At the front of the pack

Mat Manning tests Hikmicro's Raptor RQ50L binoculars, which offer full-colour daytime viewing with thermal, infrared and a rangefinder

Digital optics have come a long way in recent years, and Hikmicro’s Raptor RQ50L binoculars are at the front of the pack. Apart from providing thermal viewing in four colour palettes, they also deliver optical viewing in full HD colour by day and infrared at night. They can even produce a hybrid image that’s a fusion of thermal and infrared, and they have a built-in rangefinder.

The Raptor’s list of features goes on and on. There’s a battery-saving sensor that switches it to standby mode when you take it away from your eyes, it can record still images and video at the press of a button, it can connect to the Hikmicro Sight app via onboard Wi-Fi and both eyepieces are width and dioptre adjustable to ensure perfect fit and focus. Add a very tough travel case, two sets of rechargeable batteries (each of which gives a continuous runtime of up to eight hours), a fast-charger and a high-spec 640x512 sensor with image stabilisation to the mix, and you can see why this is arguably the most comprehensive day-and-night optic on the market. Of course, all that technology comes at a cost, and this pioneering unit retails for £3,999.99. That is a lot of money, but if you pick up a Hikmicro Raptor, look through it and see what it can do, you’ll will probably understand why it simply can’t be done for less.