ATN X site 4K or other electronic scope vs side cam set ups

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Traxx

Traxx

Member
Aug 2, 2021
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Tejas, United States
A few guys are using the ATN for their videos and also watching the side cam and other external cam mounts. I am not really seeing a big difference between them. The overall price point is about the same or sometimes the add on cam systems are even more expensive. So what about weight? Versatility? Ease of use? Set up? 

Yes I searched, on here and the duck and y tube etc….. Just looking for some opinions from ya’ll here.
 
I have both and prefer the ATN 4K series because of convenience and ease of use. I have the Side Shot and Phone Skope adapters as well and they work, but it takes a lot to get everything lined up and I still have issues with focus and clarity on my iPhone. The Phone Skope requires a specific adapter for your phone, so if you change phones every couple years, you'll be buying a new adapter in order to use it. I have found the Phone Skope easier to get aligned because the adapter is phone specific, but again, if you change phones, you having to purchase a new adapter. I have 2 ATN 4K scopes and 1 of the older versions (X-Sight HD). They are heavier than the phone adapters, but the features you have on top of the ability to record video is worth the extra weight! Features like 1 shot zero (which in actuality may take 2-3 shots, but still way easier than a regular scope), recoil activated recording is cool too, but works best on a rifle with noticeable recoil, like a semi-auto, but it can be adjusted to sense the hammer striking the valve poppet!!! You also have night vision, which you don't have with either of the phone adapters, unless your phone has that capability. You also have the capability to save profiles, so you can zero it on 4-5 different rifles and just recall the profile when you move the scope to another rifle. It might take a slight adjustment to get it back on zero, but those are minor and caused by differences in how the rings seat to your rifle from one swap to the next. You also have a choice of record speed in day use (120 fps & 60 fps), In night vision you only have 30 frames per second. I use the 120 fps when recording and it works well with slowing the frame rate for a slow motion effect on the final recording. I use a video editing program for this. So, bottom line, IMHO the phone mount systems take a lot of fiddling to get the reticle centered and have a lot of issues when you try to zoom the phone for a closer view. The only real downside of the ATN 4K Pro is the zoom is purely digital, not optical, so at higher zoom they do look more grainy. If you are considering an ATN, I recommend purchasing a refurbished one direct from ATN. Two of the scope I have are Refurbished, one was purchased new. The only one I have had a problem with was the new one, but it was replaced under warranty. The warranty on a refurb is the same as the warranty on a new one, so there is no worry about a shorter warranty. I also recommend getting the 5-20 power if you want to do more close-up recording. You won't have to zoom as much which results in a better quality video. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions, or want to know how to get a bit of a discount on one. Best of luck to you!
 
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Weight wise most of the dedicated scope cams are heavier than the add on units.

The dedicated systems get the nod for ease of set up for sure. Weight wise some are heavyweight others not so much. They are in the $400 to $800 range.

Versatility you get what you buy they are all very different and should be picked according to your needs. Ease of use one again you get what you buy from easy to use entry level stuff to computer chipped high end stiff with more apps than you will ever use.

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/night-vision-for-dummies/#post-995180

The Scope cam style units vary greatly in price from in the $150 ish eBay special to the $550 Pard 007 range.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=night+vision+scope&_sop=12&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5337590774&customid=&toolid=10001

https://www.tactacam.com/shop/long-range-shooter-package/

https://www.pardstore.com/product/pard-nv007-a-digital-night-vision/

Most of the digital nightvision can be used during the day as well.

Some daytime stuff



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qx4t2xkGKs&ab_channel=OriOnTheIguanaHunter



https://www.side-shot.com/online-store



Me I say ATN 4K all the way. Yes, it is the heaviest, yes it is the most difficult to use, yes it is the most expensive of the digital scope units.



"No big difference Price point about the same"? Sorry I do not understand.
 
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Now this is a very hard subject and really depends on your needs. 


Do you need:

- long distance shots? If yes forget digital scopes

- do you need night vision? If yes then obviously side shots won’t work but Pard 007 will work 

- do you need light weight? If yes then digital scopes are still boat anchors 

- do you have multiple guns? If yes then add on might be the only ways to go



having owned each type from side shots to Pard007 to ATN my favorite is actually the Pard007. It’s more flexible but lacks some features and reduces field of view a little but still my favorite. Sadly thanks to CA laws I’m not supposed to have one which is quite annoying. 
 
