11 Top Rated Optics – Night Vision

This is the fire field nightfall for by 50 night vision monocular features four times magnification a 50 millimeter lens diameter twenty-six point five millimeter fields of view. And 120 metres max range of detection your on. And off switches here on the top as well as the switch to turn the infrared on. You can acquire your subject with. This focus method here. You have you can fine-tune the focus with. This on the back it also features a nylon zipper ball carrying case with a belt loop so. You can keep it at your side at. All times this takes two triple A batteries which. You apply here you just twist. This top off you've got two indicator lights. One for the on/off switch. That tells when your infrared is on as a wrist lanyard. And a standard Universal tripod mount so. You can mount this on a tripod. And not have to stand there. And hold it for long periods of time. When you're when you're spotting so. This is the best binocular. You can get in its class the best infrared. You can get this at Bud K com.

Hey you tubers so today may a package arrive from Amazon my very first night vision okay night vision update is a mana ocular see normally selling for 160 to 200 bucks. This refurbished from Amazon for 99 bucks okay let's look inside okay. Where are the instructions so. This is the nightfall 2 5 by 50. This is the actual device inside. This bag okay according to the instructions. It runs on two double-a batteries oops oh it's bigger. Ithought uh-huh okay my hand on. Iare day cap the cap says do not open do not open in daylight so. This is the IR illuminator okay. And I'm guessing this is. Where the battery goes in okay. It has a rubbery feel. All over including the lens okay put the batteries on. And tested this inside my laundry room pitch black totally dark. Inoticed that there's a straight white broken line on the side going to the center. It doesn't affect the function of the night vision monocular but it's kind of annoying so. Idon't know if it's normal for Jen ones, but we'll do. More testing okay oh yeah by the way. You put the batteries make sure. That the cap is in place. And says positive and then negative on the other side so opposite oops. You can put this using a tripod. This okay using a tripod. And lastly before we go outside. Inoticed that the tube itself is useless for as a night-vision without the IR light okay.

Some night visions have built-in IR s so just. Something to consider. You plan on purchasing this Plus. This is made in Russia. They made in Russia. And not in China okay let's go outside testing my fire field five by fifty. And can adjust this is the fence oh. Where the IR light turned on I'll turn.

Hey y'all this is Jason Robertson owner of outdoor legacy gear com. Iwant to take a little bit of time today to talk to. You about the sight mark Photon XT digital night vision riflescope. Another video previously. Idetailed the differences between the original sight mark photon. And the new XT series I'm not going to quite into. That much depth to today so. If you're interested in. You can go to my youtube channel. And check that video out today. Iwant to talk about two new models in the XT series. That have recently been released. Now available for purchase we'll start here with the sight mark photon XT 46 by 42 s version. This is the newly released 65 by 50 s. And L models there are two different models. One is an S one is an L I'll describe. That a little bit better. And explain that in just a minute the first thing I want to note is externally they're identical except for the fact. That the 65 is just a little bit longer. And the front objective is just a little bit larger otherwise. They are identical on the outside quickly I'll go over just. Some features. That are on the sight mark photon. What you'll find here on the front is a flip to the side rigid lens cap. That is hinged you will not lose. It originally some of the XTS had a removable lens cap. You could lose no longer is. That an issue also you will see there is still a small pinhole here. This is for a daylight shooting when conditions are very bright you've got a lot of sunlight coming in. And the digital imaging sensor is overcompensating maybe kind of lighting out.

You can close it will block a lot of. That light coming in the optic can still see through. That small hole and the lighting will be much better. You don't have to use. That in the daylight you're not going to damage. You open and the daylight but. It is an option right here you've got your front focus ring adjustment here. You have a small plastic Pirating rail that's good for adding an extra IR illuminator. Or maybe a video recorder here. You have the battery cap. You have two double-a batteries. That the photon takes. Isuggest either using high quality alkaline Zoar lithium's. Some guys like to use lithium just to get the maximum amount of time out of the optic. They can and that's fine. Iwould suggest just always keeping a couple extra batteries with. You in your pocket it does have internally.

When you're looking at the screen a battery life indicator so. You can kind of see. Where you're at on the battery life. And be prepared but again the battery life is very good but. Iwould keep some extra batteries with. Me back here we've got the rear eyepiece focus a lot of people are not aware of. This is here they can't get. It in focus they don't know why they're adjusting this it's. They haven't got it focused for their eye right here. We have the rubber eye cup. Ireally like it blocks out a lot of other light. When you're looking at. That screen on these. Some original X T's. You can unscrew you can't do. You want to remove you can just peel the rubber off. It will pop off you can put. It back on there it's just really personal preference.

You like or on turning it around. You will see right here. This scroll wheel and it's also a push button. That allows you to go through the menus internally you've got five reticle patterns. And three color options red white. And green whichever. You like better and whichever reticle a pattern. You like the best you will see there are no external windages. And elevation turrets. All those adjustments are done internally on the digital reticle as well. You will see right here there is a small port. It is a video out port. That allows you to send video to an external video recorder. You would like some people. If they're hunting in a stand they'll have an external LCD screen maybe they've got. Somebody with them it sends the live feed out of exactly. What you're seeing internally inside the photon right here.

This is the built-in IR illuminator on the back has got a button. You can actually turn. It off to save your battery life. If you're hunting in the daylight. Or conditions you don't need. And then it has three brightness settings high medium. You just go through those by pressing the button. Where the difference in the s. And the L models come in, so I'll explain. That quickly what you have right here is the sight mark photon XT 46 by 42 s. It only comes in s the s indicates. This is an LED illuminator on the 65. You have the S which is again an LED illuminator. You also have the L which is a much brighter laser illuminator so what's the real difference the difference is. How bright that illuminator is going to be.

How far you're going to be able to see with. It sight mark officially says on a dark night with the 46 s again LED illuminator. You should be able to see about a hundred. And thirty yards I honestly believe. All of their distances are conservative. You can see further so my opinion is again dark night about a hundred. And fifty yards is going to be. Where it's at with this LED illuminator on the 65 with the LED again that's the s model sight mark says. You ought to be able to see about a hundred. And sixty yards I think it's around 170 to 180 on the brighter L with the laser illuminator on the 65. They say around 215. Isay around 230 maybe. Even a little that just kind of depends on your conditions but again that's dark night. If you've got a moonlit night. Or have other ambient light those distances extend past.

