When you need to pick up animals in cover at night and then confirm what you are looking at, the Ventus 650L puts thermal imaging, a day/night camera and a laser rangefinder in one binocular. Its 640×512 thermal sensor sits behind a 50mm F1.0 lens, giving a detection range of up to 2600 m. A second 3536×3536 CMOS channel behind a 50mm F1.4 lens handles daylight and, with the switchable 850nm/940nm IR illuminator, night viewing out to 400 m at 850nm.

You switch from thermal to daylight without refocusing. The laser rangefinder reads to 1000 m within ±1 m, a digital magnetic compass gives you a bearing, and photos and video with audio are saved to 64GB of internal storage.

Both focus wheels sit together so you can work them with one hand, the eyepieces adjust from 60 to 72 mm, and a proximity sensor turns the screen off when you lower the binocular.

Know the trade-offs before you buy. Thermal magnification starts at 3.7x and the day channel at 4x; the reach to 14.8x and 24x is digital zoom. It weighs 833 g, and two replaceable 18650 cells give about 6 hours, so plan on spares for a long night. It is IP67 rated and works from -20 °C to 50 °C.

Features

• Detects heat signatures out to 2600 m through a 50mm thermal lens
• Switch from thermal to daylight view without refocusing
• Built-in laser rangefinder reads distance to 1000 m within ±1 m
• Switchable 850nm and 940nm IR illuminator for night viewing
• Twin focus wheels sit together for one-handed adjustment
• Two replaceable 18650 cells give about 6 hours of use
• Proximity sensor switches the screen off when you lower it
• IP67 rated and works from -20 °C to 50 °C