swat magazine did a pretty good write up on these this month. does anyone have one? the say it close to gen4 night vision. i have an old gen1 amd am thinking about getting one of these.

mike

hell if i know. that what the article says.

these are ccd and not tube. the images they used for the pics looked right for a gen 1 tube and the digital looked remakable for an under 200.00 unit.

thanks for the link

all i can say is wow

in the other linked thread denny <swat mag> has offered to email my questions directly to the author for some answers.

THANKS DENNY it's not often you get a direct repsonse from a magazine. you guys rock! consider my subscription renewed!

Quoted: I read the SWAT article also. My father and I have wanted something lower-end but of decent performance for awhile.  I researched Gen I scopes and decided it was not worth the $500. SWFA has the Weaver NV for $178 but they are out of stock. I ordered one from Optics Planet for $199 with free UPS shipping. I'll report on the functionality when it gets in.

there is another thread goin on this in the swat forum. the reviews have not been good for the most part.

i have a poacher problem and was hoping to just be able to id a human being <shape not face > at 100yrds. my gen 1 does it but not well. from the sound of the article this was as good or better than gen2 and likely on par with gen3.

that seems to be a bit of misinformation. I got in touch with the author of the article through denny at swat.

here is his reply. the reviews i am seeing aren't matching his answers.

-------------------------------------


does the author feel this is a well built unit for light field work?

YES IT IS
SUFFICIENTLY RUGGED FOR LIGHT DUTY USE.

is the unit water resistant <light rain and such>

WOULD NOT RECOMMEND USE IN
LIGHT RAIN. HOWEVER, CHECK WITH WEAVER CUSTOMER SERVICE ON THIS (949)
451-1450 M-F 0830 TO 1630 PT.

are the comparison pics used in the article realistic? ie... could i expect
to read a car license plate at 75-100 yrds on a moonlit night?

COMPARISON
PHOTOS IN ARTICLE ARE ACCURATE. IMAGE QUALITY OF NIGHT VIEW ON PAR WITH VIDEO
CAMERAS, WHICH THE NIGHTVIEW ESSENTIALLY IS. ABILITY TO READ LICENSE PLATE AT
75-100 YDS ON MOONLIT NIGHT VERY IFFY. USE OF IR TO READ PLATES ALSO VERY
IFFY DUE TO REFLECTION OF IR FROM PLATE RESULTING IN WHITEOUT OF PLATE. ALSO,
KEEP IN MIND NIGHTVIEW HAS 2X ZOOM.

at what distance would he expect to be able to identify a persons face
<obviously this is a light sensitive issue so i would say on a 1/2 moon
cloudless night>

WITH USE OF IR ILLUMINATION AND 2X ZOOM OUT TO 100 METERS
POSSIBLE. AMBIENT LIGHTING ONLY ON 1/2 MOONLT NIGHT, PERFORMANCE BETTER THAN
GEN 1 BUT NOT ON PAR WITH GEN 2 OR BETTER NVDS.

i currently have gen1 night owl monocular, is this a worthwhile replacement
for light duty general use?

YES. NIGHTVIEW'S PERFORMANCE SURPASSES GEN 1 NVDS
-- NO DISTORTION AND HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES ON PAR WITH GEN 3 & GEN 4
(FILMLESS AND GATED) NVDS. CANT GET ANYTHING NEAR IT FOR THE MONEY.

finally would the author buy one for himself given the need and money or
would he hold out for a real gen 2-3 unit?

YES, I WOULD BUY ONE. THE NIGHTVIEW IS UNBEATABLE VALUE FOR THE PRICE. OTHER PLUSES FOR NIGHTVIEW: HAS TRIPOD MOUNT CAPABILITY AND AND ABILITY TO BE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO VIDEO CAMCORDER. ALSO, CAN BE USED IN DAYLIGHT.

THAT SAID, IF PRICE IS NOT AN ISSUE AND ABILITY TO CONNECT TO CAMCORDER NOT
IMPORTANT, I WOULD GO WITH A GEN 3 NVD. IF YOU FACTOR IN TUBE LIFE, A GEN 3
NVD COSTS NO MORE THAN A GEN 2, I.E, ALTHOUGH GEN 2 COSTS TWICE AS MUCH TO
PURCHASE THAN GEN 2, IT HAS MORE THAN TWICE THE TUBE LIFE. ACTUALLY, GIVEN
THE PRICE OF THE NIGHTVIEW (IT CAN BE FOUND AT LESS THAN MSRP IF ONE LOOKS
AROUND) IT SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE AN EITHER OR PROPOSITION.

IN TIME, I SUSPECT THAT CCD CHIPS WILL REPLACE IMAGE INTENSIFICATION TUBES FOR
ALL NVDS. ALTHOUGH THE NIGHTVIEW HAS AN .03 LUX CCD, CCD CHIPS WITH A
SENSITIVITY RATING .0003 LUX ARE NOW AVAILABLE, ALTHOUGH NOT IN A DIGITAL
NIGHT VISION DEVICE. THE NIGHTVIEW IS THE ONLY DIGITAL NIGHTVISION MONOCULAR ON THE
MARKET, ALTHOUGH AN IDENTICAL UNIT HAS ALSO BEEN MARKETED BY MEADE ON ITS
LABEL.

I HOPE THIS HELPS.

REGARDS,

GENE

Quoted: Generation 4 is issued to Army helo pilots, IIRC. The question is, is this NOD dependent on infrared illume, or can it operate on just the ambient light.  If you use a NOD with infrared illume, you may as well use a flashlight if the other guy has NODs.

from the field reports so far it is extreamly dependant on IR illumination. also the IR has a visible bright light as well. haven't seen one yet just going on the reports posted.

Generation one night vision will look nice too if you put a big IR illuminator on it.