HIKMICRO Alpex Australia: Buyer's Guide (2026)

Short version: a HIKMICRO Alpex in Australia is a digital day/night riflescope, not a thermal. Buy one when you want a single 30 mm tube that works as a legal full-colour day scope and identifies animals at night with an IR torch. Pick 40 mm or 50 mm from what you hunt, your typical shot distance and the rifle it's going on. Rangefinder, the Pro's 12 MP sensor and battery come after that. Scan with a handheld thermal monocular. Don't wave the rifle around the paddock to find animals.

This is the Alpex Australia buyer guide. For the model-by-model spec table (A40E, A40EL, A50E, A50EL, Pro A50PL), read the HIKMICRO Alpex 4K comparison. For the rest of the brand, start at HIKMICRO Australia.

First question: digital day/night or thermal?

Start with the job, not the brochure.

• Finding heat in cover or total dark: that's a thermal job. Spot with a thermal monocular, then shoot with a thermal scope. An Alpex won't replace a thermal for finding animals.
• Identifying and shooting on a daylight-style picture: that's an Alpex job. Day mode is full-colour 4K (or 12 MP on the Pro). Night mode is classic digital night vision that needs an IR illuminator. You see coat, ears and body condition, not a heat blob.
• One legal day scope that also works after dark: the Alpex is built for exactly that. One zero, 30 mm rings, and day to night is a mode change.

If the hunt is foxes or pigs you still can't see until they're in the beam, thermal plus a monocular is usually the honest fit. If you already glass by day and want the same rifle to work at night without swapping optics, stay on the Alpex. We won't pretend digital night vision is thermal.

Second question: 40 mm or 50 mm?

Settle the objective from what you hunt, your typical shot distance and the rifle before you talk rangefinder or Pro.

• Closer country, generally inside about 150 m: the 40 mm Lite class. Rabbits, foxes off the ute, rimfire and lighter airgun rigs where a wide field of view matters more than extra night reach. That's the Alpex 4K A40E Lite or the rangefinding A40EL Lite (40 mm F2.0, about 18.7 m field of view at 100 m).
• Open paddocks and centrefire work past about 150 m: the 50 mm class. More glass at night, tighter view. That's the Alpex 4K A50E or the rangefinding A50EL (50 mm, F1.2–2.5 adjustable). Foxes at 250 m sit in this lens class, same rule we use on thermal. Distance chooses the objective, not the sensor marketing.
• Same 50 mm job, maximum digital detail: the Alpex Pro A50PL (50 mm F1.8, 12 MP, Light Pro). It's still a 50 mm decision first. The 12 MP sensor is extra detail and holds up better under zoom. It doesn't replace the lens decision. The Pro A50P is the same 50 mm Pro class without the built-in rangefinder.

The published day detection figures (about 800 m on the Lite, 1000 m on the A50 4K, 1500 m on the Pro) are daytime numbers. After dark, reach is the torch plus the objective, not a brochure metre count. Don't stretch a 40 mm with digital zoom when the country is a 50 mm job.

Third thing: you'll be running an IR torch at night

The Alpex doesn't see heat. Night work needs an illuminator. The A50E and A40E ship without a torch, so treat the torch as part of the kit, not an optional extra. 850 nm is usually brighter with a faint glow at the emitter. 940 nm is harder for game to see and doesn't reach as far. Mount it so the beam tracks your point of aim. We stock a windage and elevation torch mount sized for the Alpex.

Monocular first, riflescope second

Scan with a handheld thermal monocular before you raise the rifle. Digital night vision on a centrefire is a shot optic. Finding pigs or foxes by sweeping the paddock with the muzzle is slow and unsafe. Spot the heat, identify it, then switch to the Alpex for the shot if you want digital identification, or to a thermal scope if the shot also needs heat. Read why the spotter comes first and browse HIKMICRO thermal monoculars.

The extras, once the lens is settled

Built-in rangefinder and ballistics

HIKMICRO's "L" and "PL" models add a laser rangefinder and ballistic calculator: the A40EL, the A50EL (about 1000 m rangefinder) and the A50PL (about 1200 m). Ranging is useful on longer night shots where distance is hard to judge. It doesn't add objective-lens reach. If the hunt doesn't need a built-in ranger, the A40E, A50E or Pro A50P is the same lens class without it.

4K or Pro 12 MP

The A40 and A50 4K models use a 3840×2160 CMOS. The Pro A50PL steps up to 4512×2512 (12 MP) with Light Pro low-light processing and a bigger AMOLED display. Pick the Pro when you've already settled on 50 mm and you want more detail under zoom and at dusk. Don't buy the Pro to "fix" a 40 mm distance mismatch.

Weight, runtime, 30 mm tube

The Lite is the light, short 40 mm tube (about 474 g class, around 7 h). The A50 4K is the heavier 50 mm tube (A50EL about 1176 g without the external 18650, up to about 11 h). The Pro A50PL is still 50 mm but lighter than the A50EL in our listing (about 889 g with the external battery). All use standard 30 mm rings. These are rifle-fit questions after quarry and distance are settled.

The Alpex range at a glance (by job, not price)

• A40E Lite. 40 mm close to mid-range digital night vision, no rangefinder.
• A40EL Lite. Same 40 mm job, with a rangefinder.
• A50E. 50 mm centrefire and open-country job, no rangefinder.
• A50EL. Same 50 mm job, with a 1000 m rangefinder and ballistics.
• Pro A50P. 50 mm Pro 12 MP class, no rangefinder.
• Pro A50PL. 50 mm job plus 12 MP detail and a 1200 m rangefinder.

Pick by lens and job, not by budget. Check live stock on the product page rather than assuming a particular Alpex is on the shelf.

Buying a HIKMICRO Alpex in Australia

Hunt The Night is an authorised Australian HIKMICRO dealer. We fit the Alpex from the hunt: digital or thermal, then 40 mm or 50 mm, then rangefinder. Browse the HIKMICRO Alpex collection or the HIKMICRO Australia range. If what you really need is heat detection, switch to HIKMICRO thermal scopes (foxes at 250 m is a 50 mm thermal job, for example the Stellar SQ50L 3.0) and start with a monocular. If you already know the model and want the specs, use the Alpex 4K comparison guide.

FAQ

Is the HIKMICRO Alpex a thermal scope?

No. It's a digital day/night scope. It needs reflected light, including IR from a torch at night. Thermal finds heat. The Alpex identifies on a daylight-style picture.

Alpex or a HIKMICRO thermal for foxes at 250 m?

If the job is finding foxes at 250 m in the dark, that's a 50 mm thermal (the Stellar SQ50L class, for example), with a monocular to spot first. If you already have the animal in a beam, or you need one legal day/night digital scope on that rifle, the Alpex in 50 mm (A50E, A50EL or Pro) is the digital path.

A40 Lite or A50 for rabbits and ute foxes?

If typical shots stay inside about 150 m on a light rifle, the 40 mm Lite is the lens class. Stretching into open country past that is a 50 mm job.

Do I need the rangefinding Alpex?

Only if you'll actually use ranging in the sight picture. It doesn't change whether 40 mm or 50 mm is the right objective.

Do I need an IR torch?

Yes, for night. Day mode doesn't need one. Check the product page. The A40E and A50E don't include a torch.