Who Owns Night Vision?

[MarioMaster]

I have a Gen1 (pretty sure) that I bought here on the forum, it's either been fried by intense light or is just not very good as it doesn't really show me anything I can't see once my eyes have adapted to the dark. It does work very well for visualizing IR though.

That video of the storm cloud was pretty awesome, I'll have to try that with mine this summer.

 

[HIMNL9]

What you are describing is not night vision, but rather thermal vision. Thermal vision is best when you are trying to shoot at a heat signature, like night hunting. NV is used when it is required to see the detail of your environment, such as having to read maps.

Uhm, probably you're right, i had no way for examine the unit (for obvious reasons ) ..... i was working in the room where the controller and screen was, and seen the "camera" part only when they placed it in the test room (and also if i was curious, i tought it was not the case to ask "sorry, can i dismantle it ?" ..... )

The images was on an LCD screen in the control room, and was really impressive in details ..... i mean, i already used thermal cameras and FLIR units and know how the images are poorly detailed, but that one was looking almost as a real b\w image ..... never seen one that is able to pict an object in 3d using only fractions of degrees for the different levels, and at distance ..... but who know, maybe its an improved test model ....

Anyway, i think you're right also about the "so-called" 4th gen units ..... photomultipliers have their limits, and after all, for act as a photon multiplier, the unit still need some photons to multiplicate

 

[Exerd]

I just ordered a P60 conversion head for my Surefire Scout, and a 940nm IR P60-type light engine for it. P60 Style 940NM InfaRed IR Drop In LED Flashlight Upgrade Engine I will try to get a video of the output once it arrives.

 

[Moptsp]

I have like a monocular night vision thingy. But it's nothing much, only cost like $100 lol.
I have no idea what you would "classify" it as though.

What's a good place I can get some good night vision?

P.S.
Some one should really host a night vision GB. I would seriously be interested as I love night vision too.

Thanks,
Moptsp

 

[ColdStl]

My first set of NV binoc's were the old Russian gen1 type. They were way better than the cheap Big5/Walmart monoculars that I've looked through. I got rid of them and bought a gen1+ (enhanced) hands free binocular setup, with IR (around $700). I just looked at them and they don't have a name anywhere on them. Pretty cool though. I like using them to watch for meteorites. I've been considering getting a monocular setup ($1500), but there's a flashlight I want first.
I've seen gen4 and gen5 advertised too. I didn't know they were fake, I figured they cost so much because of the auto focus. Doesn't matter because I can't afford them anyway.

 

[scopeguy20]

P.S.
Some one should really host a night vision GB. I would seriously be interested as I love night vision too.

Thanks,
Moptsp

Great idea, I have a very good friend who is very interested in "affordable" gen III night vision monocular and has $ -Glenn

 

[Exerd]

If you were going to attempt to collaborate a group buy on Gen III devices, the place you would want to go is AR15.com and make a mention of it in their NV forum which is under the Armory forum.

Night vision sales churn out of that place, because there are a lot of people posting there who are using them vigorously for hunting or the work they do, rather than maybe just star gazing for fun. A lot of the hard core NV addicts are there.

If you got a group buy going, I suspect the majority would opt for the best tubes available, which is ITT thin-filmed Pinnacle tubes (Gen III of course). Most debate on this subject has yielded that you are much better off by starting with a Gen III, and if you can't afford it, simply don't own nightvision at all. The sad truth is that the Gen I and Gen II units just can't perform in dark conditions, and you are better off saving your money than giving in to one of those inferior units which will give you even less than what you payed for.

Assume that everyone settles on the ITT PVS-14 Pinnacle monocular for a group buy. The cheapest net price I can find one at now is $3,800. How many people do you feel would be immediately ready to pay $3,500-3,800 for a new monocular? I think very few people would be willing to participate, and the people willing to buy also probably have enough extra cash that they can simply order the unit now without worrying about the group buy in the first place.

If you want a cheap route, the cheapest way would be to build your own set. Gather the parts, and then complete the build with a new Litton ITT tube, and send it to a technician who will assemble it and seal the unit with pressurized nitrogen. Watch places like ebay and Gunbroker for parts.

True dual-tube binoculars are the most expensive, but give the best picture quality, since they have 1 image tube intensifier per eye. The PVS-7 head unit only has 1 image tube total, and the available light from that tube must be split to feed an image to both eyes. Since it's the same image both eyes see, there is no depth perception, and the scene will not be as bright and clear as having the light pumped from two unique sources.

A good monocular is the best way to start, specifically an ITT PVS-14 if you may someday possibly attach a second unit to make a pair of binoculars such as I did. If not, there are other great monocs out there, with same image tube quality, but smaller and lighter exterior designs that carry easier on a headmount.

 

[ZRTMWA]

Exerd: What is a signal to noise ratio?

 

[Exerd]

Exerd: What is a signal to noise ratio?

It is tube feedback. Some tubes can get snowy, like a fuzzy channel on a TV, when the gain is cranked up.

 

[ZRTMWA]

So do you want a high or low ratio? I saw a bunch of different Pinnacle tubes that had ratios from 1:16 to 1:22 I think. I can't find them now.

 

[photonaholic]

My Sony has IR LED illumination and a B/w mode for Night Vision recording.