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ATN is a very easy to use cam set up but where it faults is the picture quality. All zoom is electronic so it can get very grainy when zoom is high. with a side cam and similar setups the camera goes thru your scope so you can get anywhere from 720p and up resolution up to 4k up depending on set up plus you have electronic zoom after that. high frame rate is also possible with some of the cameras. I think the ATN is a bit limited when it comes to that.





Allen
 
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This video of the Pard007 shows the same issue I experience with with the Phone Skope, Side Shot and Tacticam. It's hard to get rid of the shadow on one side of the screen (see around 17 minutes into the video, when it's attached to the scope)





https://youtu.be/KPO6ku4nlAw





Keep in mind, I have no experience what-so-ever with the Pard007, and this may be easier to adjust with this adapter than it is with the Side Shot and Phone Skope. I have found it's easier to center the Tacticam, but you still have the black border unless you use the zoom mode, and then the resolution suffers a little.

Someone mentioned the ATN 4K is harder to use, I admit, there is a learning curve, but once you've used it a while it's pretty intuitive and I find it much easier to use than the other adapter type devices. This may because you can see on screen when you are recording where the others you have to take your eye away from the scope to see if it's recording or not. Again, this may not be a big deal for some, but when I have my target in the cross hairs, I like just tapping the record button on the top of the scope and getting immediate on-screen confirmation the recording has started without out having to look at the device to ensure it's recording and then look back through the scope and re-acquire my target. Keep in mind, most of the videos I do are shooting rats, so we're taking small critters at about 40 yards or more, and they are skittish, so keeping them in view while maintaining zero is important to actually capturing the video, while hitting the target.

Here's an example of a video taken with my ATN 4K Pro:

https://youtu.be/xDrRIbOlIfY

This was shot at approximately 20 yards using the 60fps. When recording at 120 fps, you don't see the cross hairs!


 
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Pricepoint about the same. 

ATN X site 4K for $799

Tacticam 5.0 and stuff. $449 + scope. 

Side shot $279 + GoPro 6 black $399 + lens modification + scope

By the time you go all in then the the price point is about the same. Prices are from Amazon search. Scope price is assuming lower mid range of $500. 

Then again, how much does the entire scope assy weigh for the side shot/tacticam/phone mount? 

I am not throwing rocks by any means, I just like to figure out as many nuts and bolts before I buy in. 
 
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Pricepoint about the same. 

ATN X site 4K for $799

Tacticam 5.0 and stuff. $449 + scope. 

Side shot $279 + GoPro 6 black $399 + lens modification + scope

By the time you go all in then the the price point is about the same. Prices are from Amazon search. Scope price is assuming lower mid range of $500. 

Then again, how much does the entire scope assy weigh for the side shot/tacticam/phone mount? 

I am not throwing rocks by any means, I just like to figure out as many nuts and bolts before I buy in.
Click to expand...

You can get a refurbished 5-20X ATN 4K Pro for $649 or less, and it's well worth the savings to get a refurbished scope. Same features, same warranty and $150+ savings! It will also work with standard 30mm rings, so it can be mounted closer to the barrel if needed. I've wanted to try the side shot with the GoPro because I feel it's a much better set up than trying to properly align a phone, but as you point out, there are a lot of extra expenses that go along with that set up. Buying a refurb brings the price point much closer to the others, and as I previously stated, I have had zero issues with the 2 refurbished scopes I purchased from ATN. If the extra weight doesn't bother you, the ATN, IMO, is the better solution. The ATN Scopes do either more, the 5-20X is 2.2 lbs, the others are probably less than 1 lbs, minus the weight of the phone/GoPro, so it would depend on what phone you use.

https://www.atncorp.com/ref-x-sight4k-pro-day-night-rifle-scope-5-20x

And, no, I don't work for ATN, nor do I get anything for recommending them, just sharing my personal experience and opinion of those I have tried.
 
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Personal experience is why I am asking here on the forum. Folks here are more likely to use it as I would. 

