ZentronOutdoors
Model (ZEN Q635) Thermal Imaging Rifle Scope WOW!
Ok back in May 2024 I visited IWA in Germany specifically to see what were the latest hot products coming out in the field of outdoor pursuits such as hunting and fishing, specifically, but not limited to hunting (yes that's where I brought to you the latest images of new gear from Extrema Ratio in Italy and you have no doubt either got now, or have been watching my videos and reading my blogs here about this product.
The show was huge as always and did not disappoint at all!
Needless to say, with technology like it is progressing, there were many manufacturers showing off their latest thermal imaging devices, some obviously familiar names, like one of the main show sponsors, name beginning with "P"!
Now I did the rounds over the entire duration of the show, for you guys, not just breeze in and out for one or 2 days or a few hours because the show was so huge and so much planning involved to actually get to meet and speak with manufacturers.
So being a hunter from way back,
I was very interested in checking out what was to be had in the latest technology/models of thermal imagers. There were needless to say many manufactures all competing against one another and the crowds competing against one another to get their hands on products for some in show testing.
However, amongst these manufacturers, products from the company ZentronOutdoor whose thermal imaging rifle scopes really stood out for me.
Business front end of the Zen Q635 Thermal Rifle Scope is a F1.0 35mm front element, robust and compact design.
I spent nearly half a day at their stand in total after thoroughly examining the thermal imagers they had on show.
Let's break it down on what I was looking for:
A product with easy to read menus (in device) and navigate to all the main features without having to be constantly pulling out and or referencing the manual. So therefore, I closely examined the GUI (graphical user interface) and to determine if it was "user friendly" and of course this meant "intuitive" to use.
So when I picked up one of their scopes it was plain to me that anyone who can read could navigate easily through their diverse menus and obtain access to quick menus/shortcuts quite easily.
All of the buttons and knobs are located in just the right positions.
The Zen Q635 is a stand alone Thermal imaging Rifle scope (with the included rail mount shown below)
Rifle mount adaptor included
which can also be used as a simple thermal imaging scope (off rifle), comfortable enough to be held in the hand and small enough to fit in a jacket pocket as well!
How about power management?
The units are run from x2 CR123A batteries (Rechargeable), easily obtainable and or tethered from a USB power bank. Approx run time (battery dependent) easily 3 hour constant operation. (note: like ALL Bluetooth devices, if you run bluetooth constantly it only help to drain the battery!)
IP67 weather proofing of the Zen Q635 . Screw down battery compartment shown above (all weather sealed). It takes X2 CR123A type batteries.
The Technology and Specifications and Overall Handling
Zentron Outdoors are using a VOx chip for the detector of the thermal imaging scopes.
If you don't know there are several chip types around and Vanadium Oxide (VOx) is one of the best semiconductors to use for such devices. With their chip they state they have <25mK NETD, that's "less than 25 milli Kelvin Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference".
Now, in the thermal imaging world, the NETD is how one "rates" sensitivity of thermal scopes and to give you idea of what this means in terms of practicality, any values less than 40mk are ok, less than 35mK is going to be very good. Any values less than 25 mK NETD are going to be excellent!
Of course there are other environmental considerations always to take into account for ANY thermal imaging device, fact, however these specifications of theirs certainly rank right up there with the market leader's top of the range devices, (I've checked!).
At present they offer: a 12 um pixel size
17.6m FOV (for the model I tested) ay 35mm F1.0 front element.
The chip isn't cooled and I noticed it was totally noise free and it does not overheat under prolonged usage.
The image quality is spot on and combine this with a very nicely textured and fine tuning focusing knob that goes from 2m min distance out to infinity, it is very easy to focus so your images are very sharp.
The Zen Q635 has an identification range out to 550m and a detection range as far as 1800m!
The Zen Q635 is designed for both field and forest usage and we have tested it across both, especially under heavy forrest and with light fog as well! We found the detector very very sensitive.
