Nocpix Quest S50R Rangefinding Thermal Binocular

Thermal manufacturers continue to push image quality, detection ranges and sensor performance to new levels. That’s especially true at the high end of the market, where today’s premium thermals can reveal details that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.

Nocpix’s new Quest S50R Rangefinding Thermal Binocular is one of those units. Introduced at the 2026 SHOT Show, the S50R joins the company’s Quest H35R and H50R binoculars, but separates itself with a powerful 1280x1024, 60 Hz thermal sensor paired with a 50mm germanium objective lens. The H35R features a 35mm objective and 640 sensor, while the H50R combines that same 640 sensor with a larger 50mm lens.

Pricey? You bet. At just under $5,000, the S50R sits firmly in the premium thermal category. But after spending time with the unit, I came away impressed. The S50R performed equally well during daylight and darkness, reached distances far beyond what most hunters will ever need and delivered the image quality and features serious thermal users expect.

My first outing with the Quest S50R took place on a rainy morning with the temperature hovering around 41 degrees. After getting comfortable with the controls and selecting a color palette, I picked up movement down my street. According to the laser rangefinder, a U.S. Post Office mail carrier was working his route at 184 yards.

I watched him move from mailbox to mailbox, and not only could I tell it was a person, I could identify him as a man. Yes, “him.” Even beneath the hood of his rain jacket, the S50R revealed enough detail for me to make out distinct facial features.

At 110 yards, the carrier’s hands stood out even more clearly against the cooler surface of his rain-soaked jacket. In fact, I could easily see the fingers on his left hand moving as he sorted mail.

All of which was impressive, but also somewhat expected. After all, the S50R is a premium thermal carrying a premium price tag. Seeing strong image quality at relatively moderate distances wasn’t going to tell me everything I wanted to know about the unit.

What I really wanted was darkness, distance and a chance to see just how much performance that big 1280 sensor could deliver.

Fortunately, I got exactly that over the next two nights.

Nocpix Quest S50 R Rangefinding Thermal Binocular 2

Compact and Comfortable

The S50R is a compact thermal binocular, measuring just 7 inches long and weighing only 25 ounces. The polymer housing features a rubber overmold with textured surfaces along the top and sides, providing a secure grip even in wet conditions.

Both eyepieces offer independent interpupillary adjustment, allowing users to tailor the fit to their own eyes. I had no trouble dialing in a comfortable viewing position. The attached eyecups also fold forward and out of the way, a feature eyeglass wearers like me will appreciate during extended viewing sessions.

Although the thermal sensor is housed on the right side of the binocular, the S50R’s dual AMOLED displays provide a full-resolution image through both eyepieces, creating a viewing experience much like traditional binoculars.

Centered atop the unit are the magnification and focus rings. The silver magnification ring adjusts from the base 2X magnification to a maximum digital zoom of 16X. It turned smoothly and, thanks to its serrated surface, was easy to identify by touch on cold nights without gloves.

The larger focus ring, just ahead of the magnification ring, also moved smoothly and provided quick adjustments to bring objects into sharp focus.

Simple Controls

One of the first things I look at when evaluating a thermal is the menu system. A thermal can have all the features in the world, but if accessing those features requires digging through layers of confusing menus, frustration quickly follows.

Fortunately, that’s not the case with the S50R. The controls are refreshingly simple and intuitive. Viewing the bino from the top down, the gray button on the left front controls the On/Off. The black button immediately below is the Menu selector, hence the “M” embossed on it.

The arrow buttons along the top of the right barrel control movement within the menus, plus other functions. For example, a short press on the M button brings up the Quick menu, where the Color function allows the palette choices of White Hot, Black Hot, Red Hot, Color, Crimson, Viridian and Violet. Whether adjusting image settings or changing operating modes, the menu layout proved easy to understand and easy to use in the field.

A longer press generates the Main menu. In either case, using the Arrow Up or Arrow Down button moves you along the menu list. Let’s say you access the Quick menu. The third function down is the Brightness. Use the Arrow Down to move to the brightness icon, then press the M button again to increase or decrease the brightness.