That so again going to say 130 to 150 on the 46 s around 160 175 on the 65 s. And around 2:15 to 2:30 on the 65 l next question. Everyone asked is which model should. Iget the 46 the 65 let's take. You know first it really depends on how far you're going to be shooting if. Most of your shots are going to be over a hundred. And fifty yards even over say a hundred yards. Iwould go with the 65. It makes more sense. Most of your shots are going to be closer range. You know the extending out to say 125 to 150 the 46 is good. Where the 46 really benefits. You is in the closer shots under say 75 yards 50 yards the 46 is good. You don't have too much magnification. Something that can happen with the 65. When you're talking about nighttime trying to find your target. If say it's a hog something and it's at 50 60 yards sometimes that's 65 is just a little too much magnification so. That doesn't muddy the waters but.

Iwould say if you're going to be shooting close range with. Some shots being up to a hundred. And fifty yards on the far end the 46 is a great option. You can take longer shots. You have plenty of other light on a moonlit night but again you're going to be ranging most of those shots under. That 150 125 46 if you're hunting in areas maybe big wide-open country. Where the you know a lot of shots are going to be over a hundred. Iwould say go with the 65 especially. If you're going to be wanting to reach out to 200 yards. More the 65 is probably going to be a better option for you. It comes down to whether to get the L. Or the s and the 65 version. Ihonestly would just upgrade. And go ahead and get the L there's only $50 difference between the two. Ijust can't see a lot of reason to go ahead. And get the L it's a brighter laser. You don't need that illuminator. That bright you can always back. It off you've got the three brightness settings but.

Ithink it's going to be nice to have for an extra $50 so again just depends on your range but. Iwould go ahead and upgrade to the L current pricing right. Now the 46 s is $499 97 the 65 s is six forty-nine ninety-seven. And the 65 l with the laser illuminator is $699 ninety-seven those are very good prices for something of. This kind of equality the sight mark photon has opened up a nighttime hunting to a lot of guys who never thought. They would be able to afford night-vision. If they could it wouldn't be. Anything quality but the photon is very high quality. Ithink you'll be very impressed. One thing I should also add is. That sight mark offers a limited lifetime warranty on. All Hardware and workmanship on the photon the digital video sensor inside here has a three-year warranty. That is a excellent warranty there's not. Many things you can buy today.

That have lifetime warranties on the hardware. And three-year warranties on the electronics sight mark is a company based right here in Texas so. You ever have questions. Or concerns or warranty problems. You call Texas you don't have to call overseas. You can talk to somebody right here. And they'll be glad to help. Another thing a question. All the time is what rings should. Iuse with my photon. Ihighly suggest using the sight mark quick-detach 30 millimeter rings. This is them right here. This is the reason I really like them number. One they're quick detach they're high quality they're 30 millimeters they're also the perfect height. They are three quarters of an inch tall. And that's what you need for the photon to get. It up off the front of your rail barrel hand guard. You use standard half inch rings they're not going to tall enough you're not going to be able to get.

It mounted so whatever ring you use. It needs to be at least 3/4 of an inch high. And 30 millimeter these quick detach rings are very nice. You can literally just quickly detach them. Once you've got it sighted in. And as long as everything is mounted up good. You can go right back to the same slots mount. You should be able to still be zeroed I've tested. It multiple times I'm always zeroed right back in. Ihave other customers who like to remove their photon maybe add a reflex sight. Or traditional day scope. You can go straight back to the photon. And be right on target again. Ialways advise you to test. That for yourself but I've never had.

Any issues with that is a nice feature of these quick detach rings. One thing don't forget. These rings are sold individually the reason for. Some people like to use them. Because they're quick detach they'll mount a light. Another illuminator on their rail. And so a lot of guys want to buy. One at a time so they are sold singles. You need to buy two to get a pair. They right now there are a little less. Then sixty dollars for a pair so that's still a very affordable price the sight mark model number is sm three four zero two those are available at outdoor legacy gear comm would keep them in stock as well as. All of the sight mark photon XTS. You can we'll put a link right here so.

You can go and check out the photons. You have any questions we'll be glad to answer those. You can email we have a contact. Us on the website we also have our phone number up at the top it's eight seven three five zero. One eight again. You can find that at the top of the website feel free to call. Us leave us a message. You don't get anyone will be glad to call. You back answer any questions. We can about the photon. Any of our products but. Ido use the photon I've used. It extensively, so I have a lot of experience with. When guys call they have a lot of questions. And I'm normally able to answer. Most of those and before. You make the purchase so feel free. You have questions to call again the rings.

And the photons are in stock at outdoor legacy gear com. One thing I would mention is. This is for more than just Hall gunning I have a lot of guys who say man. It looks cool I'd love to have. We don't have hogs here well understand. That there's a lot of guys. Now who are using them for coyote hunting other varmint hunting we. Even have customers who are using them for security reasons. This is a very affordable way to be able to tell who. What is out there around your place so emergency preparedness mindset a lot of those guys are buying the photon with. That in mind so anyway. That being said I want to thank. You for taking the time to watch. This video as always we're glad to answer. Any questions we can we'd love for you to come check out our store. All kinds of night-vision shooting accessories outdoor gear bags packs emergency preparedness items again check those items out there. All at outdoor legacy gear com thanks for watching the video hey y'all thanks for watching this video be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

And check out our online store at outdoor legacy gear com. You can find us on Facebook Twitter Pinterest. And Google+ we sure hope. You enjoy the rest of our videos.

Hey y'all my name is Jason Robertson I'm the owner of outdoor legacy gear. This is going to be my quick review of the sight mark Photon RT digital night vision riflescope. Ijust want to say right off the bat. If you're really interested in. This scope you have questions about. You really want to know. What it's about highly suggest. You stop right here. And go watch my full review it's very long but it's very informative. Ireally go over everything in depth. This is going to be a bullet point type review. And it's going to be quick my videos are never quick. Ilove to talk a lot but. It is freezing out here my hands are frozen. And so I'm gonna do. This as quick as possible I'm going to talk quick so again. You want a full review go check. That out now the link is below but. You just want a quick. You know just a you know snapshot of what's new with the RT. You can check this video out.

