Scope test part 1: The new HikMicro Cheetah C32F-RL Digital Day/Night Vision LRF unit

One of the stand-out new products for 2023 I discovered at the recent British Shooting Show is this Cheetah C32F-RL digital day/night vision unit from HikMicro. It’s a very versatile piece of kit that can be utilised in a variety of different ways; as a hand-held spotter, clip-on night vision, or simply as a stand-alone NV scope!

IT’S ALL THERE IN ONE PLACE

This compact unit measures just 182.8 x 70 x 87.2mm, weighs around 477g and is packed full of features. You’ll notice that there is an IR torch built into the unit at the top (on the left), alongside a Class 1 laser (to the right), which is where this unit comes into its own – you can laser rangefind with it, too! With up to 1000 metres detection range you can determine the distance of your target with the press of a button!

It is powered by a single rechargeable 18650, 3.6v 3200mAh battery, of which two are supplied, and this gives a continuous run time of 5.5 hours, which is pretty impressive given the amount of tech held within its shell.

HikMicro — Adapter for the front ‘clip on’ to the right, regular eyepiece below.

You can carry the Cheetah around in your pocket for use as a monocular spotter, which is great for scoping out new permissions in both daylight and darkness, but the unit really comes into its own when it is mounted to a rifle. This can be achieved in two different ways. The first is as a standalone scope, with the aid of a rail that attaches to the underside of the unit. However, the real stroke of genius here is the ability to clip the Cheetah onto the front of your regular day scope! This means you can carry the Cheetah around in your pocket as a spotter, then quickly clip it onto your scope to use when hunting. I really like this idea, because it gives you the freedom to choose how, when and where you use it. I like to keep all of my rifles as close to zero as I can, but always re-zero in the field before I set out for a hunt. Being able simply to clip the Cheetah onto my existing set-up as and when I need it is a huge plus point for me.

DIFFERENT MODES

This unit features four different viewing modes; Day, Night, Auto and Defog. It’s the latter that really excites me. Where I live in flatland Lincolnshire we often get heavy fog in the fields, and having the option to see through this is an absolute godsend. I’m not entirely sure how it all works, I just know that it does. Anyone who’s into photography will tell you that an F1.2 aperture lens is the ultimate for night-time and low light photography, and in photographic terms you can pay well over a grand for a decent fixed 50mm lens – this unit features a 32mm, F1.2 lens with a digital 1-8x zoom thrown in.

As I sit here writing this introduction, I’m itching to get it mounted onto one of my rifles and take it out for a thorough testing, but there’ll be more on that subject next month once I’ve had plenty of time to get to know the unit. For the time being, though, what I can tell you is that the Cheetah is exceptionally easy to use.

BUILT-IN RECORDING

Another great feature is the ability to record UHD video with sound, thanks to the onboard microphone. There’s 64mb of on-board storage capability, and you can also connect the unit to an App on your smartphone to browse and download your files. This hotspot connectivity is also used for updating the Firmware whenever HikMicro updates it (from what I’ve heard it is fairly regularly to give constant improvements), and that means no more faffing around with leads and downloads from your computer – Yes!

The battery housing is on top – easy for changing in the dark if required.

SIMPLE OPERATION

One thing that strikes you when you turn this unit on is its simplicity. Press the On/Off button and the unit fires up, then press and hold the button held within the rotating selection knob (also used for zooming in and out) and up pops the menu. It’s then a simple case of scrolling up or down with the rotating knob and pressing the button to select – it doesn’t get much easier than that! I’ll be going into more detail next month regarding all the available options in the menu, such as reticle selection and zeroing, but my first impressions of the Cheetah are extremely good. Let’s see how it performs out in the field over the course of the next month.