Night vision for dummies

Excellent. I have similar questions. 

Hello Look at TNVC they have a lot of good info on night vision hope this helps Eric

Edited 04-14-22; 

Added Wraith 4K Max, added Sytong HT60and HT60 LRF

There are a few decent digital night vision scope set ups out there. Some are more decent than others.

This is not exactly a review cuz I only have a couple of these but more of listing of specs to make them easier to understand to choose between the units.

I have been trying to keep up with the less expensive nightvision stuff as it comes out it’s not an easy task sometimes. So I thought I would let you in on my findings on a few of them. I listed the specs on things that I thought really mattered and left some of the other specs out. Things like battery life, weight, sensor resolution, record resolution, FOV, minimum focus distance and refresh rates really matter and every one should consider them carefully before laying down the $$ and purchasing one of these units or you could be very disappointed.

Let’s talk about a few of these specs.

Battery life; I have seen a few comparisons between the Pard008 and the ATN 4K units where somehow the Pard came out on top!!!! Actually as one can plainly see the ATN has 18hrs of battery life built in so way more than twice that of the Pard. With that much battery life it really does not matter that it is built into the unit.

Most have fairly short battery life but most also have batteries that can be quickly replaced. If you purchase some decent rechargeable lithium batts you won’t have a problem if you are going to purchase batteries off the shelf it can get spendy. So watch your battery life.

Weight; When you are out in the field an extra pound or two can be tiresome after a couple of hours lugging it around. Let’s face it most of these things are heavy as a brick with the exception of the Pard and the Nightshot 3x with the plastic case and lens which both weigh in at about 1.3 Lbs.

Sensor resolution; One would think this would be on top of the list as everything depends on this not on the screen or recording resolution. Without good sensor resolution the screen and recording resolutions suffer as they can do no better than the sensor used.

Record resolution; If you want good vids you need at least 640x480 or better. If you want to see the pellet fly you need better than this. Your screen resolution has nothing to do with your recording resolution it’s only what you see at the moment.

FOV; Field Of View is extremely important if it’s not wide enough when you are getting up close and personal your quarry it will disappear in an instant or you won’t even be able to find it in the viewscreen. So wider is better.

Minimum focus distance; can mean a big deal if you are doing some close quarter pesting. It’s nice to be able to make out what you are shooting at and even better to see a nice clear video rather than a big blur. So ten yards is acceptable less is even better.

Refresh Rate; A slow refresh rate means you just see a blur or a jittery image when following a moving object in your scope. It’s the same when an object is moving in your field of view if you really want to see it you need a decent >30fps refresh rate. Want to see a moving pellet? Then you really need at minimum 120fps although 240fps is much better.

Apps; most of these scopes are lacking in apps that can be used. The ATN has more than its share and if you turn too many on it can slow the CPU down to a crawl making it difficult to do anything. So think about what you are doing. You don’t need to use them all at the same time.

I love that I can have the ATN and ABL units range an object apply software to compute not only the distance but the elevation change and move the reticle for the shot.



 The ATN 4K 3x14 and 6.5x20 has all the apps of the modern world.

Internal battery lasts 18hrs so plenty for a couple of long days/nights hunting

Records your video and has decent quality sound

WiFi connects to your phone easily you can control the scope functions from the phone

Magnification There is a multi-step digital zoom feature 3x14 or 6.5X20 models

Adjustable Parallax

Great FOV 46' @ 100 yards for the 3X14 about half that for the 6.5X20

Minimum focus distance 16.4ft for the 3x14 or 32.8ft for the 6.5x20

CMOS resolution 3864x2218 At least I think that is what those numbers mean

Refresh rate 30, 60, 120Hz,

Video record resolution 1080P @ 30, 60, 120fps

Color day B/W night

Picatinny mount

They are built like a brick which is a plus

Weight 2LB heavy like a brick a minus

Supplied IR

Lots of Apps

I have one of the 3X14 scopes and with my limited use it is a great problem free unit.

https://www.amazon.com/X-Sight-Smart-Night-Rifle-Compass/dp/B079TDC1XS



The Pard 008 6.5-12 is a much lighter, less complex and more compact scope.

Companion rangefinder available in the LRF model

Half the weight and size of the ATN 4K which are big pluses for the unit

Battery life is said to be 8 hours and is user replaceable.

Records your video sound is not so great.

WiFi connects to your phone but it can be a pain to find apps that werq to use with it.

Magnification they have an optical zoom of 6.5x and have a two step zoom either 6.5 or 12x or 6.5 and 15x for the Plus model

Adjustable parallax

FOV I have not been able to find that information but would speculate it would be near half of the ATN 3×14's 46' at 100 yards.