All right jumping right in. This is the RT series. It is replacing the sight mark Photon XT series. These are now discontinued the as. You will see it looked very similar there's been. Some changes the biggest thing is. Now have internal video recording as well as still picture taking they record internally on built-in memory. They don't record to an SD card. We have an improved illuminator. It has a focus adjustment there are 850 illuminators those are available on the S models the models. That do not have a letter behind. Ihave 940 illuminators. You don't know that means go to the full video. Iexplained it in depth. Ihighly recommend the 8 50s with the 850 s you're going to see about 250 yards that's. Both the S models this 45 by 42 s. And the 65 by 50 s 250 yard range black night no moon is absolutely reasonable. And possible the four point five by forty-two. And the six point five by fifty are the nine forty models you're gonna see a hundred.

And fifty yards max with. Both of those moving on we've got a battery port has changed from the xt models it's. Now on the side it takes four double A batteries. And the battery life has been good I'm gonna say in my controlled test. Igot two hours and ten minutes but real life in the field it's going to be somewhere probably between an hour. And a half give or take depends on how cold. How much you're using the illuminator the unit. Now has a digital zoom so it's a 2x. Or 2 times digital zoom. That means is it's not an incremental zoom. You can't go from 45 to 46 47 it's. Nothing so you turn on the digital zoom a 45 power automatically goes to a 9 power. If you're on a 65 it goes to a 13 power.

And that's a lot of magnification so. Idon't find myself using it much but. It is in there if you've got an animal to. You know long distance. You want to get a little better look at. That is an improvement as well. These new models have the ability to plug in an external power port so. Or an external power source. This is a USB port there is a cable supplied for this by sight mark. You can plug that into. Any USB power battery pack. And I'm looking at some options. That we'll be offering soon on. That there is the small Weaver rail here. It is on this side of the scope. Now which is the left-hand side used to be on the right side, but they've been. Some changes that is there. This port also is you would plug in your USB cable to your laptop.

Or desktop computer to pull off the recorded video. Or still images another thing is the ability for this unit to connect to your phone. Or tablet if it's close by. You can connect the two. And there's a free app called a stream vision app. Once you've connected the two. You open stream vision. And you're able to actually see live on your phone. Or tablet the same thing. You are seeing in the scope. And it's a really cool feature. You can also make all kinds of adjustments. Anything you can do in the scope. You can do in the app. You can start recordings in recordings turn up the illuminator brightness so it's a cool feature. You might have some interest in otherwise. That is mostly the changes. Or the improvements. That were made to the RT from the XT models again great optic I've been very happy with.

It use in the field video recording is easy it's a OneTouch to turn. One touch to turn it off again I'm sure there's. Some other features. That I'm leaving out. All still have the rigid lens cap. They still have the focus able objective on the front. They have the focus of bolt rear eyepiece. They also have this rubber cup. You can remove you don't like. It the Rings are the same rings. We used on the xt-1 thing. That has changed as you'll see here the tube is just a little bit shorter. Iget a lot of questions on what rings do. Imake the suggestion of buying the sight mark rings a lot. Because they're the perfect height they're made for these scopes. They work perfectly their quality rings. And they're affordable. This takes a very specific height ring just like the older photons did it's a 30 millimeter tube but. You need around three quarters of an inch there are two rings. Irecommend are the sight mark quick detach rings.

These are the SM three four 0:02 they're sold individually so. One ring if you need too then. You need to buy a two of these to get a pair. They are quick detach. They do return to zero for great rings. You don't need quick detach. You can choose the SM three four zero seven. These are the sight mark high height tactical rings. And they're more of a permanent style ring a little bit cheaper so. You don't need quick detach don't buy them. You know say yourself ten. Or fifteen dollars these rings right here. Now a lot of people want to go by their own rings. They don't want the sight mark brand for whatever reason. And maybe there's a brand. You really like that's perfectly fine thirty millimeters about three quarters of an inch tall from the Pirating rail to the bottom of the ring saddle here's the problem don't by making an assumption. It says well these are a high ring or. These are extra high. That means absolutely. Nothing from menu to manufacture. It actually means nothing within manufacturers here's the proof.

This is a sight mark medium height ring this is a sight mark high ring they are the exact same height it's just two different models of rings so do not go by high extra high. Whatever you really need to physically touch those rings. And measure them I cannot tell. You the number of guys who have called. And said I've got three sets of rings. That I've busted the packages on. Icannot return none of them fit sell. Me rings that will fit. This scope so again that's why I just recommend buying the sight mark rings. And getting something. You know will work I've used the scope in the field I've killed. Some hogs with it I've had great luck with. That I've been very impressed it's functioned great. Ihave no real complaints about.

It there is a couple minor details. Imentioned in the full review it's got a sensitive focus the battery life indicator is not exactly accurate. And sometimes this little rubber piece right here will flip open. Iwould like it to stay closed just for waterproof issues. If you're going to be hunting out in the wet weather that's basically. You have more questions first go check out the full review. Iget into a lot of details on. All the different options within the scope. It will really hopefully answer a lot of your questions. If you're interested in making the purchase. You have more questions about other night vision. Or thermal imaging give. Is a call check out our website email.

Is that's what we're here for we want to help. You make decisions before. You make the purchase. You can find us on Instagram. You can find us on Facebook subscribe to our YouTube channel check out our other videos. We just appreciate you taking the time to watch. This video today you.

Hey y'all my name is Jason Robertson I'm the owner of outdoor legacy gear. And today I'm here to talk to. You about the sight mark Photon RT digital night vision riflescope. This is going to be a full review so it's going to be rather long. If you're not interested in. That we'll also try to have a short review. You can check out for just the bullet points. And the highlights of. This scope again we'll break. This up into several parts but. It is going to be rather lengthy. Because there is so much to go over with. This scope I want the viewer to have. All the information available to hopefully answer their questions before. They consider making a purchase on. This scope so let's jump right into. It the first thing I want to do is. Iwant to highlight. Some changes from the previous versions of the photon. Some improvements. That we're going to see with.

This is a sight mark photon XT. This is the previous version. That was discontinued recently so. It is replaced with. This sight mark photon RT you'll see. They look very similar there's a. Few small changes on the exterior but overall the look. And feel is the same jumping right in. We still have the rigid lens cap right here. That hinges we still have the focus adjustment on the front. We have the same focus adjustment on the eyepiece as well the tube is the same here. One thing that has changed is the tube is just slightly shorter it's not a big deal. It really doesn't matter on ar-15 style rifles but on bolt guns you're definitely going to need a Pirating rail on the top so. You can get this scope far enough back for the proper eye relief. One thing that hasn't changed is. You still need the same rings. Isuggest the sight mark quick detach rings. These are this is a sm-3 four zero two they're sold individually so. You want to get a pair. You need to actually buy two of these.

