Hikmicro Falcon FQ25

HIKMICRO monocular FALCON FQ25 - the best thermal imager for animal observation? In recent years, there have been a number of major developments in the field of bird and wildlife observation equipment. The performance of binoculars, telescopes and other instruments has improved considerably, tripods have become lighter, stronger and more practical (e.g. using carbon fibre models). Later, with the advent of digital cameras, every wildlife observer became a photographer. Birdwatchers - ornithologists - have also become bird listeners, with high-quality digital audio listening or recording equipment and various apps on their smartphones. Thermal imaging cameras, thermal monoculars, and thermal monoculars are increasingly being used to observe wildlife. Thermal imaging equipment has revolutionised the way we look at birds and nature. Now we can see in the dark (through fog, bad weather). Instead of using light to find the animals we are looking for, thermal imaging technology detects temperature differences between animals and their surroundings. Even the best camouflaged birds or beasts cannot hide their heat from thermal monoculars! We can discover mysterious and fearsome species without disturbing them. Thermal imaging has made great strides in the unobstructed study of ground-nesting birds such as passerines. Thermal imaging can not only be used for wildlife observation or ecological purposes, but can also be used more widely in areas such as search and rescue operations and even security, especially at night. The HIKMICRO FALCON FQ25 monocular is a wonderful instrument with an excellent price/performance ratio.

VERY WIDE FIELD OF VIEW

The Hikmicro Falcon FQ25 is a robust, rather bulky, partially rubber-coated thermal monocular that is incredibly well built, easy to carry and very comfortable to hold steady when in use. The stability of the image is also aided by the low magnification of the device: when viewed through the thermal monocular, the real image is magnified by a factor of 1.4. This helps to ensure a very wide field of view, much larger than that of its predecessor the FQ50. This very wide field of view provides an excellent field of view of 31 m at a distance of 100 m, making it very easy to find birds, mammals (and people) from a distance, in any light, and in any weather conditions. You can zoom in by pressing one of the buttons, but at higher magnifications the image appears "pixelated" (that's what digital zoom is all about), so I preferred the standard 1.4x setting with a wide angle of view.

ONLY THE BEST IMPRESSIONS WITH THE FQ25 THERMAL IMAGER

Comes with already charged batteries (one in the unit, one spare) - no need to worry about extra batteries. The thermal imager is perfect for birdwatching. For example, when an owl flies into your field of view, quickly press the record button to capture a quick video of the owl flying past. Thanks to the excellent depth of field and resolution, even in screenshots, the owl, its eyes, belly and long legs glow 'hot' in a colourful 'fusion' mode that you can use to capture the footage. You can change different image mode settings when filming a deer making different sounds, and even detect other deer nearby (with red-hot mode enabled).

FUSION, WHITE HOT, RED HOT AND BLACK HOT MODES

The modes are: Fusion, which shows warmer temperatures in "warmer", brighter colours, and cooler colours in darker, "colder" colours; White Hot, which shows a monochrome image, with warmer areas white and cooler areas dark; Red Hot, which highlights the hottest areas in red; and Black Hot, which is the reverse of White Hot, with darker colours for warmer areas. The modes can be switched at the touch of a button; the same button needs to be held down for a little longer to start filming. It's all very simple! Each colour mode has its own purpose and advantages.

SPECIFICATIONS

Type: thermal imager - monocular
Resolution: 640 × 512
Lens: 50 mm
Lens aperture: F1.0
Detection distance: 1200 m
Optical magnification: 1.42x
Field of view: 17.5° × 14.0°
NETD: <20mK
Imaging Sensor: VOx Technology
Magnification: 1x - 8x
Display: OLED, 1024 × 768
Frequency: 50 Hz
Protection Class: IP67
Internal memory: 64 GB
Diopters: -5 D to +3 D
Includes: manual, battery charger, 2 x Li-ion batteries (18650), neck strap

IR beam length: 8 μm to 14 μm