I just read an article in the November issue of "Police" magazine about "night vision". Night vision is on the cover. This is exactly how misinformation gets propagated through the industry. When someone does not do their due diligence about night vision and goes ahead and writes an article on it anyways and secondly includes a product, i.e. Supervision, which is technically not night vision at all. First, it is worth mentioning that many of the real players in the industry and market are not mentioned in this article because they didn't pay for an ad in that issue. Second, the Xenonics Supervision does not compare to Generation 3 night vision devices. It just doesn't. It is amazing that they continue with their advertising comparision campaign against Generation 3 tube based devices. It doesn't compare at all. Third, N-Vision Optics is not a "distributor" for ITT. "Dealer" would be the more appropriate word. I tell ya, the night vision industry is truly a "Buyer Beware" market. Without a doubt. If you're looking to purchase night vision, do your homework. You'll figure it out.

There is a new handheld thermal camera made by Thermal-Eye that costs less than $5,000.00. I personally have not had a chance to use it yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing it work and comparing it with the X200xp, it's more expense cousin. It uses the same housing as the X200xp, but the main difference is a lower resolution on the image. As soon as I get to check one out, I will write some more info on my blog here and give a full review.

Recently had the opportunity to check out a "SuperVision" night vision monocular. It operates on a lowlight high resolution CCD image sensor with variable gain control and frame integration to achieve low light viewing performance. It did not match up to a PVS-14 Generation 3 night vision device, contrary to advertisements I've seen. It was unable to view detail from far away. What I personally thought it did extremely well, was display what I call "Night Shadows". If you were to view a dark area with a fair amount of ambient light, but could not see under trees and bushes, because those areas were darker or darker ( what I call night shadows ), the SuperVision enables you to see into those areas from a about 50-75 yards away. It is perfect for that. Would you see more with a Gen 3 PVS-14? Yes. But it will cost you more to see the same thing. Overall, if you're on a lower budget, a SuperVision monocular could make sense for your application, it just depends on exactly what your application is and how serious. If lives are on line, I probably wouldn't recommend it. If keeping on eye on your property or backyard at night, I would very much consider it.

Not really being a weapons expert, I can only give my opinion from a conceptual point of view on the AN/PVS-22 Universal Night Sight. This is the first of it's kind of sighting system that actually allows the use of the magnification abilites of the day scope sitting directly behind the system, rather than infront of it, like most other existing systems. The PVS-22 enables the user to not have to adjust the day scope to the night vision, but rather adjust the night vision to the day scope. At higher magnifications, one wonders how well it can perform, at say 10x or above. The trick is the night vision needs ambient light. Having the night vision sit infront of the day scope allows the objective lens of the PVS-22 to absorb more ambient light and provide better image quality at high magnifications. This is certainly an advantage over having the night vision behind the day scope and snug up to the eye lens where it can't really absorb much stray light.

Conceptually, the PVS-22 makes a lot of sense, but without having tried it out, I can't be certain.

For more information try googling "PVS-22". There's a few sites that carry them, or just click the link here: Google: PVS-22

There are several Night Vision compatible weapons sights to choose from. The choice really comes down to personal preference. One of the newer choices is the Aimpoint M3. Like the M2, the M3 is compatible with every generation of NVD. However, it features a new technology called ACET which allows 50,000 hours of operation on one single battery (on setting 7 out of 10) 500,000 hours of use on NVD setting. Additionally, it's available with 2 dot sizes (2 and 4 MOA). Like the M2, it is submersible to 45 meters (135 feet), not that you'd need to go down that deep anyways. And, it comes comes with replaceable outer black rubber cover or a dark earth brown cover. The NVD (typically a PVS-14 monocular), mounts directly behind the sight, as most do. Expect to pay around $500.00 (U.S) for it.

There are some pretty good images of the AN/PVS-15 Night Vision Binocular at Morovision Night Vision. Seems like there aren't many images of this night vision system out there on the web. It's a very good piece of equipment, if you can afford it, particularly if depth perception is of importance to your objective.

There are some pretty good night vision photos demonstrating the use of a 10x lens with a PVS-14 monocular at: Morovision Night Vision The photos show the differences of using no night vision vs. a 1x lens (typically comes standard with an NVD), vs. 3x Military Magnifier Lens vs. a 1ox Magnifier Lens. The magnification is for real. It looks like it would be a decent piece of equipment to have in your bag, especially if you were doing surveillance.

Here are some great links to learn about night vision technology:

1. How Night Vision Works by Electrophysics This is a great place to begin learning about light amplification and infrared technologies, the differences, etc.. A very well written and easy to read explanation.
   
2. Principles of Night Vision Technology and Devices - Nivitech This is a much more indepth explanation of the different generations and is almost something of a research paper. It is very thorough and provides excellent night vision information.

Good Learning!

PVS-14 COMBAT CARRYING CASE WITH MOLLE-LOK
The PVS-14 Combat Carrying Case features a new and innovative Molle-Lok attaching system designed for Military and Law enforcement applications. The Molle-Lok attaches the Combat Carrying Case to Pals/Molle body armor, load bearing equipment, vests, belts, tactical bags, pouches, etc., etc.. It is constructed of a hard polymer plastic for strength and durability and is large enough to accommodate an ITT PVS-14, 6015, or an MV-14 Ultra Generation 3 monocular. Storage nooks molded into the body allow for spare AA battery storage. This new time saving system lock allows the operator to easily set up gear before each mission and is especially beneficial during low light conditions and maneuvers when taking the night vision monocular off of the weapon or detaching it from a helmet may be necessary. The Combat Carrying Case’s Molle-Lok has been designed with press locking tabs. Once in place it can be permanent. No special tools are required to separate the locking mechanism and remove the case. A must have for any night vision user in a tactical environment or situation. You can find them online at: www.morovision.com