Minimum focus distance is 9.8ft the lowest in this group

CMOS resolution; I think it is 30fps

Refresh rate 30Hz which is OK but not great

Video record resolution 1920x1080

Color day B/W night

Supplied IR

Decently built

Weight 1.3LB so a bit over half the weight of most of the others.

Kind of a funky Picatinny mounting system often requires shims

Very few apps

So if you can deal with a bunch less apps, 8 hr. battery and a bit of a funky mounting system but in a much more compact unit with a bit over half the weight of most of the rest of these scopes the Pard 008 is very good from what I have seen on YouTube.

I don't have one of these and am spoiled by the features of the heavy as a brick ATN. Else I would have a hard time deciding which to purchase.

https://www.amazon.com/Pard-lightest-Digital-Riflescope-Waterproof/dp/B07WPK1D3D

Link to another nightvision post with an in depth account of the Pard at the bottom

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/pard-nv008p-vs-atn-4k-pro/#post-829961



The Sightmark Photon RT 4.5X42S is a bit less complex than the ATN but still a decent unit

Newer units weigh in at slightly less than the ATN but it is still a heavyweight

Battery life is much lower like 3.5 hours with lithium batteries. User replaceable batts Optional plug in battery packs are available.

Records video and sound

WiFi connects to your phone easily

Magnification Two-step digital zoom 4.5-9

Adjustable parallax

FOV 22.5' @ 100 yards for the 4.5x9 or 24ft for the 3.5x14

Minimum focus 32.8ft for the 3.5-14

CMOS resolution 768x576

Refresh rate 50Hz

Video record resolution 640x480

B/W day and night

Supplied IR

Well built

Weight just under 2LB so near to a brick

Picatinny mount

Very few apps

I have one of these Photon units and it werqs quite well.

https://www.amazon.com/Sightmark-SM18015-Digital-Riflescope-4-5x42S/dp/B078FHGXRT



Sightmark Wraith HD Night Vision Rifle Scope 2-16x 28mm

Battery life 3.5 to 4.5 hours 4XAA

Records Video no audio

No WiFi

Magnification only 2X lens zoom and 8X multi-step digital zoom

Adjustable Parallax

FOV 42ft @ 100 yards

Minimum focus distance 2x16 16.5ft 4x32 12ft

CMOS resolution 1920x1080

Refresh rate I see complaints of lagging video which usually points to slow refresh rates so I expect it would be near 30fps

Video record resolution 2x16 1920x1080, 4x32 1080x720

Color day B/W night

Supplied IR

Picatinny mount

Well built

Heavy 2LB+ heavier than a brick

The Wraith has very good HD resolution on both the sensor and screen. Specs would point to this unit having the best quality picture but I don’t have one so can’t say.

I did see a couple of videos on the Wraith though and it has great picture quality in daylight but even on a moonlit night it needs an IR illuminator. The Photon and most of the others will do fine without an illuminator in the same situation. So that is a minus for the Wraith.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/102288033?pid=882357



Sightmark Wraith 4K mini

Looks to have a good screen and recording resolution.

Battery life; 3.6hrs video mode 4.4 hrs preview mode 2cr 123A

Records 4K video plus audio.

No WiFi

Magnification 2x optical 8x digital

Adjustable parallax

FOV; at 10 yards 7.62ft at 100 meters 40ft

Minimum focus distance 5 ft

CMOS resolution; 3840×2160 This is very good.

Refresh rate? A very important piece of information left out. Expect it is either 30fps or 50fps

Video recording resolution 4K, 1080

Color by day B/W by night

Weight? 21.6 oz Very good it is

Picatinny Mount

Apps?

https://www.opticsplanet.com/sightmark-wraith-4k-mini-2-16x32-digital-night-vision-riflescope.html



Sightmark Wraith 4K max

Battery life built in battery 5 hours with WiFi or recording 8 hours without

Records video and audio

WiFi is available

Magnification 3X optical 8x digital

Adjustable Parallax

FOV at 100 yards 31.5ft

Minimum focus distance 16.4ft

CMOS resolution 4000x3000 excellent

Refresh rate Not positive but probly 50HZ

Video record resolution 4K/1080/720 advertised as 4K UHD

Color by day, B/W at night

Supplied IR

Picatinny Mount

Weight nearly heavy as a brick at 34.5 oz

Some apps available

It would look by the specs that this unit has the highest resolution for recording. But specs can be misleading as the term 4K can mean many things to different companies.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022468391



Sytong HT60- HT60LRF

Battery life 8hrs likely with no recording or WiFi

Records video and audio

WiFi; Yes

Magnification 3x optical 2.66x digital so 3x8 or 6.5-13 depending on model

Adjustable Parallax

FOV at 100 Yards

Minimum Focus Distance 3 meters

CMOS Resolution; ?