I do find it funny how folks will leave out the expense/weight/complexity of auxiliary equipment needed to make XXX work.
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That's because with many, it is so easy to respond because they think they seen all that is required to 'know it all" but in reality there are a couple of more things that are not said. Or afraid to say. Like when you said 



Side shot $279 + GoPro 6 black $399 + lens modification + scope

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lens modification, is a big step and not everyone is capable of doing it. the good lens is not cheap. I bought the lower manification only to find out I should have bought the bigg better quality one afterwards. That was a couple hundred dollars there. I still had a hard time setting up the lens and if I wanted to swap scopes, things need to be re-adjusted again. then there are also settings that need to be changed in the gopro depending on how you are filming. I still have not got that straight. But when it works good it is sweet. Until then you are just pulling your hair out. 





Allen
 
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Even the Tacticam has extras and issues. The Tacticam 5.0 is $250 at Bass Pro, but then you need the adapter to mount it to your scope, which is an additional $139! While the Tacticam is one of the lightest adapters and easiest to set-up and use, it still has its limitations. One of the biggest is glare! There is no eye piece shade, so if the sun is above or behind you, you will get major glare in the recording. You don't see this glare when you're looking through the scope, but you will when you view the recording. It's very frustrating because it can ruin an otherwise good video! Another reason I prefer the ATN, you are recording exactly what you see on the internal screen.
 
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Pricepoint about the same. 

ATN X site 4K for $799

Tacticam 5.0 and stuff. $449 + scope. 

Side shot $279 + GoPro 6 black $399 + lens modification + scope

By the time you go all in then the the price point is about the same. Prices are from Amazon search. Scope price is assuming lower mid range of $500. 

Then again, how much does the entire scope assy weigh for the side shot/tacticam/phone mount? 

I am not throwing rocks by any means, I just like to figure out as many nuts and bolts before I buy in.
Click to expand...


Thanks for that I never thought about it that way. I figure you already had a scope so that did not count. I can see that is not not always the case now that you brought it up.
 
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🔸I did a recent thread with prices for the Tactacam and most of the necessary accessories, with links to sellers — and links to instructions, tips, etc.

Here:

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/%f0%9f%94%b4-scope-side-cam-tactacam-specs-advice-current-prices-new-used

Buying open box and discounted products I got a unit for a total of $350, incl. FTS mount, battery, 128GB card.



🔸Important for me is to analyze my shots in slow motion (and watch death frame-by-frame 💀) — and for that I need the camera to record in 240 fps (frames per second). The ATN line only goes up to 120 fps.

➔ I'd love to find out if there are other systems out there that record with more than 240fps....



Matthias
 
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I've been thinking a little more about this — and each system has different advantages and limitations — and the user has to look at all of those and weigh them against each other to come up with the best scope cam system FOR HIM/HER! 



Following advice like "buy X" or "Y is trash" isn't all that helpful, unless it comes with specific reasons why X is "better" than Y for the poster that makes the recommendation. It might just turn out that what is a huge advantage to YOU is negligable to the OP..... 😊



Here're are a few more factors to consider:

🔹(1) The field of view (FoV) of many electronic scopes is narrower than one would expect from the stated bottom magnification. If you do rushed close range shooting or have rapid moving targets, this might be something worth considering.



🔹(2) The add-on scope cams can be mounted on any scope, of with which you are already familiar, with any magnification range you prefer, with the reticle you already know because it's your scope.



🔹(3) Add-on scope cams cannot be mounted on certain scopes, or with difficulties only.

• Scopes that have a IR pimple on the eye piece: The camera-to-scope adapter will not have much space to hold firmly onto the scope (and [for some models] support the weight of the camera).

• Compact scopes — because the eye piece is so close to the turrets this might limit the ways you can mount the camera adapter.

• Scopes with a very small or very large eyepiece.



🔹(4) Add-on scope cams usually increase the "length" of the scope by a couple of inches — because of the "extended eypiece" through the scopecam adapter.

In order to keep your eye/cheek placement you'll have to move the scope forward by the same distance that the eyepiece "got longer" through the adapter.

For some guns (magazine sticking up, or a short rail on a pistol) this might be tricky.



🔹 (5) It seems that some add-on scopecams need a scope with a "normal" eye relief (say 3.5" to 4"). There are scopes* out there that have an extremely short eye relief — but they are extremly few.

*Prismatic scopes; and: MTC Viper Connect; Hawke Airmax 30 Touch 3-12x32





😊 I have been very happy with my 1-month old Tactacam. 👍🏼

Matthias
 
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