NOD Comparison *** now with SiOnyx Aurora, and 5 other models ***PIC HEAVY*

[ianfroese]

*Part 2 begins on post #38. Really long winded, the TL;DR version is post 39. I've added the SiOnyx Aurora digital night vision camera to the test*

Well, I suppose it is time for my "annual" night vision review, rundown, and comparison. While this won't be particularly informative, me being an amatuer that really doesn't know much, it should hopefully be enlightening as to the capabilities of different types and "generations" of night vision. This years edition will be my most comprehensive yet. So, without further ado, shall we dive down the NOD rabbit hole...?

I will have to do this test in phases, as life has a knack of getting in the way of hobbies. So, bear with me, as this will likely be a winter long experience. I will show you how they perform in urban, open country, and bush settings, and hopefully the latter two in both moonlight and starlight conditions. Please feel free to suggest any areas you would like to see these tested.

First up, an introduction of the units:
Starting in the top left, purchased exclusively for this test, is an Armasight Orion riflescope. This is a 1st generation device with a 4x optical magnification. To the right of that is one that's been on my "must have" list for quite a while, a genuine PVS-4. Made in 1989, this unit may well have served in the first and/or second Gulf War. It is a 2nd generation device, and has a 4x magnification as well. These are quite good quality Gen 2 night vision. As shown in the picture, it uses a "reflex", or mirror lens. Next, bottom row, left, is an Armasight Sirius monocular. This is the cheapest Gen 2 that I've found in Canada. It has no magnification. Front row, middle, is the centre piece of my collection, my PVS-14. This is a 3rd Generation monocular, and is likely the most common type of night vision housing you will find in North America. It has no magnification. Last but not least, bottom right, is my new FLIR Breach. A compact thermal monocular, no magnification, with the latest FLIR thermal sensor, this unit will make this test/comparison very interesting, and highlight the fundamental differences between Image Intensifiers (I2, traditional night vision) and thermal imaging.

Something to keep in mind throughout, is that no camera will take as good an image as your eye will see through a night vision device. The FLIR Breach photos are taken by its own on board camera.

 

[ianfroese]

The first comparison to do is the easy one: just look out of my front and back yard. This gives an idea of how each generation of night vision will compare when put into the high contrast situations that urban (ok, small town) environments present. It is interesting to see how looking into the shadows can seem substantially more difficult when there is a bright light source right next to the shadow, blooming into your view. You will notive that the rifle scopes (Orion and PVS-4) were only used for half of this test.

Each comparison will go in this order: Orion, PVS-4, Sirius, PVS-14, Breach. In some cases the Orion and PVS-4 will not be compared. First view is from my backyard, into the cemetery that I live next to. The main point of this comparison is to show resolution discrepencies between the generations. My garden shed is 20 yards from me, the cemetery begins at 75 yards.

The second view is from my front yard, looking at the neighbours yard, and then down the street. The neighbours garage is 40 yards, the parked vehicle in the second picture is 73 yards. The purpose of this view is to show the difficulty that can be accompanied by looking into a dark place surrounded by light.

First comparison:
Orion (note the fish eye that is characteristic of 1st gen units)


PVS-4


Sirius


PVS-14


FLIR Breach


Second Comparison:
Sirius



*continued below, only 7 files per post, apparently*

 

[ianfroese]

PVS-14



FLIR Breach

 

[ianfroese]

Seeing as I'm a barley pop in, and if you've made it this far, you're pretty committed, I might as well give my personal opinion and run down on each unit.

Armasight Orion: this is a genuinely bottom dollar, entry level unit. And boy does it reflect it. You can get fairly decent image quality if you use an infrared light, however the fish eye is wild. I had been told to expect bad fish eye, but I can't say I thought it would be as prominent as it is. If you are really interested in trying out night vision, I suppose you could try this. However don't expect to be able to positively ID your target until it is quite close. Expect to pay around $700 for one of these, new.

PVS-4: developed in the mid 70's, the PVS-4 was a high tech for the time rifle scope employed by the US military. Using a Gen 2 image intensifier, and very good glass and internal mirrors, these scopes produce an excellent image, and are true starlight scopes, being that you can use them most nights without the need for any supplemental IR light. The PVS-4 also employs a 25 mm image intensifier, vs. the 18 mm used in most modern night vision, which gives quite a good picture. Rugged and dependable, this unit cost $3000 on the EE. However they can be had for about $1000 south of the line. Silly ITAR.