Refresh Rate 30fps

Video Record Resolution; 1440x1080 on Sytong site

Color by Day B/W by night? Most likely

Supplied IR

Picatinny mount

Weight 17.2oz

Waterproof ip67



Almost fergot the Nightshot 3X It is stripped down unit with very basic features

Much smaller, lighter and far less expensive than the most of these set ups

Plastic chassis and Plastic Lenses

It has a 3hr battery life. User replaceable batteries

Does NOT record your shots

Does NOT have WiFi

Magnification; Fixed 3x magnification

Fixed parallax set at 100 yards.

Much lower FOV than the 3×14 ATN

Minimum focus distance 10ft

CMOS resolution?

Refresh rate 30Hz

Video record resolution; No video recording

Black and white day and night

Supplied IR

Weight 1.3LB

Picatinny mount

Weight 1.3lb Of plastics

https://www.opticsplanet.com/night-owl-optics-nightshot-digital-night-vision-riflescope.html



Here are some reviews of a few nightvision units that may be useful.

https://under-reviews.com/top-5-digital-rifle-scopes/?msclkid=9f3aba59bdca1311107bdb517c69b7c9&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UR%20%7C%20TOP%205%20Digital%20Scopes&utm_term=%2Bbest%20%2Bnight%20%2Bvision&utm_content=General

Check out Andy’s Air gun reviews on YouTube. He recently did a review of the Sytong HT 60 and Pard 008. Good luck. 

Bio,

that specs list for all the NV scopes is extremely helpful!! 

Thank you for taking the time to share the results of your research with us! 



I have always been intrigued by NV — because they allow you to do the difficult and the "impossible" shots, I guess....  

But the model search was often rather confusing!

➔ Now, to see all the current models side by side with their relevant(!) specs — I was able to make up my mind which unit will work best for me (and is worth spending my money on).



(Now just the tiny detail of where to get said money from..... ) 

Cheers!

Matthias

Bio, thanks for listing all those specs. Great to see some comparisons in one place! Thanks!!!

I Cant speak to anything but ATN as thats what I own. One thing to pay attention to is your nm ( wavelength) of the illuminator and make sure it matches the sensor. My cameras tend to make the ATN show some horizontal lines, but with the illuminator its almost clear as day. I tried another brand of illuminator that was like 700(?)nm and sold it for the same reason. The ATN is a computer and you MUST use a high quality SD card and never ever ever try to open the .bin firmware file. You will most likely corrupt the file if you do and it may even load, albeit corrupted. Also use a quality high amp charger. Charging from a truck is discouraged as the power is not clean for the same reason laptops and such should be used with a pure sinewave inverter when in a vehicle. Sounds like a lot, but it is a computer! Heavy? Yup. Chock fill of features? Absolutely. The ABL is spot on if you know the BC. Without it the built in rangefinder is also pretty good, but the ABL will adjust your reticle at the touch of a button. I have about 5 different profiles saved for different rifles, including powder, so easily swapped and loaded in for the saved zero. Some hunts I will even go between platforms using the same scope. One shot zero is pretty good, although 3 or more and then zoomed is best. The learning curve is moderate and the reticle jump when zooming in can be bothersome at first, but in little time you dont notice it. I have both 3-14 and 5-20, never had an issue with either one. You are looking at a video screen so eye fatigue over time can be an issue if the brightness is too high. Super easy to level as there is a built in gyroscope. As you can probably tell, I love mine. The app is good, has not crashed at all and survives all the apple updates. Have not heard about android issues. There are some bad reviews out there about the unit freezing, not booting up, etc, but I attribute it to the sd card or inadvertently double clicking the .bin file or damage caused by dirty power. Again, it is a computer/video camera and a damm good one at that.

You be welcome guys.

I figured since I was doing my own research it would be good to just put it in a format that could be useful to others as well.

The Sytong HT 60 is so much like the Pard that I haven't yet decided if I want to add it or not. Only a couple of things are really different in the specs department. Other than that it is pretty much a duplicate of the Pard. The Pard is just a little more expensive.



On the positive side;

The Sytong costs $70 less then the equivalent Pard

It comes in a matt finish as apposed to the gloss finish of the Pard.

It also sports a nice screw in lens cap that is absent on the Pard.

In addition it uses the more modern USB3 Type-C plug adapter while the Pard uses the slightly dated USB2 Micro adapter.



On the negative side;

The Sytong does NOT at this time include a model with a laser rangefinder like the Pard. Although looking at the Menu it looks like the rangefinder may soon be added.

It does NOT have the one shot zero option.

Edit;

There is now a model with a range finder.

It does NOT have an audible beep function available for when you push the buttons.



Not negative nor positive just the way it is.

Speaking of buttons the button layout is also different between the two. The Sytong has ONE LESS button than the Pard has.

Other than a few minor differences in the cases that's about it on the differences between the Pard and the Sytong units.

