Digital/nv scopes on a range

[Teddyj]

Has anyone used their night vision/digital scope on a range? ( 200m plus) I’m wanting to do a bit of target shooting (just for fun, nothing serious) but atm only have the Alpex 4K. Am
I going to limited myself (not enjoy it as much?) if I decided to use it on a range? My worry would be the pixilation at the longer ranges.

 

[mealiejimmy]

No, target shooting at longer ranges is the one thing that digital scopes are crap at
They simply don't have the resolution to produce a clear image of typical targets
Your Alpex 4k has a sensor with 2 micron pixels and a 50mm lens.
That means the smallest thing a single sensor pixel can see at 100m is a box with sides that are 4mm long
However, it gets worse, because the display on the Alpex cannot display all of the individual pixels
The best it can do is for a single display pixel to show the signal from 4 adjacent sensor pixels
So, at 100mm the smallest thing the scope can see is a box with sides that are 8mm long
At 200m the box would have sides 16mm long and at 300m the box would have sides 24mm long
Most decent glass scopes that would be used for 300m targets can far smaller objects than one ich square boxes

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Teddyj]

Thanks for the detailed reply! That’s along the lines of what I was thinking! Best bet is for me to get a glass scope for the targets!

No, target shooting at longer ranges is the one thing that digital scopes are crap at
They simply don't have the resolution to produce a clear image of typical targets
Your Alpex 4k has a sensor with 2 micron pixels and a 50mm lens.
That means the smallest thing a single sensor pixel can see at 100m is a box with sides that are 4mm long
However, it gets worse, because the display on the Alpex cannot display all of the individual pixels
The best it can do is for a single display pixel to show the signal from 4 adjacent sensor pixels
So, at 100mm the smallest thing the scope can see is a box with sides that are 8mm long
At 200m the box would have sides 16mm long and at 300m the box would have sides 24mm long
Most decent glass scopes that would be used for 300m targets can far smaller objects than one ich square boxes

Cheers

Bruce

 

[jb1]

300mm steel gongs would be feasible. As you say just nothing serious. It will give you trigger time.

edited not 30mm lol

 

[mealiejimmy]

Lots of people shooting gongs with digital scopes - and you can see them well enough to hit - as long as the gong is big enough

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Jelen]

I don't have an Alex, but my DTN Zulus 5-20 is perfectly good enough to shoot at 6" gongs up to 300yds. I use it on my .243 and maintain a sub 1 MoA group in daylight.
That was on a sunny day. Not tried it on a dull damp day.

 

[Gadger]

I have shot with a DTN Zulus 5-20 on a .243 out to 650yds on a 5" target, no problem, sub MOA and no pixalation.

 

[Teddyj]

Good to hear some hve used the digital
Scopes on the range! Makes sense for me to go try it and see, befor a splash out in a new scope

 

[Len the dog]

However, it gets worse, because the display on the Alpex cannot display all of the individual pixels
The best it can do is for a single display pixel to show the signal from 4 adjacent sensor pixels

Why do they produce units where the display is not up to the job of displaying what the sensor is capable of seeing? Is it just a case of flim-flammery where they quote a spec’ for the sensor so that it looks good on paper, whilst being aware that you can’t actually see that level of detail?
Serious question as it is out of my field of expertise.

 

[mealiejimmy]

The only digital day/night scope that has the resolution of the sensor, the display and the recorded video all the same is the DNT Zulus (1920x1080)
The ATN X Sight 5 has a sensor with 4056x3040 pixels, but the display only has 1280x960 pixels
Do the maths and it means that the scope has to be at almost x16 total magnification before the number of sensor pixels being used to create the image matches the number of pixels in the display
To be fair the, ATN can record video using all the sensor pixels, but that does nothing for the image quality seen by the user when taking a shot
The opposite is true for thermal scopes where the sensor almost always has fewer pixels than the display, so the same problem of loss of detail just doesn't happen

Cheers

Bruce

 

[precision_stalker]

You would be ok on steels depending on there sizes. However, I would say the weather would be a big factor. Would it be as easy as using a decent glasses scope, no, but it can be done.

 

[JH83]

Agree with what has been said (hard to argue really).

They are NOT a target scope. I hit gongs well enough to 300 yards, and zeroing at 150 is easy enough to spot shots but much past this it’s a struggle.

There was a lot of hyperbole about the alpex, I’ve heard folks saying they’re hitting gongs at 1000yds. They would have to be pretty big….

They are an excellent culling tool for the right application. No more, no less. For my purposes mine has proved invaluable. In any event I suspect in the next few years the tech released will put digital closer to glass.

 

[mealiejimmy]

Without making then big, heavy and very expensive, digital scopes simply cannot get close to the optical performance of even a mediocre glass scope
Tools are designed for a specific purpose and sometimes they can also do other jobs reasonably well
The primary purpose of digital scopes is night vision and in they have reached a point where they can also do daylight vision reasonably well - but not well enough for serious target work

Cheers

Bruce