(note there are other models in the ZEN Series and can be seen here: see here:)
Super bright OLED Display (example image from the real world, no Photoshop!)-White Hot color palette being used in a very low IR background environment.
Conditions:
Dense bush, slight fog, wallaby (kangaroo) at approx 60m. It's bending down feeding Head can be clearly seen. (camera/Thermal Scope: Zen Q635, stills image capture).
The Zen Q635 copes very well with quickly changing IR environments, ie when moving rapidly** with the scope.
**What do I mean by moving rapidly? I mean normal movements one would expect to make out hunting and tracking their quarry and or simply scanning the scene with the scope.
Eye Relief is excellent! and the OLED screen is great to look at with a 1280X1024 screen! (Zen Q35 is 600X800).
Fully Coated optics Removable rubber eye cup
What about all you spectacle wearers???
Diopter correction is also excellent and has a range from -5 to +5! this is seriously great for all those (who like me now) have to wear spectacles.
Construction and Aesthetics
Other than extremely well presented in the box* (*see my unboxing video if you haven't already), the Zen Q635 came in a very nice and practical carry case, (padded shoulder strap not shown).
sporting YKK weather proof zippers,
and box tacked well-stitched nylon components.
Now to the body of the Zen Q635 Thermal Rifle Scope
Excellent construction and attention to detail, ie Magnesium aluminium alloy housing (strong and robust and helps to keep the weight down to 410g!)
All threaded holes are tapped with stainless steel threaded inserts for robustness and durability.
Note, this is a very small unit! My hand size is only 8.5/9!
The Zen Thermal imagers are all assembled like some high tech scientific pieces of equipment but not looking like some university Heath Robinson construction; smooth lines, nice to hold and more importantly, all buttons and knobs are in the "right position" and can be used easily with gloves on or off!
The units are held together with Allen bolts, not Phillips head screws. There is a robust, and again easily actuated front lens cap to protect the outer "business end" lens from accidental damage.
IP rating IP67 Weather sealed push buttons and knobs along with the a weather seal over the USB C port.
Yes that's right a USB C port. This is the kind of port I want to see nowadays on technology because I know they will last being able to see many insertions and removals of USB male plugs; not these designed to fail mini USB A type connectors, I hate them!
Easy Firmware updatable: Zentron Outdoors have just released their latest version of the OS, at time of writing this article, Ver Q635-V0.97
Navigating the Software
Zen link software (down loadable from the web) easily allows one to connect these devices to either a mobile phone, tablet and or computer, connections can be made also via the supplied physical USB C cable. The user interface is, as I have already mentioned very easy to navigate and using a tablet or phone can hasten any setup changes simply by having a very large screen on hand; however, changing menus simply using the device is dead easy in the field.
I noted too that one can also use any Android app to transfer images and video to ones Mac computer such as Android file transfer (at least working just fine on OSX 11.5.2) if not using a PC.
Here are The Key Features of the Zen Q635 Thermal Rifle Scope are the following:
F1.0 35mm front element
A 12 um NETD <25mK 640X512 VOx chip
Accelerometer and Digital Compass
A 1280X1024 OLED display
Dual Band 2.4G/5G WiFi and Bluetooth
USB C connectivity (as well) and power options.
The scope "kit' also includes some "air activated cicular heating pads for scope calibration. ie you expose them to the air and they heat up, these will give you a more than adequate IR target signature for reticle calibrations.
So Much to say!
There is just too much to say about this very cool thermal imager, like all the great features with false color palettes, reticle choices, optional accessories like LASER range finders, ballistics calculations, etc., etc. to fit into this blog; so stay tuned for much much more!
Now!
Stick around to see my un boxing video and then later videos of the Zen Q635 Thermal imaging rifle scope, coming this Friday evening on @BushCampingTools
Example stills images (White hot color palette being used, this is the best choice when hunting in a low background IR environment) IMHO.
BCT