Digital Night Vision, Intensifier Tube, and Thermal Scope Comparison

Generally Speaking

We think Digital Crosshairs 1000 night vision clip-on is a great choice but here is some general information to think about when deciding on a night vision product.

Night Vision Clip-on - Digital Crosshairs
Night Vision Clip-on – Digital Crosshairs

It don’t have to cost thousands of dollars to kill a few hogs in the dark!

About Night Hunting-

  • All dedicated night vision and thermal scopes will cause temporary night blindness after looking through them in the dark. Your eye pupils will shrink from the light in the scope and will take a few seconds to re-open and adjust to the darkness. Only exception are Digital Crosshairs and NiteSite products that use LCD displays.
  • It is very hard to judge distance when you are in the dark and your only field of view is through your night vision device.
  • No night vision scope is as clear as a high quality day vision scope.  It is the best of both world using a clip-on.
  • Check with your night vision manufacturer about maximum caliber weapons they support.

Digital Night Vision

Pros Cons
Gen 2 or better equivalent at lower Cost. More natural image, easier to identify target than thermal IR reflects off leave & brush affecting visibility
Use Day or Night Smoke and fog decrease visibility
Tougher, more rugged Requires IR illuminator for optimal use
Cost less than thermal and Intensifier tube technology IR illuminator has faint glow that may give your position away
Clear target identification at 50 to 150+  yards Optics do not compare with high quality day scopes
Many have video output and/or record capabilities Some have programmable features may not be practical in fast pace hunting situation
Fast startup time, sometime instant on Camouflage is often still effective.
Can see through windows
Better visibility in rain than thermal
High contrast black and white night vision image
CMOS night vision sensors do not have limited life span like intensifier tubes and thermal

 

Intensifier Tube (I2) Night Vision

Pros Cons
More natural image, easier to identify target than thermal Fog, smoke and dust obscures the image
Gen 3 on has longer range than most digital night vision Larger/Heavier
Cheaper than thermal optics Worthless during the day or in lighted rooms
Benefits from IR illuminator but Gen 2-4 intensify light without IR Camouflage is often still effective.
Sensitive can be damaged if exposed to bright light
Bright lights and fire stacks will cause them to shut off for protections
Limited lifespan
More expensive than digital night vision
Cannot handle large caliber weapons
 Optics do not compare with high quality day scopes

 

Thermal Night Vision

The major difference with thermal-IR is that thermal-IR is emitted by an object instead of reflected off it. No light source is required with thermal.

Pros Cons
See in any lighting conditions – Day and Night Nearly impossible to positively ID person except with most expensive equipment
See through smoke/fog/dust/sand Image requires some training to interpret
See through leaves, brush and thin materials Hot objects like rocks and hot building in urban areas will wash out human and animal heat signatures
Track residual heat (handprints, footprints) Long startup/warm up time
Works in absolute darkness Thermal optics cannot see through windows
Give off no light, will not give your position away Extreme cold can affect the quality of a thermal image
Long range target acquisition Generally more expensive
Many have video out capabilities Larger and heavier
Fast target acquisition Does not work in rain, misty, very humid conditions
Durable solid state technology Optics do not compare with high quality day scopes

Closing thoughts

To some extent, buying night vision is like buying a car.  There are some really good choices out there and a few lemons.  One thing to remember, you can’t see in the dark so if you plan to move around stalking none of these will help you get around.

Digital Crosshairs night vision clip-on has an LCD display that give off just enough light that you can see where you are stepping, but not so much as to alert the animals you are hunting.

Check out our video at: https://youtu.be/Ayu8AYZApJQ

IR Illuminator Batteries Can End Your Hunt

 

Digital IR night vision scopes are getting very affordable.  With a good IR illuminator, hunters are seeing 100 to over 200+ yards in the dark.  But “Digital”  means electric!  One detail that can ruin your hunting weekend is getting poor quality batteries or heading out with under charged batteries.

Good IR illuminators usually runs on rechargable 18650 lithium-ion batteries.  As your batteries drain in voltage, your illuminator gradually gets dimmer and dimmer.  Remember, the human eye can not see the infra red light from your illuminator so except for the performance of your night vision scope, you have no indication that the brightness of the illuminator is decreasing.  A battery with a low mAh rating when charged will start off bright, but the voltage will drain faster than good batteries.  Get setup and then 20 minutes or less into your hunt you start wondering why your system is not working as well as you expected it to.  Digital IR night vision and I2 (intensifier tube) night vision benefits from the IR illuminator light. When the IR dims, your system dims.  I stress this point.  It would be better if the illuminator just shut off but it doesn’t.  A hunter would know its time for another battery if it just shut off.

The 18650 lithium-ion batteries sold today are labeled from about 2100 mAh (milliamp hours capacity)  all the way up to over 9000 mAh.  So if you order the 9000 mAh batteries from China on Ebay you should be ok, right?  That is what I thought but after doing some research I discovered that 18650 lithium-ion batteries can not physically be made to go that high.   The offshore manufacturers are actually selling a lie.   They just lie about the mAh rating for marketing purposes.  After all, how many people know that much about battery technology except electrical engineers.

XTAR VC2 battery charger

With the average battery charger you don’t know the real mAh rating of your batteries or the charge level.  Don’t risk your hunting trip, get something like the XTAR VC2 USB LCD Screen Battery Charger Capacity Tester.  It has an LCD display that show the batteries voltage and mAh level so you know for sure and don’t have to risk bad batteries messing up a great hunting weekend.

Get good batteries and a good battery charger/tester.  That way, a $2.00 battery won’t mess up a priceless hunting opportunity.

Order the XTAR VC2 Tester/Charger at Digitalcrosshairs.net

Related info:

How to tell a fake 18650 battery:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-know-a-fake-18650-battery/

Review of 18650 Batteries:

https://mycooloutdoorstuff.com/which-18650-battery-is-your-best-choice-the-buying-guide-and-recommends/