PIXFRA PEGASUS P435 THERMAL RIFLESCOPE

Pulsar’s Thermion range marked a paradigm shift for thermal weapon sights by introducing a form factor that emulated conventional rifle scopes, bringing such substantial benefits by way of aesthetics, ergonomics, and the ability to use an endless variety of 30mm mounts. The latter was itself emulated by almost every player in the sector.
Pixfra’s new Pegasus rifle scopes are the latest contenders in this category, and there’s a lot to like. The immediate stand-out feature is the price, with the baseline P435 model (reviewed here) launched at a barrier-breaking £1,449.95, while the top-level P650 is listed at just £1,999.95, and the P450 and P635 models are £1,649.95 and £1,849.95, respectively. The ‘4’ or ‘6’ prefix indicates a 384x288 or 640x512px sensor, while ‘35’ or ‘50’ corresponds to lens size. All other features are common across the range.

Let’s take a look
First impressions are excellent. The scope comes in a semi-rigid zip-up case and has an even, satin-black anodised finish accented by attractive lime-green and silver-grey detailing. Also included are a USB-C charging/data cable, two CR123A batteries, a lens cloth, and a quick-start guide containing diagrams identifying the functions of the buttons and ports, plus QR codes for accessing a smartphone app and downloading a PDF user manual. Nice as the case is, it’ll never see use, so I’d rather have a good neoprene slip-on cover to protect the scope in the field.
The scope’s layout shows excellent ergonomics, too. A ribbed ring around the objective lens turns with just the right amount of tension for precise focusing and it is protected by a rotatable hinged plastic cover that folds (almost) flat alongside the scope when open. The 30mm body tube has ample mounting space (63mm) on either side of the saddle. The latter houses a transverse battery compartment and is topped by a scroll-and-click controller.
On the ocular bell, we find a USB-C port with a flush-fitting rubber cover; a control pad comprising a central power button ringed by image, palette and zero point tabs; a silver-grey dioptre ring for focusing the screen (-3 to +5 D); and a bellows-type eye-protector/screen-shade. Despite the current trend for magnetically attached designs, the latter is a screw-fit design, making it one of the very few places where the Pegasus’ affordability is felt.

Easy on the eye
Not so the display, which is an opulent 0.4” 1440×1080 FHD OLED that’s powerfully but evenly magnified by the ocular lens, and boasts a low, fatigue-reducing latency of 20ms. The high-definition screen enables pin-sharp reticles and precise scales for cant, inclination, and compass bearing (when activated). These all aid consistent, precise shooting and the location of shot game.
There are three power options: an internal Li-ion battery, a single-use CR123A cell, or (via USB) an external 5V/2A power bank. That said, the massive 6,400mAh capacity and 15-hour (tested) run-time of the first option effectively render the others redundant. And because the Pegasus will only draw on its internal battery when other power sources aren’t available, I recommend keeping the supplied CR123As in reserve for emergency use only.
Battery management is via a basic three-bar icon, assisted by a power button that flashes red when the level drops below one bar. It also flashes red when charging, flashes green when charging is complete, and glows green when the scope is on. Thoughtfully, the light –a distracting giveaway in dark conditions- can be deactivated in the menu.
Power control is both intuitive and versatile, meaning long presses for on and off, a double press to send the display to standby, and a single press to reactivate it. The menu also lets you select automatic standby after 1, 3, 5, or 10 minutes, and automatic shut-down after 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes of inactivity.
The image button is similarly intuitive, with short presses capturing individual stills and long presses starting and stopping video recording. Stills can be captured during recording, too, which I like. Additionally, you can set the scope to record with or without sound and record automatically under recoil (though this feature only worked when I stepped up to a .243).
Images/video are stored on the ample 64GB onboard memory as 640x512 JPG/MP4 files and are easily transferred to your phone using the app (via Wi-Fi), or to your laptop (via the USB cable). The latter is also used to delete files stored on the scope and install firmware updates. The app itself is easy to operate but it wouldn’t connect to my Android phone unless I turned off the SIM.