And again it's the sm-3 four zero two it's a quick-detach ring they very well. You don't want to quick-detach ring sight mark also makes a SM three four zero seven. This is a pair they are just a standard ring non quick detach they're a little bit cheaper so. You don't need quick detach. Iwould highly recommend getting those they're a very sturdy ring very popular. You might pick a set of those up. You want to buy your own rings. You can do that the thing you have to know is. That it's a thirty millimeter tube but. You need a very specific height. You need approximately three quarters of an inch from the bottom of the ring settle to the top of the Pirating rail. That is a specific height. Most rings are not that tall. And so I'll have people call. They say well I buy extra high rings is. That tall enough it just depends. Because high medium high extra high. That means nothing and. It changes manufacturer to manufacture actually speaking of.

It can actually change within manufacturers. This sight mark calls a medium height quick detach ring these. They call a high height tactical ring they're the exact same height so it's a poor naming system but. What I'm saying high medium height means. Nothing so again I would just. They suggest staying with the sight mark rings they're made for these scopes. They work very well but. You do want to pick up your own. You can definitely do. That moving on we still do have. This rubber Ike up here up. Some people ask about. They want to know if it's removable. It absolutely is you can pull. That right off you can put. It right back on it's at. Something you don't like. You have I glass. Something and it bothers. You to put your eye there so it's just like the old XT models.

You can pull that off put. It back on moving forward you'll see right here. Now there is a battery compartment on the side. And instead of being on the top. And holding two doublea's like the X T's. This holds four double a's. And so we'll talk about battery life a little. More later but for doublea's on the side on. This side right here. You can't see it well on the video but right here there is. This pulls open this is an external power port. You can plug in a USB battery pack to. This there is a cable. That is supplied by sight mark so. You have that cable as well. You might notice on. This side right here. You also have the same Weaver rail. That was in another location on the XT models that's just for accessories. You might plug in there. You will see right here the infrared illuminator has moved it's on the right side.

One thing you'll notice is. It is adjustable you can focus the illuminator which is a really nice improvement also on top. Now have the power button. This button here which actually controls different menus. And we'll get into a little bit. That later so let's talk about again. Some improvements the big things across the board. That you're going to be hearing about with the artis over the old ex T's is. It has internal video recording so. You want to record your hunt with audio. And video you just press a single button immediately. It starts recording it saves. It internally there's no SD cards memory cards. Anything like that saves. It rights there you can also take still images by pressing a button again those are saved internally as well. That same power port the external power port. Imentioned you can plug in the USB cable there connect.

It to your computer. And pull those videos. And pictures off so. Something that a lot of people are excited about is to have. That high quality video recording included right there in the scope no need for extra DVRs. Anything like that as well. This unit has the ability to connect to your phone. Or tablet if long as you're within a very close distance here. They connect together. And there's a free app in the App Store. You can download and connect the scope to the phone. Or to the tablet you can control. Everything start recording in recordings change. Any other settings you can also stream live video to your smartphone. Or tablet from the scope itself so. Whatever you see on the scope. You can see on the tablet. Iwant to say real quick there're two things. That a lot of people get concerned about. They say I don't want video recording I don't want streaming I don't want. These gizmos it's just.

Something that's gonna get in my way I'm not interested in. That the good thing is the way sight mark has done. This it's very simple. You don't want those features. You don't have to use them. It didn't create endless menus. And options so they're very easy to ignore. If those are features. You aren't interested in so don't let. It scares you away from. This scope it's still overall very simple to use just like the older models were as well as well. Another improvement on. This scope is the infrared illuminator. We will in another section talk in depth about the new infrared illuminators but generally speaking the distance. You can see is much further on the S models. You can see up to 250 yards at night black night no moon. That is a huge improvement over the s models in the XT series which would only allow. You to see around 125 to 150 60 yards depending on the model huge improvement but again stay tuned.

You need to hear in the next section about. These infrared illuminators. Because there's been. Some big changes and there's a lot of confusion we'll get to. That later I mentioned the four double A batteries as. You can see now there's probably four double A batteries in there. We have a brighter illuminator. We do have the other features of the video recording and. What have you might use. And drain the batteries quicker so. Ithink that's why sight mark chose to include four batteries. Everybody wants to know. What is the battery life I've been using this scope for over a month. Now the battery life is good but. Ido feel these extra features. When used especially the infrared illuminator do drain the battery.

Some but here's what I found in a controlled test. Idon't like to go out. And try to use and tell. How long it lasts because it's off it's on I'm never timing it. Idon't know how long it's been on it's just really hard for me to without making something up determine. How long I really use the scope in the field so the second best thing is a controlled test. And that's what I did. Itook the site marked photon RT 45 by 42 s. And the 65 by 50 I set them side by side. Iput brand-new Duracell alkaline disposable batteries in them. Iturned the illuminator brightness to ten which that's as high as. Iadjusted the screen brightness to 50% which is really. That seemed to be a reasonable amount. And again the illuminator as bright as. It would possibly go. These indoors so the temperature was around 68 to 70 degrees. Isat him down I watched him. Both scopes went for around two hours. And ten minutes they quit within. One to two minutes of. Each other which I thought was pretty amazing but two hours.

And 10 minutes now in the field actual real-world use. Idon't think you're probably going to get 2 hours. And 10 minutes you have the illuminator on high the reason is powering the unit off. That boot up and shut down does use battery life so. Ithink it's going to be shorter. It would also be shorter. You were out in the cold. You don't use the illuminator. You don't have it on 10. You could reasonably get 2 hours. Because the illuminator does suck a lot of juice but again for double-a batteries they're not expensive they're they're very affordable. And everybody's got them lying around but. Now have as I mentioned the external power port. You can plug in any USB battery adapter. Or a charger and I'm actually looking into. Some stuff right we may be offering very soon for. That so there is going to be a battery pack. That is rechargeable. That slides right in here. And I've got those on the way to test soon will hopefully have. More info about those but there is a rechargeable battery pack.

