Pulsar Telos XL50 Thermal Monocular

The Pulsar Telos XL50 Pairs a 1024 Sensor With a 50mm Lens

The Pulsar Telos XL50 is a handheld thermal monocular built on a 1024x768 sensor behind a 50mm lens. That combination exists for one job: putting enough pixels on a distant heat source that you can stop wondering what it is.

The body is the sealed, rubber coated Telos housing with the focus and zoom rings together on the lens, so the move from spotting a glow to reading it is one motion of the same hand.

Magnification Runs From 2.5x to 20x on the XL50

The optical base is a fixed 2.5x, and the zoom ring carries the image digitally to 20x. Digital zoom is only as good as the pixels underneath it, and a 1024x768 sensor gives the zoom plenty of pixels to work with, so pushing in keeps an image instead of a cluster of blocks.

The practical result is a scanner that does two jobs. At 2.5x it covers ground. Rolled forward, it answers the question the wide view raised, whether that heat at the far fence line is a hog, a coyote, or nothing worth walking to.

A 14 Degree Field Makes the XL50 a Wide Scanner First

The field of view is 14 degrees, wide enough to take in a full stretch of field edge in one frame. Wide matters because scanning is time: the more ground each sweep covers, the faster you clear a field and the less you fatigue doing it.

Detecting heat and identifying it are different distances, and the gap is set by pixels on the animal. This unit's whole design shortens that gap, wide view to find, deep zoom to confirm.

Storage, Streaming, and a Removable Battery Round Out the XL50

Video and photos record to 64GB of built-in storage, and footage moves to your phone over Wi-Fi through the Stream Vision 2 app.

Power comes from a removable battery pack rated for 7 hours, charged with the same USB-C cable that charges your phone. A spare pack in a pocket turns a long night into a non-issue, and swapping takes seconds without tools.

The XL50 Is Waterproof and Built to Be Upgraded

This is fully waterproof equipment, rated to survive a drop into shallow water, not just rain. Dew soaked mornings, storm fronts, and creek crossings are not equipment risks.

The Telos platform is also built to accept hardware upgrades through Pulsar's upgrade service, including a laser rangefinder, a higher tier sensor, or a different lens. The configuration you buy is a starting point rather than a ceiling.

Who Should Pass on the XL50

If your hunting happens inside a couple hundred yards in timber, brush, and feeder setups, the zoom range that defines this unit will mostly go unused, and the smaller XQ35 covers that ground for less money. If your nights are dominated by humidity, fog, and wet ground, image contrast in bad air is the spec to shop first, and that is the XP50's territory.

If you want distance readouts built into the scanner, the LRF XL50 is this same optic with a laser rangefinder in the housing.

Telos XL50 FAQ

Is the Telos XL50's zoom optical or digital?

The optical base is a fixed 2.5x, and everything above it to 20x is digital zoom controlled by the ring on the lens.

Does the digital zoom ruin the image?

Digital zoom always trades pixels for magnification, but the 1024x768 sensor gives it a lot of pixels to trade. Expect a clearly usable image well into the zoom range and some softness at the top end, which is normal for every thermal at maximum magnification.

How far can the XL50 see?

The detection figure is in the specifications on this page, and it describes noticing a heat source, not identifying one. Identification always happens much closer than detection, and it is the distance to plan a hunt around.

Does it come with a rangefinder?

No, this is the non-rangefinder version. The same optic with a built-in laser rangefinder is sold as the Telos LRF XL50, and the Telos platform is built to accept a rangefinder upgrade later through Pulsar's service.

What battery does it run on?

A removable Pulsar LPS 7i pack rated for 7 hours, charged over USB-C or wirelessly. Spares swap in the field in seconds.