Posted: 12/10/2006 1:40:07 PM EDT
| my wife want to give me some night vision optics for christmas. looking at the differnet types, the gen. 1 in the only one that is affordable. does anyone have any suggestion on which brand, bino or mono to get? are they even worth the money? |
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Gen 1 tubes are decent for getting a rough idea what is out in front of you in darkness, but 99% of the Gen 1 stuff I have used/looked though lack the resolution one would expect after payinga couple hundred bucks. Granted, Gen 1 stuff is very inexpensive compared to higher-resolution next-generation stuff. Go look through decent a Gen 3 after looking through a Gen 1 and you will see where my attitude comes from. Bottom line is that NVD's are much like everything else - you get exactly what you pay for. 
In my estimation, not really. I've yet to come across a Gen 1 device that I would pay what they were asking for. This is not to say that there aren't a few decent ones out there, just none that I would pay alot for. If you do some searching, you can find a decent Gen2 device that has better resolution than the comparable high-end Gen 1, and spend about the same amount of money. If you are truly interested, IM Victor on this board. He has alot of knowledge about said devices, and can probably steer you in the right direction of what to expect/purchase based on your budget. |
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DNVD's are still fairly pricey, if you get a good one. I haven't had a chance to mess around with alot of the digitals seeing as how the technology hasn't been on the civilian market for very long. I know there are some pros and cons to digital intensifiers vs. starlight or "ambient light" intensifiers, but I don't know enough to give you good advice. Best bet really is going to be contacting someone who deals with NV technology on a daily basis, discuss your budget, and let them explain what there is to offer. There really is a ton of units on the market now, some are literally trash even though they look expensive and neat on the outside. |
| I don't know what you consider affordable but IMHO Gen 1 isn't worth getting. Effectively you might be able to see enough to move around in a darkened room but the IR illuminator that Gen 1 requires is visible to the naked eye. Outdoors they are pretty much useless. Get Gen2 at least or save up for a Gen3. It is quite an investment but once you try a Gen3 you won't want to waste your time with anything else. |
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I agree with all that has been said above. Gen 1 is hardly worth anything but the quality varies greatly. I knew a person who tried to get into selling the Russian stuff many years ago. It still took about $1200.00 dollars to get something that actually was ok. There were a couple of the 1+ items that you could walk in the woods with but even from one device to the other it varied. This is a link of the lowest NVD I would spend money on. I do not own one but the D-300 gets fairly good reviews. YMMV. http://www.opticshq.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Optics&Product_Code=D-300-2ST&Category_Code=Night-Vision-Multi-Purpose-Systems |
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It all depends on what you want to do with it. Are you going to use it for hunting? Stargazing? Taking down AQ tangos? Rappeling down Stone Mountain while shooting bad guys? While yes the gen 3's are muuuuuch better than the earlier models, they also cost a ton. And while I am all for spending the money on things you love to do, if there is a budgetary limit coupled with a time limit (xmas), a D-112MG ain't bad. http://www.nightvisionforums.com/about440.html-the-d-112-mono-goggle.html The other thing you can do is get a high powered IR unit. Best Long-Range Applications 1). Variable Beam ELR Torch (Approx. at 400 yards+) 2). Fixed Beam ELR Torch. (Approx. 300 yards+) 3). ATN IR Illuminator (Approx. 275 yards+) 4). Pentagon’s IR Illuminator (Approx. 80 yards max) 5). Surefire M1 IR Illuminator (Approx. 70 yards) Best Medium Range Applications (200 yards) 1). Variable Beam ELR (With at 5deg beam setting) 2). ATN IR Illuminator (With 3deg beam setting) 3). Fixed Beam ELR Torch Best CQB Applications (Indoors) 1). Surefire M1 Illuminator 2). Pentagon MS2 Illuminator 3). Variable Beam ELR Torch LED Faint Red Glow Naked Eye Visibility (Least to most visible) 1). Variable Beam ELR Torch (40 yards within 1deg off-axis) 2). A virtual tie for SureFire’s M1 and Fixed Beam ELR torch. (40 yards with a 4 deg off-axis view) 3). ATN IR Illuminator (60 yards with a 4 deg off-axis view) 4). Pentagon MS2 Illuminator (70 yards with a 20 deg off-axis view) Durability (Very Subjective here as all units test VERY robust except for the ATN unit) 1). Pentagon MS2 2). Surefire M1 3). Both ELR Torches. 4). ATN IR Mounting Solutions 1). Variable Torch ELR (Screw Picatinny/weaver rail mount with adjustable windage and elevation, as well as removal rail for NV Rifle scope mounting of the D-740 and D-760) 2). Fixed Beam ELR Torch. (Screw Picatinny/weaver rail mount with removal mount for NV Rifle scope mounting of the D-740 and D-760) 3). Pentagon MS2 (Integral Arms throw lever) 4). ATN IR. (Integral mount only for dedicated ATN line of rifle scopes) 5). Surefire M1. (No rail mount included. After market mounts available from Viking and Larue). Cost (Least Expensive to Most Expensive based on MSRP) 1). M1 Surefire ($135.00) 2). ATN IR ($140.00) 3). ELR Fixed Beam Torch ($149.00) 4). ELR Variable Beam Torch ($199.00) 5). Pentagon MS2 ($315.00) http://www.nightvisionforums.com/about1962.html-ir-illuminator-shoot-out-review.html That's awesome your wife wanting to get something NVD for you. (high fives!) |