That will slide right in there. And would eliminate the need for the double-a batteries okay. Most of the high points of the sight mark Photon RT. And in the next section we're going to get into the different models. And the differences in the infrared illuminators so stay tuned for. What we're going to talk about is the different models of the RT series as well as the difference in the infrared illuminators. This is going to be a little bit long. It could get a little bit confusing so stick with. And listen close this is really important. And you're gonna need to understand. This before you make a decision on which model to buy so there are four models. Now there is the photon RT 45 by 42 s there's the 45 by 42 there is a 65 by 50 s. And a 65 by 50 the models. That have the S behind. That indicates they have an 850 nanometer infrared illuminator the models. That don't have a letter behind. That indicates they have a 940 nanometer infrared illuminator. What this means to you we'll get into the practicality of.

That in a second but. Iwant to get into the details of the difference in the 850. And the 940 the 850 illuminator is number. We need to understand. That is the measurement of the wavelength on the infrared spectrum. This has nothing to do with measuring the brightness of the illuminator so theoretically speaking in 810. And 828 50 that doesn't mean they're getting brighter as. They go up again the Nana Mae measures the infrared wavelength so stick with. Me the 800 spectrum of infrared light is. One of the best spectrums to be used for digital night vision rifle scopes. And almost all the major manufacturers on. All the common digital night vision rifle scopes have always used infrared illuminators in. That 800 spectrum again be at eight ten eight twenty-eight fifty whatever's coming. What is in almost all digital night vision rifle scopes in the past. And in the present and again they've told. You the reason why is. It is provides some of the best infrared light for these scopes, so we've got.

That the nine forty that's in the nine hundred spectrum. It does not provide as much usable infrared light for these scopes thus. You cannot see as far alright so. Now I'm going to explain the reason why the. Some people would want the nine forty versus the eight fifty. You look into the head of. One of these eight fifty infrared illuminators. It doesn't matter if it's on the photon. If it's on an external illuminator. If it's on another brand of optic. You look into the head of. That illuminator on what you can see is a soft red glow. That glow is the LED actually lit up inside of there. And so again you have to look head-on but. You can see it doesn't put a beam out. You can see nothing like. That but it's just glowing softly red. And the negative to. Some people have had issues. Where a coyote or a hog. Another predator has seen. That little soft red glow. You know look towards their scope can't see them but sees.

That red glow and runs off. That is a concern for some people I'm gonna go on the record. And say I've used these scopes for over five years. And I've never had a single instance of. That happening and never. One time have I had an animal. Ibelieve saw and ran away. They might have winded. They might have seen. They might have heard. Me but never once to turn on the illuminator. And have anything you know spooked because of. What I'm not saying is. It couldn't happen to. It might not you may have a credible story of. It happen I do believe. It is possible that there are. Some coyotes that are. More wary maybe they've been educated. Because they've been hunted hard a lot of different reasons but again it's not. Something that's happened to. And I've sold hundreds. And hundreds of these photons over the years as well as a lot of other digital night vision rifle scopes.

Ihave had very. Few credible reports of people telling me. You know they turned on their illuminator. And the animals ran off again I'm not saying. Anyone who's ever told. Me that's a liar I do believe. Some of these people. It definitely seems to sometimes happen but it's extremely rare it's not common so that's the 850 don't let. It scares now let's go to the 940 the 940 is marketed as an invisible infrared illuminator. And the claim is. It is on you look right inside here in. This head you don't see the soft red glow. And I'm here to tell. That is not always true it's generally false. It is especially false on these new sight mark Photon RTS with the 940. You look into the head of. You absolutely 100% can see. That soft red glow you cannot see. It as far as you can see. It on the 850 s but.

You can see it I've done. Some quick testing on them the other night. It was a long story. It was cold and the batteries went dead on. One of them it was just like a comedy of errors but. Idid do some testing and. What I found is I can see. This soft red glow where to look. Iam really looking for it. Ican see it out there at around a hundred yards on. This 850 even be able to sit a little bit for I'm not sure it's getting really faint at. That point and again you've got to know in my opinion almost. It is to look at I don't think. Iwould notice I was just walking around on the nine 40s. That is supposedly invisible. Iam still capable of seeing. That at over 50 yards. Ican see the same faint soft red glow guys in my opinion. And take this for what it's worth. This is a non-issue. Iwould not worry myself over. Ihave killed tons of hogs with. These photons and other digital night vision rifle scopes with 850 nanometer IR illuminators.

You know external illuminators like the UN v20 IR. That have a big head. And are burning at 850. You can see that red glow. Even better on those lights. And again it just does not seem to be an issue so here's the reason. It really matters to. When you're making the choice of which to buy the s models the 45 by 42 s. And the 65 by 50 s those. Both with the 850 illuminator can see about 250 yards in the black dark no moon right out of the box that's a huge improvement over the X T's. It is wonderful I am loving it. They really generally speaking don't need external illumination. You want to see really well out there past 250, so I'm very happy with. You decide to go with. One of the 940 models. What you're going to give up is you're going to give up. That range that yardage. You can see both the four point five by forty-two. And the six point five by fifty with the nine 40s will only see about a hundred. And fifty yards if that's as far as.

You ever want to see then. Ithink that's fine choose. That option you know. You don't have to worry about. Something out there at 150 yards seeing your. You know soft red glow out of the illuminator but. You do want to see further then. Iwould definitely suggest staying with the s models. You know you have a problem. If you've hunted in the asked with 850. You know 810 820 eliminators. And you've had animals spook from. It definitely you know consider the 940 but. You don't know anything if you've never had. Any history of something running off. Iwould say stick to the 850 it's. All we've really ever had. And it's been just fine with very. Few complaints or problems so now's not the time to let. It concerns you that's my two cents.

You can take it for what it's worth. More think if you do buy the 940s. They cost fifty dollars. More per unit currently. Then the S models so. What you'll be doing is paying fifty dollars. More in seeing a hundred yards less. That trade-off is worth. It for you then definitely go ahead but I'm highly recommending my customers stick to the S models again. Iknow there was a lot of information thrown out there in a hurry. That explains and anyway maybe that'll help. You make your decision. It comes time to make the purchase hey y'all thanks for sticking with. Me the wind's blowing some of my stuff around so hopefully. You can hear the wind too much on the microphone we're gonna try to get. This done quickly, so we're getting real close to the end thanks for sticking with. Iwant to talk to you quickly about which model to choose that's the question. All the time when customers call. Idon't know which one to buy well I've already explained the difference in the illuminators so hopefully you've made your decision.

