Photon XT 4.6x Night Vision Scope Review

I had a tree stand go out from under me on a hunt in S.C. They say you know you are alive when you can feel pain. I was very much alive after that fall. Hope you recover quickly Bob and David.

Scored the second kill with my Photon this morning. Another big female coyote. This one could have been a twin to the first one I killed. Very dark, and quite large. I got this one at about 140 yds. I was goofing around with the photon on my shooting range trying to see why 6mm06 was seeing blurry images. I think my Photon must be a little different somehow, as my image was pretty clear. Some blurry, but had no issue identifying this mama that came skulking across the field I shoot in. She skulks no more.
 
Folks,

After some serious computer issues and finally a replacement computer and new editing software we finally got our Sightmark Photon XT 4.6x42S Field Review up on You Tube!! You can check out our review here:

We are still experiencing some availability issues due to limited supplies and strong demand for these units. The best way to secure an order position from us is to simply place your order on our website. You order will stay active and in the order it was received until the Photons arrive. Once they arrive we will phone you to see if you still want the order. You can choose to take delivery or cancel your order at that time. Regardless, your card will not be charged until you confirm delivery and it is shipped. We expect a shipment of new Photons by mid November but we cannot guarantee that timeframe nor can we guarantee how many units from our PO we might receive. At this point Sellmark determines how many units to allocate to the dealer network. Kevin
 
Kevin, thanks for the good review. Just a couple of questions here. The picture seems a bit blurred. Is what the video shows a fair representation of what you actually saw through the scope? Second, was that the best you could get the focus to look? I didn't see you do anything with focusing so I'm assuming you already had it about as good as it would get.
 
Originally Posted By: HTRN57Folks,

You can choose to take delivery or cancel your order at that time. Regardless, your card will not be charged until you confirm delivery and it is shipped. Kevin

I like the way you do business Kevin.

That was a good review. I like seeing the live critters. I found I have more rabbits on my place than I really thought. I like reticle four also. It seems you did not change focus in your review. I have found that once you have it set at 40 yds or so, that you really don't have to mess with it.

The best use of this scope, as you mentioned is in that transition time at dusk when it's getting too dark for a regular optic. I find the most critter activity in that time and the Photon is a real game changer for me. The scope can do pretty well at short to medium ranges with it's on board light, but that LLtL-001 is a great light and really enhances the view with the Photon.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleUpKevin, thanks for the good review. Just a couple of questions here. The picture seems a bit blurred. Is what the video shows a fair representation of what you actually saw through the scope? Second, was that the best you could get the focus to look? I didn't see you do anything with focusing so I'm assuming you already had it about as good as it would get.

The unit was focused as good as I could get it for direct viewing. Unfortunately I can't always get the best results through the MDVR. Sometimes it does about what I can see and at other times not. I'm not sure what was going on with all the MDVR flickering on the night shots either. The resolution rating on these scopes is 36 lpm so it is not going to be as good as the Gen 3 at 64 to 72 lpm. However, you are not paying for Gen 3 with these units. Yes they are grainy....but you don't have to be able to see the whiskers on the coyote to determine that it is a coyote if you get my drift. Hopefully they will hold up well under actual shooting/hunting conditions as the jury is still out on that (since they are brand new). Kevin
 
Originally Posted By: 1loboOriginally Posted By: HTRN57Folks,

You can choose to take delivery or cancel your order at that time. Regardless, your card will not be charged until you confirm delivery and it is shipped. Kevin

I like the way you do business Kevin.

That was a good review. I like seeing the live critters. I found I have more rabbits on my place than I really thought. I like reticle four also. It seems you did not change focus in your review. I have found that once you have it set at 40 yds or so, that you really don't have to mess with it.

The best use of this scope, as you mentioned is in that transition time at dusk when it's getting too dark for a regular optic. I find the most critter activity in that time and the Photon is a real game changer for me. The scope can do pretty well at short to medium ranges with it's on board light, but that LLtL-001 is a great light and really enhances the view with the Photon.

Thanks 1lobo, I could clearly make out the deer walking around out there at 300 yards and the rabbit at 105 yards. That would have been unheard of 10 years ago with a Gen 1 or maybe even a Gen 2 unit. Illumination technology improvements have really made these cheaper units useable for hunting. Kevin
 
6mm06,

These should all perform the same under the same conditions. Any significant change in ambient light, fog, rain, or snow will adversely affect the scope's performance. This is what gives thermal the edge over light intensified NV as it is not affected by light (sensors work from heat signature). But for each and every NV product on the market there are +++++ and ------- to all of them. In general, if you focus the Photon at 50 yards it should be good to go out to infinity. Anything closer than 50 would require focus adjustments probably all the way in to 10 yards. In a real life hunting situation if a predator comes in at 25 yards and my scope is focused on 50 and out.....the slight blur won't matter because at 4.6x it will be so large you should be able to make the shot. Kevin
 
Hello all,

New to the forum. Great reviews (and videos)!

