Tested: HIK Micro Falcon FQ50 Pro thermal spotter

Mark Ripley, known as 260Rips on YouTube, is testing the latest thermal spotter from Scott Country: the HikMicro Falcon FQ50 Pro.

He uses it to spot foxes, deer and rabbits, day or night, as part of his pest control duties. Today he’s after rabbits on a farm where they’re causing damage to grazing land. Later he moves to a golf course where the bunnies are spoiling the greens and management want numbers reduced.

Mark is impressed by the HikMicro Falcon’s performance. “This is the sharpest thermal spotter on the market, at least that I’ve used,” he says.

“The picture quality is superb,” he says. “That means something like a fox is going to be a lot clearer than with other thermal units – so you can identify your quarry more quickly and farther away.”

Mark likes the build quality and ergonomics of the Falcon too. “It’s a lovely little unit that fits nicely in the hand. All the buttons are nicely spaced so you can hit the right button at the right time.”

The Falcon has a recording feature which saves photos or video to the built-in memory, and runs on an 18650 battery which is easy to swap out in the field. “One battery gives five hours of use, so a couple of batteries will see you through a good night’s foxing,” he adds.

Mark uses the zoom feature a lot, zooming in to make sure of his quarry. “The zoom is smooth, and even when you zoom right in you don’t get the pixellation that you see on other units.”

Mark adds that the retail price of around £2,450 might sound a lot, but given the performance compared with other units on the market, he reckons it’s good value. “You certainly get a lot of bang for your buck,” he says.

Find out more from Scott Country.