Photon XT versus the new RT. Anyone used both?

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varminter .223

Well-known member
Curious about how the new RT compares to the old XT. I have an XT and I'm considering upgrading to the RT as a spare set up. The onboard video and the battery pack is probably worth upgrading but how does the resolution and clarity compare?
 
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Just received my new Photon RT 4.5 scope a couple days ago. Very good first impression after using an XT 4.6 for two seasons coyote hunting! The first thing I noticed was how well the onboard IR worked. The specs show 220yd detection range and it is at least that. I have a T-20 external IR and it would not over power the on board IR. The next thing I noticed was there is zero wash out with the RT! The XT would make one single weed look like a tree in your display. The RT, you can see the weed then look past it. Same goes if you point the scope towards the ground or over cornstalks, there is zero wash out. The 2x zoom function is awesome! The image stays exactly the same, it does not pixelate like thermal scopes do. I had trouble getting the scope to clear up at first until I punched the center out of the lense cap and closed it. Then it was like holy cow this thing is super clear! It was a big enough difference over the XT I used to have to use reflective strips to clearly see the cross on a target to accurately sight the gun in. With RT i didn’t use anything reflective during late evening on a cloudy day and had zero trouble seeing the target without the IR turned on. The zoom function is awesome for sighting the gun in. I have not hunted with it yet so I will post again once I get to the field with it. Another good feature is the ability to aim and focus the onboard IR. Another thing is the 4 battery back is a definite improvement over the two battery XT. I will be ordering the actual rechargeable style li-ion battery packs for it soon though to further improve the scope and not worrying about batteries going dead all the time. I turned the scope on around 3:00pm when I got it and mistakenly left it on without the IR in the case til 7:00 pm or so then messed with it outside setting everything up til 8:30 pm before the 4 rechargeable AA batteries went dead. So that was pretty good in my opinion.
 
Thanks for the review and good to hear the RT is a definite improvement over the XT. Which model did you get? Is it the 850nm one? I have a 6.5x XT and like it OK, but like you mentioned, there is wash out on vegetation. Glad to know the RT doesn't do that.

So, you are saying that on 2x zoom the view remains clear and does not pixillate or become blurry?

Does the onboard IR have an adjustable focus to aim it to where the crosshair is looking, or is just a lens adjustment?

Any negatives?
 
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Originally Posted By: 6mm06Thanks for the review and good to hear the RT is a definite improvement over the XT. Which model did you get? Is it the 850nm one? I have a 6.5x XT and like it OK, but like you mentioned, there is wash out on vegetation. Glad to know the RT doesn't do that.
I find the washout to be about the same as the XT

So, you are saying that on 2x zoom the view remains clear and does not pixillate or become blurry? I have the 4.5 with the 850ir. the zoom was blurry and pixilated. probably will not use it in the future.

Does the onboard IR have an adjustable focus to aim it to where the crosshair is looking, or is just a lens adjustment? It does have some adjustment to center the focus and it is more of a flood to spot but i don't see much change.

Any negatives? battery life is about half of the XT model
 
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I also recently switched from a xt to a rt. Hunted with it for the first time last night. The battery life with the rt was over double that of the xt(I was always changing out battery's with the xt). BTW, I really like the battery packs loading from the side. I also thought the washout was noticeably less than the xt. As for the zoom, it does blur a little when zooming in, but still useable. All in all, I am really happy with the rt.
 


Originally Posted By: OkieRobAny negatives? battery life is about half of the XT model


Originally Posted By: chasing3kids The battery life with the rt was over double that of the xt(I was always changing out battery's with the xt).

well, it seems we have a big difference of opinion here.
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Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnot

Originally Posted By: OkieRobAny negatives? battery life is about half of the XT model


Originally Posted By: chasing3kids The battery life with the rt was over double that of the xt(I was always changing out battery's with the xt).

well, it seems we have a big difference of opinion here.
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Outdoor legacy also has a video on the RT. Don't get me wrong i like the RT over the XT. I have the 6X XT model and the 4.5 RT.
 