I had just received my 4.6 XT. In the process of playing with it while waiting on a set of rings to come in for it.

I don't have a ton of experience with NV. Had a crappy gen1 russian tube scope a ways back & my buddy has a set of pvs7 Gen 2 goggles that I have played around with. From my limited experience this scope with an illuminator gives as good a pic as the gen2 goggles. Of course without the illuminator they would not. But for a LOT less $, I am impressed so far. I will take this out on Saturday to the family farm & see how it performs. I don't expect to bag anything past 100 yds with the onboard IR. Going for small critters......no hogs up my way, but I may run across some yotes & certaily expect some coons around the hen-house.

I am looking in to alternate Illumination but can't spend a couple of C notes on it right now. When I can I will also be looking into a doubler for this as well. Any opinions or experience on the UltraFire UF-T20 850nm torches? (They claim to be using the Osram LEDs but don't give any output specs).

As far as recording hunts, I did see an 'Angel Eyes' unit mentioned, and found them in a decent price range. Perhaps I can pick up one of these in a little while.
 
Originally Posted By: HTRN576mm06,

These should all perform the same under the same conditions. Any significant change in ambient light, fog, rain, or snow will adversely affect the scope's performance. This is what gives thermal the edge over light intensified NV as it is not affected by light (sensors work from heat signature). But for each and every NV product on the market there are +++++ and ------- to all of them. In general, if you focus the Photon at 50 yards it should be good to go out to infinity. Anything closer than 50 would require focus adjustments probably all the way in to 10 yards. In a real life hunting situation if a predator comes in at 25 yards and my scope is focused on 50 and out.....the slight blur won't matter because at 4.6x it will be so large you should be able to make the shot. Kevin


Very well said Kevin. That's what I've been trying to say in some of my posts. It's like the Ronco ads "set it and forget it". The adjustment does seem to have a narrow range, but once you've got it, it works.
 
Originally Posted By: Et2ss

I am looking in to alternate Illumination but can't spend a couple of C notes on it right now. When I can I will also be looking into a doubler for this as well. Any opinions or experience on the UltraFire UF-T20 850nm torches? (They claim to be using the Osram LEDs but don't give any output specs).



From my experience with the Ultrafires, you will get one out of three to be a good one. I have one that really focuses well. It puts a good spot out past 100 yds. The other two just don't get there. The best one is the first one I bought. The last two are the last ones I'll buy. I'll spend the extra money and buy an LLTL-001 next time.
 
Kevin, what's the ship time like on the photons? Has it gotten any better. I really want to get on and the ir add on. I would love to get it in the next three weeks. Any chance?
 
Originally Posted By: bobschauberKevin, what's the ship time like on the photons? Has it gotten any better. I really want to get on and the ir add on. I would love to get it in the next three weeks. Any chance?

Bobschauber,

Sellmark tells me the scopes will be in by mid November. If you want to go ahead and place your order on our website that will put you at #5 or #6 on the backorder list as of today. I don't know how many scopes I will actually get though as they don't ship me what I ask for on the PO. Once the scopes get here I will call all open backorders (in the order received) to see if the customer still wants it. Your card doesn't get charged until I confirm the order is still good and the item ships. The order will place a hold on the funds on the card until we cancel it so you need to be aware of that. That is about the best I can do for right now. Kevin
 

Last night I tried the Photon in the yard again. I could see well enough to make a killing shot at 50-60 yards without any illuminator, no doubt due to the moon light. I was a bit surprised since I didn't expect a digital scope to see without illumination.
 
Glad you had some good experience with the Photon David.
I've been having similar experiences with mine. It really gathers what light is available.

By the way, I've started gathering stuff for my own homemade build following your list. Might be slow, but I'll get there.

Meanwhile, the Photon has become my go to scope for night work. I set and watched four deer in my pasture last night. One, a small buck, bedded down within 30yds of my stand. I really like night hunting. I figured since the deer were so calm that coyote probabilities were low, so I just watched for a while and quit. The Photon continues to impress em.
 

Keep me posted how it goes with the home-made unit. It's a pretty neat deal considering cost.

I have considered using just the bullet camera and LCD screen turned into a scanner. If I had some sort of hand-held pistol-like grip, I could put a bullet camera on it along with the LCD and use it as a scanner.
 
Originally Posted By: bobschauberAny word on the 6.5 version?

I have heard nothing about the Sightmark Photon XT 6.5x50L. Last update was a couple of weeks ago. I will ask again when the others are delivered. Kevin
 
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