Without a doubt, this is one of the finest threads I've seen lately. I have been contemplating buying the Gen. III Osprey for awhile now, but wanted to know more about what I was getting myself into first. I do a lot of digital filming on my predator hunts. With the Osprey you can supposedly film through it at night. That's the thing that instantly got me attracted to it, and interested in NV in the first place. I was wondering if there are other units that will do the same thing also. I'm comfortable in that $2-3,000 range if thats whats neccessary to get quality footage, and clean kills at night. A NV scope without filming capability does not intrest me. What are my options?
Also I was looking at the ITT 220 binocular Gen. III. If I take the plunge and start hunting at night, I'm going to take it seriously. The way I see it, I need something I can strap to my head, while I sit and watch, then flip out of the way or set down, before switching to my riflescope. I just know that if I try and scan the whole area using just my scope I'll miss out on some opportunities. What are these ITT units like, and is there another system which may work equally as well if not better, in the same price range or less?
Last but not least, what are the dangers, if any, associated with looking through NV equipment for extended periods of time?
I realize it may take more than a few lines to answer all these questions, but any info is appreciated. Thanks for the thread.
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Hey Songdog, these are all great questions.
I will try to them down for you:
First, if you are prepared to get the best night vision equipment in the world, then you are limited to US tubes, period. That being said, you will also need to be prepared to spend about $2K-$3K per unit, depending on which unit you choose. Most Gen III devices film thru very well, although there are some definite tricks that can be used to geratly improve your results.
I do not do alot of filming at night, just the occasional hold up the nv unit to the front of the camera and try to snap a picture kind of thing. But I can put you in touch with guys who do alot of filming at night, and have a pretty good grasp of what you need (adapters, etc) to do that kind of thing with positive results.
I do know that a monocular is the best for filming at night though, like the PVS-14 or the USNV-14. In my opinion they are also the most versatile. They can be very accurate when used on a weapons mount, and are the best hands down when worn on the head. Much better than binoculars, since they allow you to keep one eye accustom to darkenss. With a binocular, both eyes are subjected to the brightness of the image, which causes severe night blindness for a few minutes. Using one eye, your brain plays a trick on you, thereby causing you to see the image "superimposed" in the other eye, but without the problems associated with binoculars (like the PVS-7, etc.) And you can foget using the PVS-7 to shoot with, unless you have an IR laser, even then it will not be as accurate a setup as the PVS-14 mounted on a weapon. There are mounts out there (like the GG&G military mount) that will let you go from headmounted to weapons mounted in a matter of a few seconds with the PVS-14. All the pictures you saw of our troops in the Gulf shooting at night were using a PVS-14 mounted behind an Aimpoint, or better yet an EOTech 552. Both have NV settings and are also used as a daytime scope, with the advantage going to the EOTech for a few reasons (FOV, Parallax, and many different NV settings).
Also, a monocular is light weight and quick to use for scanning, etc. And you can get the military 3x afocal lens to bring you in even closer to your prey. It merely slips on and off the monocular (or screws on if you are using it as a weapons scope). The best monocular available now is the PVS-14 or the USNV-14.
These are mil-proven designs (I use a PVS-14 now)that are unbelievable at night.
If it were me, I would either get the PVS-14 or the PVS-7, easily better choices than the ITT 220 model, and you can get a very nice PVS-14 from about $2200-$3000, depending on features (mainly auto gain versus manual gain).
And you can get a nice PVS-7 for about $1900-$3000, depending on tubes. When you decide to buy, let me know as I can get you a very good deal on either unit.
Randy Shaw and Carl Ott (both members of this PM forum) bought PVS-7 units from my source, and were very satisfied with their purchases and prices. They bought the PVS-7 (binocular style) which fit their needs better in their mind. I still stand firmly by the PVS-14 monocular over the binocular, and I have used both extensively while hunting, etc. The PVS-14 is MUCH more versatile and the one I would grab first every time if I could only take one into the field. But they can attest to the quality of the units, that is for sure.
As far as shooting, a dedicated NV weapons scope will always be the best, but it has its drawbacks since you cannot easily scan for movement, and it is magnified (4x, etc.) and awkward to use for scanning when mounted to your gun.
The Osprey is not the best choice in gen III weapons scopes, in my opinion. You can spend the same money and get a much more robust scope with better optics, mount, tube, etc. Top of the line in weapons scopes would be the Raptor, but it is very expensive ($6K) also used by military snipers as we speak. You can get the 44x (441, 443, etc.) series of riflescopes that work extemely well, in 64lp/mm+ resolution Gen III for about $2000-$3000. They would be the best choice after the Raptor. The Osprey just is not up to par with these units, period.
As far as permanent damage, there is no cause for alarm. It is just like looking out the window over a field on a sunny day. However, keep in mind that you are viewing an extremely bright, "daytime" like image at night! So once you have stared thru the nv device for a few minutes, and your pupils have shrunk to limit the amount of light into your eye, they do not respond immediately when you take the unit away from your eyes!! You will be literally "blind" for at least a minute, usually more! And everything will take on a "purple" color, as your eye has been exposed to only shades of green. This is not damaging in any way, except if you fall out of your tree stand, walk into a pot hole, bump into your buddy, etc. If you sit tight, your eyes will gradually go back to normal. The PVS-7 owners out the (binocular style) are at a much greater disadvantage as BOTH eyes will have this condition! The PVS-14 operator will be able to walk, run, shoot, etc. and have much better coordination, as this condition only affected one eye. This is another advantage of the monocular. They even have better depth perception than the PVS-7, since both units are of single tube design, but the opened dark eye gives you quasi-stereo vision (brain trick again!). The PVS-7 does not, so depth perception when driving, etc. is much worse. This is why pilots were DUAL tube nv goggles (as opposed to the single tube design) like the ANVIS-6. The drawback to the dual tube design is PRICE! They can easily run $10K, and have to have matched tubes, etc.
But to answer your original question, no damage occurs, it is not even an issue (unless you fall down, as I said earlier!
Hope this helps, and let me know via email if you would like me to put you in touch with my source. He has a 100% money back guarantee (minus shipping, or course), with a 3-day eval period on all devices. You will not find lower prices and better gear, period.
Also, if anyone travels thru the Kansas City area and would like to use my night vision to see what this hobby is all about, let me know.
We can even go shoot a few rounds at night, if you want to see what accuracy you can get thru these devices.
Thanks, and good luck hunting!
Jason