You need the 940 or the 850 generally speaking I'm gonna say buy the 850. You want to know whether to buy the 45. Or the 65 it's really going to come down. How far the animals are. That you're gonna be shooting and. Iknow people say well. Idon't know I might have them at 20 yards. And may have them at 200 wells. You believe you're gonna have very. Many shots under a hundred yards. Idefinitely say to buy the four-point-five power. Iused to say 70 or 80 yards but. Ijust be honest I really think under anywhere under a hundred 65 powers a lot of magnification at night. It gives you a very limited field of view at those close distances. You do have an animal run at 30. Or 40 yards all you're gonna see is hair with six.

And a half power at. That close distance so the four point five would be much better for. That on the other hand a lot of my guys. You know hunt coyotes. And they're in farm country in the Midwest they're hunting big fields its very common for them to buy the six point five model. They may get coyotes. They call in they get hung up out there at 150. Or 200 yards they may have to take those longer shots. Whereas a lot of us hog hunters down here in the south we're able a lot of times to walk up. And get closer to those hogs. And so again we can normally close the distance. And get a good shot with the four point five power the other negative with the six point five on those close shots is. That you're just not able often to get those second. And third shots let's say there's a group of hogs. Or there's one guy out. You know one runs and stops. You just don't have the field of view. When they're they're close to.

You to be able to see the other ones again. You get over a hundred yards. Idon't think it's an issue the six point five is a great option but for close range stuff generally. Ijust say go ahead. And choose the four point five it's not a decision to stress over there's very. Few people who buy the four point five model. And then regret and wish they'd bought the six point five. Ithink you're gonna know. If you're gonna be shooting stuff. You know 100 to 150 seventy-five yards commonly. And that's a long way to shoot at night I'll just be quite honest with. Itry to keep all of my shots under a hundred yards on hogs but. Iunderstand not everybody has the luxury of being able to. You know walk up on hogs. That easily so anyway. That just helps you make your decision a little bit better so under a hundred yards a lot of shots they're definitely chosen the four point give a lot of shots over a hundred.

You know probably tend to lean to the six point five model hope. That helps alright y'all thanks for sticking with. Me I'm freezing out here, so we're gonna try to get. This done and wrap. It up but I do want to give. You my closing thoughts. Ido want to tell you about a. Few negatives you know. One thing I've always tried to do is my reviews is been completely honest. And there's something. Isee as a problem I don't like. You to know I don't want. It to be a surprise to. It there is three things. And they're all pretty much minor but. Iwant to call attention to them. And hopefully a couple of them might be. Something we could get fixed down the road the first. This is small but right here. Idon't know you can see. It well there is a little rubber piece here it's. It will not come off. That covers up your USB port thank. And that's where your external power pack would go.

Or your USB cord you were hooking this to your computer. What happens is that after. This is opened and closed a. Few times you close. That in the field I can bump. It comes open and that's not a big deal it's hanging here you're not gonna lose. It would be a big deal. It was raining or wet outside. You would not want to get water down in. That USB port so my suggestion would be. You are gonna be out in the rain maybe just take a small little piece of tape electrical tape. Something and tape that closed again its minor. It may not happen to. Ihave just noticed using it in the field a lot of times I'll look down there.

And I've bumped that thing is hanging open. Another small issue is. That the focus adjustment it's very smooth. And nice I think that's an improvement over the XT but it's a very fine. And sensitive focus so. What I found is I'll try to focus. And I'll go whoop I went too far. Iwent too far that way. And so it's really difficult to get. That sharp focus that you're looking for videos for just shooting a hog. Or a coyote I don't think it's. That big of a deal I've never felt like oh it's way out of focus. You know that's bothering me but. Ihave noticed some of the videos. Ididn't have quite the focus then. Iwould have liked for the video. And again I think it's really minor I'm being picky here it's not. That everything's blur it's just again it's a sensitive focus. What it is the third. And final complaint. This one's a little. More serious but there's a chance.

That hopefully it could be fixed the battery life indicator. You see on the screen. When you're looking at. It is as of right now February 2018. It is inaccurate what I mean by. That is it's like having a gas gauge. That doesn't work right so. What I found is after about thirty minutes of use the battery life indicator shows there's only a 25% of the battery left I've already told. You previously I got two hours. And ten minutes in my controlled test but at 30 minutes its way down there showing me the batteries are almost dead at 45 minutes to an hour. It essentially shows there's no battery life left at. That is not accurate. Because again I went for over an hour with. It show me there was no battery life left. This translates to a problem in the field. You don't know where your batteries are at you're going to have the scope go dead on.

You in an inopportune time. And at the same time. You don't want to be throwing batteries out every 30 minutes. You still maybe have an hour left in them so it's just. That gauge is not calibrated correctly. Ihave a feeling that the. It you're going to get an idea of where the battery life is on your particular unit. Something I hope I'm crossing my fingers might be able to be fixed in the future the reason is. Ididn't mention this but. You can connect this scope to your phone. Or tablet you have the ability through. That app to do firmware updates as sight mark releases them. They can make improvements. They can make changes. They can fix problems. And I'm not saying this is. Something they're going to fix. They can but it's my hope.

That in the future maybe. That battery life indicator could be improved. And updated in one of those updates I'm crossing my fingers on. That again those are. All minor but they are real issues. Ifound using it in the field. Iwanted you to know about them so closing thoughts. Ilove the RT I think it's the best photon. It should be I am excited about. They have done well on every. One of these models. This is just another improvement. Ithink it's going to be extremely popular. You have more questions about the Photon feel free to. You know leave your comments below send an email we'll put the email address below. You know call us we'll put the phone number there. We want to help you make the decision before.

This scope any other night vision. Or thermal imaging customer service is. What we do and helping customers before. They make the purchase is that's my goal that's why I shoot. These videos it's why I try to make myself available to talk to customers so. You know we can just help. You answer the questions before. You spend your hard-earned dollars. And don't know exactly. You know if you're purchasing the right thing I want to help. You make that decision. One time and hopefully make the right decision so again overall great scope sight mark as always the best customer service in the industry three year warranties on the image sensor lifetime warranty on the hardware. And workmanship we have very very. Few problems on these sight mark optics. Iwould buy with confidence. And know you ever do have a problem. That sight mark will take care of.

