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Posted: 7/22/2009 2:31:42 PM EDT
| I'm new to NV and I'm looking for good NV goggles for under $600, I know I'm not going to get great NV goggles for under $600, but thats my price lemit, and thats pushing it, what brand and model do you recommend? I'm looking at the ATN Night Seeker. |
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Quoted:
I'm new to NV and I'm looking for good NV goggles for under $600, I know I'm not going to get great NV goggles for under $600, but thats my price lemit, and thats pushing it, what brand and model do you recommend? I'm looking at the ATN Night Seeker. Based on your stated price range, I can only recommend these: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3073332 
They have the added benefit of looking Really cool too. |
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In all honesty, there are no "good" night vision optics for under $600. Period. I don't care what anyone tells you or what marketing hype you read. There are no good NV optics for under $600. Decent NV optics start around $1500 like the D-300. But due to the tubes used in these units becoming more rare, they are going up in price. You can start getting into a "good set of NVG's" with a GT14. "Great NV" is Gen3 and starts over 3K.
I highly recommend that you wait on your NV purchase. You will not be happy with anything you buy for that price. Trust me. Save for something that will work. Nobody is ever happy with Gen1 (which is pretty much what you are looking at), and chances are that it will crap out on you very quickly. I'm not trying to deter you. I just don't want you to throw money away on a hasty purchase when you could save it and put that cash towards a good unit. Money is tight these days. Make sure you make an informed purchase. |
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Actually, I've owned the gamut of NV devices, and if you are looking for a cheap headmount monocular, the Bushnell "tactical" really does a very admirable job for the price. Everything else I've run into under $1.5k is useless garbage. They work well, actually very well for the price. I expected another blurry no-amplification toy and I got a truly functional cheap setup that I can bash around with and not worry about.
Do a search here for the thread on them, and how to mod a rhino mount and a protec helmet to use one. They are very clear for a 1st gen device, and actually useful. I have popped a few coyotes wearing mine. For under $500 you can build yourself a similar setup. (Of course, you need a PEQ-2/4 or NV compatible Aimpoint or Eotech to really make use of them. Otherwise, save the cash and buy a good gen 3 unit. (You'll be blown away by the difference in image clarity and low light capability) Another "good" gen1 is the PVS2, but it's freaking huge, and it weighs more than your rifle. |
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It is difficult to get good NV under $600 - but there is still some very nice Gen1 stuff out there. The main thing to point out is that Gen1 usually doesn't work well unless it's a moonlight night - ie, quarter moon or better. For starlight only, you need Gen2, Gen3 or Cascade (Like the PVS-2 that was mentioned). Here's a comparison I took of Gen1, Gen1 Cascade (PVS-2) and Gen2 (PVS-4). All are under the same conditions on a VERY dark night, in shadows, though it is urban. http://general.blackice.com.au/pics/newpics/cascade4/3way-compare.jpg The top image is what most cheap NV goggles will manage without additional illumination. Not very good. The second pic is a very good Gen1 cascade tube, but it's the size and wight as a 500ml can of coke. Most cheap Gen1 is fine if you just want to walk around without being seen by most people. I've seen professional even use the stuff. Once you have illuminator, you will see about 20m just fine, though you will light up like a christmas tree if someone else looks at you with NV goggles due to the IR lights. If you want to see further in dark conditions, then you should look at Gen2. Your almost halfway to a good Gen2 monocular. Regards David |
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