Armasight Sirius: As noted above, this is an entry level Gen 2 monocular. I believe this to be the least expensive Gen 2 unit in Canada, though there may be others that are close. Using a Russian tube, and proprietary housing and mounting options, while this unit has a low up front cost, in order to use it head mounted, you will have to buy a proprietary mount. This is not necessarily a problem, it more just means you likely won't be finding cheap, used mounts on the EE as quickly. This is a starlight monocular, however as you get to lower light conditions, you will certainly need supplemental IR light. My particular unit comes with a "white phospher" tube, which as you can see, does not produce a green image, but a white one. This has an effect of making it (seem) brighter, and for some seems to have better contrast that a regular green tube. These are $2-2500 new, in Canada.

PVS-14: this is the workhorse of the modern US military, it is a robust unit that will handle most of what you can throw at it. It is (likely) the most common night vision device among civilians. It can come with the cheapest Gen 2 intensifier, all the way up to the latest and greatest Gen 3's, so cost can be tailored to your budget. They are also quite common to find on the EE, and parts/mounts are reasonably accessible. My unit has an OMNI VII spec tube, meaning that it is fairly good. This is my favourite NOD that I have, and is the one that I will use most of the time. For navigating, it has a good 40 degree field of view, and has high enough resolution to spot branches that are about to whip me in the face. This being a gen 3, is a true "no light" capable device. By no light, I mean that if it is a moonless, cloudy night, I will still be able to see and navigate well without any supplemental light. As testimony to that, I have a few times been walking trails in the bush, on a moonless night, under cloudy skies, and been able to navigate without any extra IR light. Gen 3 is truly amazing. These can be had from $3000 used on the EE, to well north of $8000 new, depending where you buy, and what the intensifier specs are.

FLIR Breach: the FLIR Breach is FLIR's latest entry into the monocular world. Using their newest FLIR Boson 12 micron sensor, and 320x256 pixels, they are able to fit good resolution into a small, nimble package. While it does no have the field of view that a PVS-14 has, the Breach does run at a 60 hz refresh rate, giving a very smooth, crisp image. While navigating with thermal isn't likely recommended, it is certainly possible with this, and as such is helmet mountable. Once you get where you are going, you can also take pictures and videos using the onboard camera. The new Boson core in the Breach does indeed make this perform similarly to the older 640x512 monoculars, and at a substantially lower budget. This kicks the crap out of my old FLIR Scout II 320, in image quality, size, and the obvious 60 hz vs <9 hz. The Breach can be found around $3000 new in Canada.

My takeaway: skip Gen 1. If you must get something for night vision under $1000, buy an ATN X-Sight. The gen 1 NODs I have experienced using however, leave so much left to be desired, that I felt ripped off. Gen 2 and up is where you start to see good results. Save up for a Gen 2 at minimum. If it is at all possible, I would recommend spending the few extra dollars to make sure you get a higher resolution tube, however even my low end Gen 2 Sirius is certainly capable enough. Just make sure you have an IR flashlight.
Once you've gone through spending your money on Gen 1/Gen 2 units, though, I will likely expect you will end up buying a Gen 3/Photonis 4G unit of some sort. The capability "gap" between Gen 2 and Gen 3/new high end Gen 2 is amazing. While not as big a step up from Gen 1 to Gen 2, getting in to the higher end units really makes you feel right at home in the dark.
The alternative, if you don't need to navigate or positively ID an animal, is to spend your money on thermal. This really is the most amazing technology, and you will spot more with a FLIR Breach, than you will with pretty much any image intensifier.

Too long; didn't read: buy Gen 3 if you can, but don't be afraid to get in to a gen 2 unit. Thermal is awesome.

 

[caver77]

Thanks! One of these days.....

 

[TV-PressPass]

Great write up! Your collection has really grown! My old Scout II is really jealous of that FLIR Breach.

 

[Stubacca]

Damn this is some good info here! I have been wanting some NODs forever now

How do you find they perform in cold? In the area of -20 and colder

 

[ThatM305Guy]

Wow that PVS-14 is to die for.....but the flir breach is no slouch either. Very cool.

