tkusak said:
I have a pulsar xq38 and love it. I have a couple of buddies that have the 50 and the 50 is better hands down, but I'm not sure that it's worth it. I can see for several hundred yards, and no doubt can identify at 150 yards with my 38. The 50 does have a few more features but again if you're just getting into this like I did, the 38 is plenty good imo. That is if you're still looking between night vision vs thermal. I chose thermal so I can use in the daylight and dark, and can see the pigs easily in the dark. At longer distances, the hogs in NV just look like black bushes, but with thermal they can't hide. Just my 2 cents here, and not sure it's worth that.
If you stay in the XQ line, the 50 is better in some scenarios and worse in others. For working large fields, the 50 excels because the higher base mag allows you to positive ID at longer distances. In tight cover, the 38 excels because smaller base mag gives wider field or view. So it really comes down to what you do most with it.
If you bump up to the XP line, the 50 actually has a wider field of view than the XQ38 and the added benefit of a higher resolution core. But then you have jumper from entry level to mid level price point.