You there are texans. And they're great folks to deal with so. You ever have to call them. You call Mansfield Texas. You get to talk to a Texan. You may think that's a positive. Or a negative but I think it's a positive they're good folks up there so again. Anything you need night vision thermal imaging give. Is a call check out our website. We really would appreciate your business we'd love to do business with. We look forward to talking to. You soon please check. Us out on Instagram subscribe to the YouTube channel. You can also find us on Facebook thanks for taking the time to watch.

You well is 3 o'clock 3 am and a lot of people don't understand why we do. What we do you can see right behind. Me that's a huge reason. You know this isn't just for sport. This isn't just for fun. You know we're not getting money from sponsors to pay for a show we're not going from state to try. And entertain you guys. This truly is a lifestyle for us. Imean I'm just being a good Shepherd out here. These coyotes you know come through our cattle in. This particular pasture. We have about 400 pairs of cows. That have calves. We kick them out after. They calve in those coyotes live out here it's our duty. It is our responsibility to protect the animals. We raise for not only our livelihood but for your food. And as much as it in the beginning to have to justify our work to explain to people. That didn't understand why we hunt. And why we do what we do in the end. Ifind myself doing it over. And over and over it helps a lot of the ignorant people out but then again there's a lot of stupid people out there. That Oh that'll never understand. This is a prime example of our work of our lifestyle. This coyote coming in through the cattle picture perfect footage out here in the middle of the night. You can't see your hand in front of your face, but we're out here doing it. You know we're out here protecting the animals. We raise and a lot of people just can't can't understand. You know it's its taken. Another look another detailed look at hunting not just for sport not just for trophies not just for food but as a lifestyle.

And that's what people need to understand 400 mama cows back there can be wrong Oh Neil ops out you.

Everybody thanks for joining us out here again today on. This beautiful day for another episode of the VSO gun channel. What we're looking at today is the ATN thor optic Etienne is a tech company. That specializes in smart HD optics. You guys have been paying attention for any length of time. You will have seen our review on the X site which is their night vision oper offering they are. Now on Gen — of that particular optic. We are waiting one of those for testing as. We speak but this is their Thor. This is a thermal unit. It is also going to be the. Most cost effective thermal unit. You can get on the market today. That said we're going to dive right into. This thing see what she's. All about there's a lot of functionality here. Some of which we're going to be able to cover others parts. That are a little bit harder to capture. We may not be able to get to but there's a lot of cool things. That we're going to look at right here right. Now on the VSO gun Channel. All right as far as buttons dinghies. And switches and stuff. You know controls we have six buttons on top. Each of these have functionality inside of the user interface within the optic. That is gained access to by pressing and holding the Enter key but. They also have their individual uses as well the right key starts. And stops video recording the left key will take a picture.

Or a photo burst depending on. You have that functionality enabled. Or not up and down our zoom in. And zoom out respectively. And the power button obviously turns the thing on. And off but you can also being able to initiate a fast n. You see calibration which is the calibration. You have to perform. Each time you want to power. This thing on if your environmental conditions shift significantly you'll have to redo a calibration obviously. Because it's a thermal optic right it's very simple to do. That supply the cap. Either put that in the front. And press initiate in. Either through the internal menu. Or the power button. If you're missing the cap which. Iwould actually like to see. This be lanyard it's not. You can simply place the prong on your hand over the front of.

And initiate and then. That way on the right side here. We have a panel here. That has a TN on that is your access for your power it's powered by four double a's. Isuggest using the lithium cells. Or the rechargeable lithium z'. They seem to do pretty good. They are projected to obviously give. You much longer battery life here is your media panel. We have access to micro USB SD micro SD. And hdmi here you guys. You know your choose your poison for moving your data out of. This thing you can put. Any size micro SD card that's offered inside there. It will auto push your data to. That thing so it's easily transferred to your computer under the reticle style heading we find these sub menus for the thor's reticle in.

Both their shape and color the reticle is offered in a variety of different reticles. We have a solid duplex a duplex with a dot in the center dot with three lines a pepper with lateral hash marks a graduated ballistics ladder a small pepper. And a duplex with hash marks for this we're going to use the dot with three lines backing out. One screen will take. You to the color settings. You can change the reticle from red orange yellow green blue gray. And black we're going to go ahead. And use black the thermal tab is. Where you're going to spend the majority of your time. When you're using the Thor. You dictate how the optic is sampling the environment. And feeding data back to. We adjust contrast thermal sensitivity. How the optic is sampling the environment through its metering mode. You can also toggle off the fast. You see mode which allows. You to use the power button to re calibrate real quick.

This is also we find our color palettes so from the top. We have white-hot rain rainbow iron bo Globo fusion green hot red-hot. And black so while we're in the black hot setting it looked kind of the worst out of. All those right this thing is set up for white-hot so. What I'm going to go ahead. And do is play with the settings a little bit. While we're in here. And show how important. It is to play with those settings dependent on the mode. That you're in this thing is Wi-Fi. And GPS as denoted on the top panel right there. This thing can search for Wi-Fi. Once it's not going to find any here. Because weird the range right.

And the reason we're at the range is we're going to go ahead. And hop into our demos on. This product this thing is currently hard-mounted up to a mi 15 F in 556. This gun is very similar to the gun. And our 100000 subscriber giveaway, but we're going to go ahead. And run over there grab up. Some ammo and get to. Some shooting all right guys we're going to go. And power up the optic real quick shooting zqi 62-grain ss109 s it's a weird day out here today guys it's its cool air is nice and cool. However the Sun heats. Everything up so just to make sure. That we've got even targets in the shade heated up we've gone ahead. And taking some hot packs. And put them on the heads of the targets just to be sure.

We can't blow them off here in a minute but. Some of our pea black, so they're going to be hot anyway. What we're going to do for. Each of these is we're gonna use a different color palette just so. You guys can cycle through. What a hot target looks like. All of them for this thing so without further ado we're going to heat up. This Midwest gun right. Now start the closest target. And turn on the recording okay intermediate target that's a good. That one's painted black with. And far target you can only see the hot spot on its head yeah. Imissed it there with the hot pack there. What it looks like inside the ATN we're going to stop recording there. You go that's what it looks like inside the ATN under standard conditions in iron bow alright guys. And gals we're working in white-hot. And we're going to be doing is looking at. One of the power saving functions of the 18th. This thing is a computer. And obviously when we're recording we're going to be using more computing power which would deductive reasoning tell.

