A wave of innovations is showcased at IWA by Pulsar. First of all, both lines of new Thermal Imaging optics introduced at the SHOT Show, the groundbreaking Thermion line of riflescopes and the impressive Axion XM monoculars are finally displayed in Europe, both lines soon to be available on the market.
The Lithuanian company also presented two digital and night vision riflescopes, the powerful Digisight Ultra and the cheaper Sightline models, and the line of thermal imaging devices has been updated.
Pulsar Digisight Ultra riflescope: features
Let’s take a look at the Digisight Ultra riflescope: it is available in two versions, the N450 and N455, that differ only for the wavelength of the IR illuminator, 850 and 940nm respectively, the latter less powerful but virtually undetectable. The sensor used is a 1280x720 HD CMOS, with a 40mm diameter front objective lens; the wide-angle eyepiece features an AMOLED microdisplay with 1024x768 resolution. Detection range is 550m at night-time, native magnification is 4.5x and it can digitally zoom up to 18x. One Shot Zeroing is also an interesting feature of the Ultra. The Digisight Ultra also has a built-in photo-video recorder with 16GB of integrated memory, and fully supports Stream Vision app; the battery is the usual rechargeable B-pack and the riflescope uses a built-in Picatinny rail mount.
Pulsar Sightline digital night vision riflescopes
The "budget" Sightline model is a night vision digital spotting scope available in two versions (with 850 or 940 nm illuminator), the N450 / 455 and the N470 / 475. The optics have a front lens diameter of 40mm and 57mm respectively. Many of the features of Sightline optic are shared with its big brother Digisight Ultra: 1280x720 CMOS HD sensor, AMOLED microdisplay (but without wide-angle eyepiece) and increased night sensitivity. Moreover, the Sightline does not support Stream Vision, and is not equipped with a video recorder, although thanks to a microHDMI port it can be connected to an external recorder. Depending on the model the native magnification factor goes from 4-16x to 6-24x and detection distance goes from 350 to 450 meters at night.
The updated Core line of thermal imaging add-on optics, dubbed the Core FXQ-BW, introduces a black and white image microdisplay instead of the previously used green color, and the four available models are otherwise identical to their predecessors.
Pulsar Axion and Thermion thermal imaging optics
Now let's talk about the Axion and Thermion thermal imaging optics. The Axion is a very interesting monocular thanks to its super-compact size and magnesium housing which makes it very light. The resolution for all models is 320x240 thanks to a state-of-the-art 12μm sensor with a frequency of 50hz.
A cheaper version of the Axion introduced by Pulsar and named XM-KEY is available with Chalcogenide lenses (instead of the much more expensive Germanium ones), with a focal length of 22 and 30mm, and LCOS microdisplay. The Axion KEY does not offer video recording, Wi-Fi and Stream Vision support but on the other hand it is very affordable.
Lastly, the convincing Pulsar Thermion hides a thermal detection system inside what outwardly looks like a 30 mm tube riflescope for daytime use. It will certainly be much appreciated by hunters who do not like the angular and massive proportions of similar products so far seen on the market. To find out more about these products, we invite you to read what we wrote during the SHOT Show.
Remember that in some countries, such as Germany, night vision and thermal imaging devices can be legally bought and owned only with a special license.
For more information, please visit the Pulsar website.
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