Additional features
As an old-school black-hot/white-hot fellow, with little time for such fripperies as ‘iron-hot’, ‘green-hot’ or ‘sepia’, I’m also somewhat lukewarm about the palette button, although I will concede that ‘alarm’ (which colours the hottest part of the image bright red) can be useful for spotting game in thermally cluttered environments. In short, I’d rather have a two-palette toggle than be made to scroll through the rainbow every time I tap palette by accident!
The zero point button is excellent, however, since it provides quick access to all the pre-set zero points for a given profile. Conversely, to change the active profile, you must enter the menu. This is a good system because it makes it impossible to swap ‘guns’ accidentally while keeping you aware of the currently selected zero point, which is shown in the top right of the display.
The Pegasus lets you create five profiles (A-E), with five zero points (1-5) in each. You can add distinctiveness to your profiles by selecting different reticles from the 10 designs available. My favourites are the mil-dot reticle seen in the pictures, a duplex with BDC stadia, a German post, and a small central cross. Because reticles can also be displayed in red, white, or green, for the further avoidance of confusion under pressure, I assign a different colour to my primary, secondary, and tertiary zero points.
Zero points can be set anywhere out to 999m, leaving you free to decrease their spacing as the trajectory kicks in beyond maximum point-blank range. Points can’t be individually deleted, however, so de-cluttering means noting down the co-ordinates for the settings you want to keep (shown in the bottom left of the zeroing display), wiping all your points with a ‘factory reset’ and then re-entering the numerical data. Zeroing mode also shows the click values at the range selected, which is great for fine corrections, especially at longer distances.
Zeroing itself is easy, you just shoot once, centre the reticle on the point of aim, take a snapshot of the target image, dial the reticle onto the point of impact, and save the adjustment. The picture-in-picture (PiP) window is automatically activated in zeroing mode, giving a magnified view that aids precise alignment. Zeroing leaves the reticle offset in the display at 1x, but at 2x, 4x or 8x the digital zoom ‘corrects’ this by centring the reticle as it crops the image.
The digital zoom is controlled by turning the control turret, and the P435’s base magnification of 3.19x makes the digital 28x equivalent to an optical magnification of 25x. Though I would prefer a lower base, this is a decent range, especially since the reticles are crisp and the image processor does a good job of rendering animals. I mostly ran the Pegasus at 1x in the main screen and 4x in the PiP window, which struck a great balance between precise aiming and situational awareness.

Let’s wrap it up
Laser rangefinding isn’t available within the Pegasus range, but you do get a stadiametric rangefinder. Stadia-ranging involves bracketing your quarry between a pair of red scrollable lines and noting the distance shown under the nearest-equivalent animal icon (wolf, hare, wild boar and stag). Pixfra doesn’t state what height each represents, so I compared results with my Pulsar Helion, whose three icons are a known size (stag = 1.7m, boar = 0.7m, and hare = 0.3m), and discovered that the Pixfra’s values are not adjusted for magnification! The best match was at 1x, where ChatGPT calculated the rabbits were 0.3m, the boar 0.9m, the stag 1.3m, and the wolf a convenient 1.0m tall.
On first receiving the review sample, the options for tuning the image were limited to four settings each for brightness, contrast, and sharpness (plus an ON/OFF toggle for a contrast-boosted ‘forest mode’). However, a subsequent firmware upgrade enabled finer, faster control by introducing a 20-point scale for each parameter and new scrollable/bi-directional quick menus. Overall, the new emphasis on two-way scrolling over one-way clicking is a great step forward and removes my only gripe about the original configuration.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I would happily own the P435. Weighing 850g and measuring 409.5x77.5x61.5mm, it keeps whatever you mount it on trim and handy. The field of view is a generous 7.8°x5.9° at 1x, and the 384x288 12µm

<30mK NETD thermal sensor is capable of showing great detail, with animals showing up very well, even if landscapes can take a bit of tweaking to look their best. You also get a three-year warranty from Pixfra and UK support from Thomas Jacks. Consequently, whichever model you pick, the Pegasus range are great performers and incredible value.

Contact: Thomas Jacks -
www.thomasjacks.co.uk