Arken Optics recently joined the fray into the digital night vision market with their ZULUS rifle scope, which also has an alternate daytime feature. Traditional tube night vision has been quite expensive, and even though those prices have been trending downward, the digital night vision market has been much more affordable. This includes the Arken Optics ZULUS rifle scope. I’ll not pretend to know any of the space magic behind all this, but I’ll detail how it worked for me.
Arken Optics Coverage
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Arken Optics ZULUS Day/Night Scope Review
Arken Optics makes two versions of the ZULUS Day/Night Scope; one with an integral laser rangefinder and ballistic calculator, and one without. The review sample I received does not have the rangefinder and ballistics application. As one would expect, there’s an uptick in price for the former, but not exorbitantly so. The standard version of the ZULUS features an integral infrared (IR) illuminator on the left side with its own battery compartment for a rechargeable 18650 battery. The ZULUS’ overall construction and housing are extremely solid, but have a listed weight of only 19 ounces, which is comparable to other rifle scopes, while adding the ability to record video and audio, timestamp, picture in picture viewing, and of course, have the ability to see in the dark with ambient or IR illumination.
Charging or downloading videos was as easy as removing the sealed port cap and plugging it in to a charger or the computer. The SD card port is just forward of the USB port. The sealed cap is quite tight to maintain it’s waterproof rating, so I used my knife or my multitool to open and replace it with the protruding nubs.
Specs
- Magnification: 5-20x
- Eye Relief: 1.77″ (45 mm)
- Pixel Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Frame Rate: 60 Hz
- Diopter Adjustment: + or – 5
- Type: Micro – OLED
- Battery Type: 18650 Flat Top (2x Included)
- Operating Time: 8 Hours
- External Power Supply: 5v – Type C USB
- Micro SD Card – GB: 32 – 128 GB
- Degree of Protection: IP67
- IR Wavelength: 850 nm
- Infrared Power: 5
- Working Temperature: -4F (-20C) to approximately ~122F (50C)
- Wi-fi: Enabled
- Chip: Sony STARVIS 2
- Warranty: 2 Year Limited Warranty
Using the ZULUS as a Monocular
The Arken Optics ZULUS is clearly designed with shooting and hunting in mind, but that certainly doesn’t mean that one couldn’t use it as a stand alone monocular. I did so a lot on my Christmas vacation to get used to the operation. I also enjoyed using the ZULUS for spotting wildlife at night especially. At the full 20x magnification, the focus isn’t crystal clear, but you could still track game, interesting wildlife, or even trespassers on your property. The focus wheel is easy to reach and adjust, but if you’re not bracing on something, the image can get pretty jumpy when magnifying. Back on the 5x magnification, the image is a bit more stable, especially on more distant objects. The following video of a pelican was from about 15 yards at 5x. A few seconds elapse before I adjusted the focus, but once I did, I was impressed how much detail showed up. I did take the video speed down to half to balance out my wobbles.
The next video is from the same beach, but shows the need for stabilization. I was free-handing the ZULUS while upping the magnification, but then it was all I could do to keep the plane in frame, so I didn’t adjust the focus as the distance of the subject changed. Notice how the reticle numbers change based on the magnification.
My timing couldn’t have been more perfect to capture the next video of an owl grabbing some dinner. Or is it breakfast? The video is still a bit wobbly, but I was able to brace it against the top of the car window. It was fun to see his eyes disappear when he blinked or turned his head.
One of the crosshairs is a very small, simple cross, which doesn’t obscure the view at all, so someone that doesn’t have any interest in mounting this to a rifle could utilize that reticle just fine. The following video was from a distance of five miles from the shipyard of Gulfport, Mississippi during our vacation.
Mounting the ZULUS to a Rifle
The Arken Optics ZULUS comes supplied with four mounting screws and a hex key for fixing the mount directly to the Day/Night Scope, and the same hex key works for fastening the mount to the picatinny rail of your choosing. Arken Optics is currently shipping with a zero MOA mount, but the early sample I received shipped with a surprising 35 MOA mount. The elevation “unit” measurement in the zeroing menu was a little confusing at first since I would adjust the number some and save the change, however I wasn’t seeing any actual difference on the screen. I consulted Nick Chen about this, and he suggests holding the adjusting button down. I did this and instantly saw the reticle change elevation. The zero MOA mounts won’t need as much adjustment, but when in doubt, hold the button down to get that instant verification that the reticle is moving, and moving in the right direction to your point of impact. My preferred reticle has been the MIL cross, but Arken Optics was quite generous in the number of reticles and colors available to suit everyone’s tastes.
Recording
Recording with the Arken Optics ZULUS scope is pretty straight forward. Press and hold the camera button until the timer appears in the upper left hand corner. A quick press of the same button while recording will pause the recording, and to stop recording, press and hold until the timer disappears. There are a couple of videos I took with the ZULUS where I accidentally paused the video. I wanted to clarify this point since the ZULUS Digital Day/Night scope never hiccupped or lagged during use. The video quality was great, as long as I did my part to keep steady, focus, and use enough light, be it natural light or IR light.
The next two videos show a bedded deer. The first video is seen in the day mode under a partially veiled moon. At 5x it did pretty well, not overly detailed, but the deer can be seen well enough. The second video was recorded with the night mode, and I started out with no IR illumination, just the veiled moon, then incrementally bumped up the IR light to the brightest, the “auto,” then off again.
Waterproof Rating
Given that Arken Optics lists the ZULUS with an IP67 waterproof rating, I wanted to test it out. That specific rating is for submersion for roughly 30 minutes at about three feet or less. My goal wasn’t to push those limits, but rather to see if any water would seep in over a couple minutes. I went to my local acquatic field testing sight and let the ZULUS sit about a foot under the surface for a couple minutes while it was running and recording. I took it out, shook it off and it was still fully operational.
Final Thoughts
The Arken Optics ZULUS Digital Day/Night scope was a blast to review. Whether using it to shoot with or as a monocular, it gave me a big advantage over the naked eye, especially in the dark. The 5-20x magnification range makes this more attuned to hunting since you get some extra stability of the image by mounting it to a rifle or a tripod (with an adapter). I was very impressed by the ZULUS’ ability to collect light, and the MSRP of $649.99 is competitive to other options on the digital day/night optics market. If the price of night vision that utilizes tubes has been scaring you off, I recommend you try the Arken Optics ZULUS scope for a fraction of the tube optics. Follow the MSRP link above to go to the ZULUS’ page, or visit ArkenOptics.com to see their whole lineup.
What do you think about the Arken Optics ZULUS Digital Day/Night Scope? How would you utilize this optic; as a rifle scope, monocular, or a spotting scope, or all three? If you’ve already picked up a ZULUS, let us know how your experience has been.
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