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I think there are a lot of variables to the battery life. When I hunt my stands are around 20-25 minutes. With xt I could never make 3 stands on a set of battery's. Keep in mind the xt has 2AA, the RT has 4AA. I do not use the on board IR, I Run a separate IR illuminator. I hunted 5 stands the other night with the rt and still had half battery according to the display. Although I was using the display off feature while scanning with thermal. Maybe that is the difference.
 
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I have the 4.5 model with the 850 nm light. The battery life is greatly better than the XT but I will say I use rechargeable AA batteries not standard alkaline. I ran all night the other night on one set of batteries without any problem. I did not use the onboard IR light though. And when I was scanning with no action I turned the display off, then your are one click of a button to turn it back on. The onboard IR light is totally adjustable. You can go from spot to flood with it as well as change where it is pointing. The main thing that helped me was punching out the center of the lense cap for clarity. The zoom does pixelate a lit bit at long distances but if the coyote is in range and you zoom in I promise it helps greatly on staying on the coyote for the shot. With the XT model I could run all night with rechargeables too where my brother standing right next to me would change batteries every other stand with normal alkaline. Rechargeable batteries is the best thing I ever did.
 
Originally Posted By: CamotruckThe RT has an external power port and you can also buy rechargeable battery packs from pulsar

That's good to know. At least there is a way around the short battery life.
 
6mm06 as far as negatives on the RT, beings we are comparing to the XT I have zero negatives on the Rt. They did a good job improving everything over the XT.
 
Okierob, I have the same scope you do and I can point mine in the dirt and it doesn’t washout. My display stays clear across the board no matter what I point it at. As far as the zoom goes it will only be as clear as the original picture is. it’s not actually zooming the magnification in, its just bringing the same picture in tighter. I originally got the scope and thought it was a piece of junk because my XT was clearer than my new Rt. Until I talked to varmitter 223 and he said he heard punching out the dime sized center helped a bunch. So I tried it and I went from having a Hazey picture to being able to see great detail! And in total darkness it depends totally on your IR light. I’m running a t-20 external light and i’m Thinking if I go to a bigger light I will be able to see clearer much farther which would greatly improve the zoom function. And as I said before use rechargeable AA batteries and your batteries will stay up a lot longer. And it will save you a ton of money in the long run. I got mine on amazon. I don’t remember the brand but they are black 2800 mah. 16 of them for like $22 can’t remember exactly now. I’ve been running the same batteries for two seasons now.
 
Originally Posted By: CamotruckOkierob, I have the same scope you do and I can point mine in the dirt and it doesn’t washout. My display stays clear across the board no matter what I point it at. As far as the zoom goes it will only be as clear as the original picture is. it’s not actually zooming the magnification in, its just bringing the same picture in tighter. I originally got the scope and thought it was a piece of junk because my XT was clearer than my new Rt. Until I talked to varmitter 223 and he said he heard punching out the dime sized center helped a bunch. So I tried it and I went from having a Hazey picture to being able to see great detail! And in total darkness it depends totally on your IR light. I’m running a t-20 external light and i’m Thinking if I go to a bigger light I will be able to see clearer much farther which would greatly improve the zoom function. And as I said before use rechargeable AA batteries and your batteries will stay up a lot longer. And it will save you a ton of money in the long run. I got mine on amazon. I don’t remember the brand but they are black 2800 mah. 16 of them for like $22 can’t remember exactly now. I’ve been running the same batteries for two seasons now.
I have rechargeable batteries but they don't last as long as the regular lithium.But i can swap them out when needed. I use the onboard IR. Maybe that is the difference on battery life. I'll do some more videos when this weather straightens up. Also the rechargeable batteries affect the battery indicator and go to half charge in just a few minutes. It last longer than it indicates.Regular batteries are spot on.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleUpOkieRob, have you punched out that center piece on the lens cover? If not, you should try it.
Iv'e tried it both ways.
 
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