That you're going to decrease your battery life right also in the heat of the moment. If you've got buck fever. Something like or your kayo huntin. You're very fast on the trigger. You may not remember to turn on the recording function of the camera right. This thing has a recoil-operated camera mode, so I've gone ahead. And turned that thing on I've set. It for 10 seconds we're going to go. It out right now same series of targets. And white-hot go ah out of Evo who was the charge loaded the mags anyway your fires alright let's see. She recorded another really cool thing about the Thor is as an integral rangefinder. We have to do is go into the range finding function take a reading above the target take your reading below the target. We have a range so people ask. All the time they're like Kirk. Ineed a thermal for I'll just. You know night vision is coming down in price it's not very expensive.

These days especially for the cheap stuff I'm just going to buy. You know I'm just going to buy. Some cheap night vision. And it'll be fine for what I need for and look night vision it's ok. You can do some good work with night vision especially. You spend premium on. And get the really good stuff but it's still not going to be as good as a thermal you're going to have a green haze in your optic. And you're going to have things moving around inside of. And that's how you're really going to be able to tell. If it's a target or not the contrast is not very good on night vision the contrast is excellent with thermal so the other thing is night vision really sucks in weather, so we're talking like rain.

And especially fog you know. That thing that happens in the dark in the evenings. It cools off and in the mornings. When you're trying to cut things in the dark with your night vision. You know that's when thermal really shows its power is. When you've got things like. That moving in on you have problems with your night vision thermal will cut through. That so to demonstrate. This we're going to do. Some dark stuff later but right. Some of those heat packs down over the hill in a shaded spot. Ican barely see them. Iobviously put them there so. Where they're at right but I'm going to swivel the camera around so. You guys can look at what I'm looking at. And you're going to see the shinagawa you'll see them very well we're going to pick up a thermal.

And blast them alright let's kill. Some hot packs all right we've expended. All our ammo for this sequence let's go down. Any of them not sure. Idid but I could definitely see them so as. You guys could see I was through a bunch of different holes there to try. Iwasn't quite sure. What the hole should be for. That particular distance on. That object, but we've got a couple here see. We can get these to focus in here maybe please there. It is so a couple hits on. On a couple hits on. And three on that guy right there so yeah. You can definitely pick out targets with the thermal. You can't see with very easily with a traditional optic. And definitely would not be able to see.

These on night-vision. We should take a second to talk about the limitations of thermal. It is a 2-dimensional image. That two-dimensional image is made up of thermal data. That your optic has collected from your environment so. We can see this pepper popper very easily between. These two barrels and the red-hot mode but. Iput a piece of automotive glass in front of. You can't see anything and that's because the optic is. Now picking up the thermal data of an object in front of the target so. If you've got something hiding behind. Something you're not going to be able to pick. It up internal not you would be able to pick. It up with a regular optic anyway but in specific instances like glass. You can't pick up something through glass on a thermal. You could have picked.

It up on a traditional optic alright kitties we're in total dark I'm going to go ahead. And switch over to the thermal version here. What we got here is a line of pepper poppers. And I've gone ahead. And tagged the last. And the first one with the blowtorch so. What we're going to go. And do is whack these things. And I'm going to do. It off hand first ones about 25 yards out last. One is almost 100 freestanding some of the other functions. That just absolutely love about. This optic and quite frankly. All of 18's optics do. This their two-shot zero system just absolutely love. This thing it makes zeroing your gun super fast it's very simple.

You do shoot one round. And then this thing is recording all the time. You can basically mark. Where your round hit on your target. And then move the crosshair to. You want the correction to be. And shoot a second time. You should be zeroed. This thing literally two rounds to zero. This optic at 25 yards super fast. Idon't know how much time. You guys spend zeroing your optics but. Iguarantee unless they're right on out of the factory you're going to shoot. Than two rounds definitely. Something I asked Etienne to do after. Idid the review of the initial xixi gen. You haven't seen that video link in the description was make. It possible to record profiles for your optics so. That means is I can take.

This save a profile for this mi 15 F here throw. Another gun of completely different caliber zero. That gun and save a profile for it. Ican then take that gun. And throw it right back on the mi 15 F select the profile. Isaved for that gun. And she's ready to go thank. You Etienne for doing. They are paying attention to user feedback on. That source stuff and that's. Something we like to see. That said we're going to go. And close this video out right I've got a paint pan down there. That has been absolutely driving me nuts. It goes right back in the stack after it's used but. It never it the spray on. It so every single time. It out thing we're going to paint. Something silver it doesn't work I've got a blowtorch down there that's blowing on. It we're going to go ahead. And waste that thing close. This video out right thanks for watching the BSO gun channel will catch.

You guys in the next video obviously completely impractical used for the ATN but. Ithought it would be a cool way to close of the video. Ihad to giving in the new bucket. Ithink she's definitely done. Idon't know if there's. Any saving her it over the hill but I'm afraid. Icatch the roundup grass on fire so there's obviously. We can do but watch right will. It becomes a puddle I'm not entirely sure oh yeah. This thing used to be blue totally silver. Now paint job VSO style you.

Overnight camp once again you're handy by knocking who failed. You needed most don't. You think it's time to stop. That bad habit of taking a daytime binocular during those night trips. Ihave the perfect solution to a problem night owl optics presents the industry's best night owl Nov 5 X. That offers high magnification the best economical design. And precision engineering made specifically for you to see in complete darkness. It has an attractive ergonomic design. That allows adjustment tier viewing comfort. And your personal fit its protective finish also contributes to its toughness. When used in the dark it's extraordinary night vision technology relies on its powerful built-in infrared illuminator. That provides clear. And bright viewing in complete darkness. It also has two electronic intensifier troops. That is incorporated in its unique still stringer system giving precision. And control of viewing you can amazingly see. Everything even in complete darkness. Everything will appear in a monochrome green color. This night vision version proudly offers its five times magnification with its 50 millimeter objective lens diameter it's high quality. All glass optics for. Both objective and ocular lenses makes viewing at night hassle-free. It also has a low battery indicator. And an expanded infrared operation at low battery voltage plus.