Hello everyone!!
Finally decided to join AR15 to share and gain some knowledge about the Night Vision world.

I joined specifically to discuss NV devices , especially recording ones.

Me and my team operates mostly in urban settings, with a few of outdoors expedition aimed to capture wilderness and general surveillance.

I thought i will start my first post with a quick review done over the weekend of the SureFire Vampire V1.

Wanted an IR illuminator to help the recording of some of the most dark locations, either underground or under heavy vegetation.

Wanted something light and versatile for indoor and close range situations. So i opted for the SureFire V1.
We added the F04 diffuser to it in order to amplify the 'flood' even more.

Here is a review of IR mode only of the V1 ( the recording was done through a F3.5 Tamron lens, AstroScope, Canon DSLR ):

https://youtu.be/4epBd30FRks

F3.5 is quiet slow for a normal Gen3 tube, and often requires cranking ISO so high that noise becomes an issue.
By just using a lens F2.8 you are increasing drastically the amplification of the NV and obviously even more with F1.4

I like not to waste too much words on it but let you judge from the video.
I'm not reviewing the whole of the V1 as one device at this moment ( which has white light output as well ) but its IR functionality only:

PROS:

- nice even and balanced flood effect for indoor scenario, regardless of the still too bright centre beam.
- really useful functionality of hi / lo setting for both White and IR light. That itself is what makes it versatile for indoor and outdoor. Hi is 100mW and Lo is 5mW
- extremely light = 90gr
- runs on only one 123A battery

CONS

- could be a bit less expensive ($270)
- even if 'lo' mode in IR has a fainter centre beam allowing a more versatility in indoor, you still need to apply a diffuser ( the F04 is $30 ) to obtain a complete even flood, and expanding the illumination angle
- applying the F04 Surefire diffuser to it is unfortunately annoying as the internal diameter of the diffuser is larger than the outer diameter of the bezel. You will need to hack the bezel a bit to make it fit snug
- the range of the V1 doesn't seem to overly surprise me for now, i will need to test it specifically for that purpose in the next week and post another video about it
- the mode ( IR/OFF/WHITE LIGHT ) swtiching mechanism is a bit fussy, where you have to pull the head bezel forward and turn it to the desired mode. Often i couldn't turn it if the head wasn't pulled evenly from the rest of the device body

I don't owe the night shit.

Overall , for my intended use, the Surefire Vampire V1 is an excellent illuminator.
I'll be mounting it on my helmet when operating my PVS-7 rhino mounted with a ARC Rail Mounted clamp.
Or easily on top of your NV enabled DSLR  through a Hot Shoe mount adapter.

Cheers!!

Thank you for pointing it out!

Thank you for your review and video on the Surefire Vampire V1.
Is your defuser a slip on lens or is it mounted where you can flip it out of the way?

My diffuser is a slip-on version.

The new SureFire F04-A does really evenly help the beam, the only issue is that its internal diameter of is larger than the external diameter of the V1, so i have to use a rubber band to create the snug fit:




I believe they produced a F04 before this one that was smaller in diameter, but they discontinued I believe.
I have not seen a "flip-up" version that will work for smaller diameter flash lights like the V1, not one at least with the diffuser lens or how they call it "beamsharper".

I've noticed Victor from TNVC made a post last year where you can clearly see the V1 range , compared to its predecessor M1.

Very useful comparison.

V1 vs M1 long range

this pic is a perfect example of why I love the M1 over the V1

the M1 isnt overly powerfull and i love the beam it puts out from a helmet mount because its not overpowering. If I need something more then I just use the illum from the atpial-c

Yes but you can't find the M1 anymore unfortunately , that is the closest thing to it, I feel.