The future of optics

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Salvelinus

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When does everyone think, if ever, we will see fully digital rifle scopes become mass produced. I am talking about a lightweight scope that looks conventional, has video and camera capabilities, takes common compact memory cards (SD), has fully downloadable and customizable reticles to account for the trajectory of a specific load, has a digital/electronically controlled optical zoom and possibly even has rangefinding capabilities.... and all at a price that won't be out of reach to the average shooter/hunter.

There is a scope out now that has many of these features, the Elcan Digital Hunter (most recent topic here: http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77683&highlight=elcan ) but it is obviously a little too large and ungainly and costly for most of us to want to put on our rifles. But do you think that we will eventually see such features working thier way into common optics? One could make the argument that it takes too much out of the sport of shooting and hunting and cuts out the shooter's need to develop skill, or gives the shooter a false sense of security and an excuse not to practice. But then again one could make the argument that it would result in cleaner kills overall if the shooter has error failsafes in his equipment, and even that such features could ease the learning curve for proper shooting. I for one would welcome video playback of my shots to improve my shooting (I think digital cameras now have the technology for 30 frame per second video capture).

Thoughts?
 
Hope it never happens. Be nice for one aspect of our life to stay traditional and ignore high-tech.

Of course, I'm old and cranky.
 
I would hope most shooters would want and stay with a traditional type firearms. Who was it...Remington? who came out with an electically fired cartridge (primer) didn't stay in production very long. I think the average person would trust an "old school" firearm when they are sighted at their trophy buck of a lifetime over something whose battery or electronics may have just failed because it's -30c or because the firearm was dropped or bumped while bush bashing.
 
My philosophy is that if it doesn't interfere or distract from placing the shot, then it's worth trying. What I'm getting at is that if it does break down or if I simply switch it off, I'd like for it to behave as a regular riflescope.

That being said (and being an engineer myself), there's always the classic problem: the more features you add, the more things there are that can go wrong.
 
It will of course come equipped with a radio controlled shut off, for any time in which gov't controllers have decided the civillian use of firearms is to be prohibitted. Think I'll stick with glass, thanks though.
 
I think its going to be cheaper to make a superior electronic version than one based entirely on optics. Look at the light sensitivity of a digital camera compared to the human eye, ability to enhance colors, reliability owing to lack of moving parts, etc. Many advantages. Heck, it might even sight itself at an unknown distance, wind and motion in by watching the first bullet impact then correct for the second shot.
 
Here's what I would want. An electronic scope of similar size and weight as a traditional scope. Include 1-30X zoom capability, laser ranging and automatic bullet drop compensation coupled with the auto-range feature. No loss of sight picture of course, even in bright sun light conditions. Night vision as an option would be nice though. Well, I can dream can't I?
 
Grizzlypeg said:
I think its going to be cheaper to make a superior electronic version than one based entirely on optics. Look at the light sensitivity of a digital camera compared to the human eye, ability to enhance colors, reliability owing to lack of moving parts, etc. Many advantages. Heck, it might even sight itself at an unknown distance, wind and motion in by watching the first bullet impact then correct for the second shot.
Click to expand...
you've neglected sensitivity to shock, humidity, temperature extremes, the need for batteries which always fail at the worst moment, multiple components to fail and way too many knobs to twiddle. I'll stick to ground glass, thanks.
 
it'll happen, look at the BORS solution from Barrett. Eventually that'll be built in, with a laser range finder.
I just wish they'd make one for my S&B!
 
i think it will happen, but perhaps not to that extreme. built in range finders and video-out i can see, but not going fully digital as in looking at an lcd screen instead of glass. on shooting usa, at the end of shows they have pro tips, and one of the protip guys does rifle and scope tips. anyone know what kind of camera attachment he has on his scope? they show pictures of his setup but i can't see any camera on it unless they only put it on when he takes the shot. if its built into the scope, then its only time before that technology gets good/cheap enough for mass production. also, theres alot of those bird hunting shows that have barrel cams. if they can take multiple shots in succession then i dont think electronics really have as far to go as people think they do.
 
An SLR design would probably be the most likely for 'high end' digital scopes. There's more complexity, so more cost, though it would allow for purely mechanical operation (if the battery or electronics fail), with a laser range finder, camera, and all the rest of the bells and whistles.
 
There was that guy on the Dragon's Den that was trying to find investors for his "noise removal" system that would be a natural fit for scopes of the future. By digitally comparing what changed to what didn't from previous multiple frames, his software could (in real time) remove fog, sand storm, blowing snow, mirage, etc. from a digital scopes image.
 
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