live with it.
 
RRP for a C50 with IR and wifi is £1240 Pulsar Digex C50 3.5-14x50 Day/Night Weapon Scope with Digex X850S IR Illuminator (if you can find one)
RRP for an Alpex A50 including IRmand wifi is £800 HIKMICRO ALPEX A50T Day & Night Vision Rifle Scope with 850nm IR Illuminator
So, the Alpex is £440 cheaper than the C50
I agree that the C50 is the better of the two - but not £440 better

Cheers

Bruce

No one with any sense would use the supplied torches with either unit, you have the option to bin it with the Pulsar, in real terms the difference is more like £200 and with the superior low light performance added to the above differences it’s worth that imho.
 
C50 is a better scope than the Alpex (had them side by side) especially at dusk and dawn when you when get an extra 10 minutes without needing IR. Bigger screen too for those older eyes! Have you had a look at Clives thermal add on yet Phil?
 
Hi Steve. happy new year mate hope all is well

just awaiting delivery on a 22 hornet & WMR blaser rifles and a 22 rimmy barrel all going to have a decent day scope on board but looking for a dedicated NV for the hornet so i can just swap over at dusk
i’m using a 007 on the pcp but my other day scopes (swaro) don’t like an add on so looks like i’ve gonna go for possibly 2 new NV. i’ve got the trail and T ceptor on the 204 & 222 don’t want to move them about
there is so much on the market now, i don’t take a lot to get me confused, want to try and get it right first time if I can

i’ve got pulsars 344 and 940 on my old hornets at the moment but I’m loath to break them up as they work so well

i’ll give clive a call in the new year and pop over and see what he has

cheers

phil
 
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C50 is a better scope than the Alpex (had them side by side) especially at dusk and dawn when you when get an extra 10 minutes without needing IR. Bigger screen too for those older eyes! Have you had a look at Clives thermal add on yet Phil?
A few users have stated, past distances of 200yds the C50 is better than an Alpex, plus better built. The Alpex is still a great scope and excellent value.

The DS35 offers something neither do, I like them all personally...
 
No one with any sense would use the supplied torches with either unit, you have the option to bin it with the Pulsar, in real terms the difference is more like £200 and with the superior low light performance added to the above differences it’s worth that imho.
The non IR (but with wifi) version of the C50 has an RRP of £1100 Pulsar Digex C50
and currently unobtanium in the UK
That's still £300 more than an Alpex (with IR and wifi)
I still reckon that the C50 is not worth £300 more than the Alpex
Price wise, the C50 arguably becomes competitive to the Alpex with the C50 non IR, non wifi version for £950 - but that brings with it the inability to ever upgrade the C50 firmware because that can only be done using the Pulsar Streamvision 2 app when connected to the C50 by wifi
Again, I agree the C50 has the better overall performance, but it's arguable if it's even £150 better

Cheers

Bruce
 
The non IR (but with wifi) version of the C50 has an RRP of £1100 Pulsar Digex C50
and currently unobtanium in the UK
That's still £300 more than an Alpex (with IR and wifi)
I still reckon that the C50 is not worth £300 more than the Alpex
Price wise, the C50 arguably becomes competitive to the Alpex with the C50 non IR, non wifi version for £950 - but that brings with it the inability to ever upgrade the C50 firmware because that can only be done using the Pulsar Streamvision 2 app when connected to the C50 by wifi
Again, I agree the C50 has the better overall performance, but it's arguable if it's even £150 better

Cheers

Bruce
The C50 has a larger eye display, better reticules and scaled within PIP , better replaceable battery system, faster refresh and faster bootup, build quality is also a step up allround , with a better lowlight performance and sharper clarity at the longer end of the range , past 150-300yds.

Small things but encoder wheel is silent and button is recessed so cannot be accidentally pressed, button function is far useable without hitting a power down button ..

The Alpex is great for rats and rabbits and longer , sound quality is good and recorded quality, what you gain is a bargain for the cost of it ..

I really like all the tube scopes…

The DS35 models are featherweight with everything built in and the IR like you mentioned is a powerhouse for its size , reaching out to 300yds, I’ll be putting a DS35 through its paces very soon and sharing some footage ..

All boils down to what you need really .

The DS35 is the best daytime long range scope , it has better reticules than an Alpex , it has higher resolution than both models also, and higher base mag, the ballistic function is awesome once setup ..
 
The non IR (but with wifi) version of the C50 has an RRP of £1100 Pulsar Digex C50
and currently unobtanium in the UK
That's still £300 more than an Alpex (with IR and wifi)
I still reckon that the C50 is not worth £300 more than the Alpex
Price wise, the C50 arguably becomes competitive to the Alpex with the C50 non IR, non wifi version for £950 - but that brings with it the inability to ever upgrade the C50 firmware because that can only be done using the Pulsar Streamvision 2 app when connected to the C50 by wifi
Again, I agree the C50 has the better overall performance, but it's arguable if it's even £150 better

Cheers

Bruce

You can quote rrp all you like Bruce, I paid a grand for my non IR wifi C50, when they become available again thats probably what people will pay too if they do their homework, likewise with the non Wifi probaly nearer £900 so as i say this £400 figure in real terms is way over the top.
Again a few quid isnt the deal breaker for alot of folk if they are spending this sort of money, build quality,reliability,features and performance are the thing that counts, otherwise whats the point in upgrading.
How have you come to the conclusion that its arguable that the C50 isnt £150 better than the Alpex? im yet to see a C50 on your picatinny testing table and certainly not alongside an Alpex.
As ive pointed out from real world experience there are some fundamental differences between the two units which justify the difference in price, and you clearly either havent spotted them or don’t appreciate them.
 
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