I have the Pard NV008P LRF on my Compact Impact and the Sightmark Wraith 4K on my 300 blkout. The Pard is lightweight and limited to 6.5 and 13x digital magnification. The Wraith is definitely heavier, has a superior picture both day and nite, more adjustable magnification range and longer range capabilities. I chose these 2 over the ATN offerings because the reputation of quality and reliability. 

Bio you have done the community a great service once again thanks.

Years ago I stumbled into the offerings of the NV world, which was more than enough to cause one headaches. I wanted ole school just the basics to see what I was shooting at during the night period. Basic simple works works for me as my purchased $300 Sight Mark Photon XT Digital 4.5x42S mounted on a Prod would spend most of it's time unused and bagged. But every now and then, the grove would call for it's service on the night shift, much to it's quarries distress. 

Heads up maybe a sightmark WRAITH Bay deal 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114792127838? _trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131231084308%26meid%3Deff12aedd8974a619ebb2f6ab268379a%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D7%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D194089454387%26itm%3D114792127838%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWithAblationExplorer%26brand%3DSightmark&_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109

I have a regular sightmark wraith 4x and it is great have no complaints . It much better than what I expected. Only paid $315 used.

Check out the guys on the late night vision show or lone.star boars outta tx.on you tube. Sightmark reliability is very good. I'd stay away from atn there reliability and customer Service has had some real.issues. any digital night vision the biggest deal is the or illuminator. Check out sniper hog lights they make some nice ones. See 1000 yards at night with a sightmark wraith and a coyote cannon

I went down this road as well bought the wraith hd and the atn 4k pro to do a side by side and would sell off the one I didn't like. The wraith was a solid unit and did very well simple and easy to use, the 4k pro took a little longer but if you watch the tutorial videos before hand you will catch on fast and it sure is packed with features. Yes the atn can have issues but its because it's packed with all the extra gadgets calculations range finder etc. In the end I choose the 4k pro 3-14 for a few reasons the screen inside the screen was larger, the range finder and adjustable reticle, the option to record sound, and a clearer picture day and night. I got the refurbished one and it looked brand new showed zero shots. If anyone is in the US and has an issue I have been researching and building knowledge and found 2 atn reps that will get you sorted out crazy fast. Like stated above any digital scope need good light for a clear picture I did a comparison if the 3 popular lights from sniper hog lights and man they do a great job, stock IR will do well for 100-200 yards which is plenty for most airgun shooting, I just wanted to test and see what the others can do. Any questions I am willing to help and OP the offer still stands to borrow or come night shooting with me.

https://youtu.be/z93EqCuQSx4

https://youtu.be/JxwYe6-anyA

One of the things I like most about both of my ATN scopes (X-Sight 4K and the Thor 4 Thermal) is the built in ballistics calculator. I mean it's truly the bees knees!

• Takes in account the BC and velocity of your rounds in switchable profiles.
• Profiles can be set up for zero of different guns, different ammo or both.
• Automatically takes into account your incline/decline and you can enter in environmental such as wind speed and direction.
• Using the Auxiliary Ballistics Laser aka ABL, you can easily range your target, and that distance will be used to move your crosshairs to your new calculated POI.
• This is the true cure for scope dope!

My next purchase is the ATN ABL rangefinder so I don't have to dial in ranges manually. The downside? It's heavy. The upside? If you have a full moon or some artificial light, you may not even need to turn on the IR illuminator. Battery life is phenomenal! I also have mounted the remote control for the scope so I don't have to change my firing position to adjust scope zoom or other scope functions.

I can't speak to any night vision other than the ATN. I have both the X-site II and the 4K, both in 3-14X. The ATN is awesome both in day or night mode. Adjusting the screen brightness down really helps with eye fatigue at night. A better illuminator than the one that comes with it helps a lot, too. It's not bad with the factory illuminator, but it is definitely better with the upgrade. Another thing I disliked about the factory illuminator is that it uses CR123A batteries, instead of rechargeable li-ion batteries. Not a deal breaker since a family member gave me a case of them when they stopped using them at work. The ability to record video and photos makes it easy to share with others, or just review my own shooting. Weight isn't really an issue for me as I use a shooting stick or other support. Picking out the target animal is very easy when you see how brightly their eyes shine in the IR light. 

James

I have ATN X-SIGHT 5-20 4K PRO 

if you Looking For The Best-Rated Night Vision Scopes? Check sportsmanfinder.com 

I've been using the Sightmark Wraith Mini since it came out, less than a year ago. 

It's a wonderful device. Not too loaded down with bells and whistles. It requires **very little** IR lighting support. My IR flashlight set on "moonlight mode" i.e. minimal power is enough for all my 30-yard shots.

The best thing about it is that it's so compact.