Some of the more advanced functions require a bit of homework. The Ballistic Calculation feature, for example, first requires connecting the S50R to the Nocpix app and then syncing the binocular to the unit’s Wi-Fi network. It’s an extra step, but not a difficult one, and it unlocks capabilities that many serious hunters and shooters will appreciate.

The Arrow Up button also controls the rangefinder. A quick press performs a one-time ranging of the target, while a longer press initiates the continuous ranging mode. The Arrow Down button takes a photo with a short press or starts a video with a longer press. The S50R includes 64 GB of onboard storage for media files, and images and videos can be transferred wirelessly through the Nocpix app.

The S50R runs on two different battery systems. One battery is internal and charges via the USB-c port on the left side of the unit. The second battery system is the unit’s 18650 Li-ion rechargeable battery, which fits into the compartment at the bottom of the left barrel. Nocpix includes two of these batteries with the S50R, plus a recharging station and cord.

That same cord handles media downloads and firmware updates. More important for hunters, though, is battery life. With the internal battery fully charged and the two 18650 batteries at full power, a user should be good to run the bino all night.

Nocpix Quest S50 R Rangefinding Thermal Binocular 3

After Dark

As noted, I ran the S50R over two separate nighttime sessions. Image quality was excellent, with sharp edges and strong contrast. As distances increased and digital zoom came into play, image quality naturally declined. That’s simply the reality of thermal technology.

Even so, the dual AMOLED displays remained easy on the eyes and provided excellent contrast throughout my testing. One evening, I viewed a row of apartment buildings at 432 yards. The outlines of the windows were remarkably distinct, and various heat signatures revealed several locations where warm air was clearly escaping through the brick walls into the 39-degree night. Maybe the apartment building owner needed a Quest?

I spotted movement from my left to right at 340 yards and I could clearly see it was a deer. The narrow head ID-ed it as a doe, and her warmer head and center mass showed up brighter than the rest of her body.

At just over 200 yards, vehicle mufflers appeared bright and hot through the thermal. More impressive, as the vehicles moved parallel to my position, I could see additional hot spots beneath the vehicles through openings in the wheels.

That observation immediately got me thinking about hunting applications. If the S50R could reveal those heat signatures through gaps in the wheels, it should also be capable of picking up portions of a hog, coyote or other animal through openings in brush and vegetation. Nice.

The laser rangefinder performed exceptionally well throughout my testing. I found myself using the continuous ranging mode frequently, as it provided an excellent way to track moving animals and maintain an accurate sense of distances across varying terrain.

I also captured a number of photos and videos during my evaluation and downloaded them to my laptop using the charging cord. Image quality was excellent, with plenty of detail preserved in both still images and video clips. A particularly nice touch was the inclusion of ranging data. Photos displayed single-range measurements, while videos recorded changing distances when the continuous ranging mode was active.

My take on the S50R unit: Extremely handy, easy to operate and a real help in the field, whether you are a rancher scanning for trespassers and escaped livestock or search-and-rescue examining a mountain side for lost hikers. Perfect, too, for the predator hunter in low-light and nighttime scenarios — especially when the hunting is done over large swaths of land with varying landscapes and the hunter needs to quickly ID animals at many hundreds of yards.

Specs: Nocpix QUEST S50R Rangefinding Thermal Binocular

Thermal Sensor: Nocpix 1280x1024, 60Hz

Pixel Size: 12 μm

NETD: ≤15 mK

Objective Lens: 50mm

Magnification: Base 2X, Digital Zoom to 16X

Display: AMOLED, Dual 1920x1200 Resolution

Internal Laser Rangefinder: 1,000 Yards

Thermal Detection Range: 2,850 Yards, Target 1.7m x.50m

Palette Colors: White Hot, Black Hot, Red Hot, Color, Violet, Crimson, Viridian

Internal Battery: 4200mAh

Replaceable Battery: 1X Rechargeable 18650 Li-ion, 4+ Hour Runtime