 

[JayCarver]

I have no clue about this stuff. Can a PVS-14 be used on a rifle in conjunction with a aimpoint or something?

 

[shawn]

I have no clue about this stuff. Can a PVS-14 be used on a rifle in conjunction with a aimpoint or something?

Yes

You can get PVS-14 mounts for almost any application

Shawn

 

[jory]

Someone once told me to take my budget for NODS and add $1000 to it, and then to spend that much to avoid feeling like I shouldn't have cheaped out. This thread really seems to reinforce that idea; buy once/cry once.

 

[geologist]

If your application allows you to use IR light that would be visible to others with image intensifiers, then some Gen 1's might get the job done.

Gen 3 does allow you to be very stealthy with respect to the IR light signature that you are giving off. I have a PVS 14 Gen 3 and try to train without using any of my IR lights.

I love watching movies where the actors are running around with their weapon lights on. It makes me laugh.

 

[RogerWW]

Thanks!! Great review.

 

[Arm&Gun]

Awesome review buddy. Definitely been thinking about nightvision more lately.

 

[Dr. Hunter]

How much was the pvs 14 you used in the review?

 

[CODFan]

Great Review!

Thought I would share my set-up with the T20 Mini Thermal sight. The T20 automatically switches between landscape and portrait mode. So it can be used in-line with the red-dot or flipped to the side.

New arrival - so no comments yet... but remember it is at the $1,000 price point.

 

[ianfroese]

Great write up! Your collection has really grown! My old Scout II is really jealous of that FLIR Breach.

I figured since you went on hiatus before finishing your epic NODs review video, I should just try the stuff out myself! If you end up doing a big review video again, let me know and I'll send you some gear to use. I can review the things, but it really lacks that TV-PressPass pizazz!

Damn this is some good info here! I have been wanting some NODs forever now

How do you find they perform in cold? In the area of -20 and colder

As it turns out, I really only have free time in the winter, so I usually only use my gear in the cold. I haven't seen much issue in the cold with the PVS's, they work fine aside from frosting up from my breath. I can't say that I expect the FLIR Breach screen to work quite as well in the extreme cold, however.

I have no clue about this stuff. Can a PVS-14 be used on a rifle in conjunction with a aimpoint or something?

Yes, you certainly can. I've got a mount that works quite well for switching between rifle and helmet mounted. Keep in mind Gen 3 PVS-14's are only rated for up to .223. It really isn't recommended to run them on a gun, thought it is certainly possible. Another thing to point out is the Aimpoint reticle can 'burn in' to the image intensifier. Make sure it the sight has a night vision setting, and even then it likely isn't recommended to leave it turned on until it is ready to be used.

Someone once told me to take my budget for NODS and add $1000 to it, and then to spend that much to avoid feeling like I shouldn't have cheaped out. This thread really seems to reinforce that idea; buy once/cry once.

That is 100% correct. Plan on spending a minimum of $2500, I would say.

Awesome review buddy. Definitely been thinking about nightvision more lately.

I think an ActInBlack DTNVG with Photonis 4G tubes would set you up reallly well. Don't worry about the cost

How much was the pvs 14 you used in the review?

My PVS-14 was $3500-4000 on the EE, if I recall correctly. It's been a while now.

 

[ianfroese]

Great Review!

Thought I would share my set-up with the T20 Mini Thermal sight. The T20 automatically switches between landscape and portrait mode. So it can be used in-line with the red-dot or flipped to the side.

New arrival - so no comments yet... but remember it is at the $1,000 price point.

Looks good! How does the Aimpoint behind the T20 seem to work? I haven't ever actually tried that.

 

[CODFan]

How does the Aimpoint behind the T20 seem to work? I haven't ever actually tried that.

The Red Dot Does project onto the screen (a few clicks brighter than normal is required ). Doesn't work so well in colour mode for obvious reasons.

Difficult to take a clear picture to demonstrate. The image itself has an acceptable field of view (given the size of the screen you are getting the full image viewing through the Aimpoint).

Now as to how precise it is .... no idea yet .... but i suspect it is good enough for what it is.

Best fuzzy iPhone pic of my dog ....

 

[Gloszz]

Sorry but what is the point of having these if you cannot legally hunt at night with them? Unless I am missing something, for which I apologize.