Optic Observations (1 - 4X Variable Scopes)

[Molon]

Optic Observations (1 - 4X Variable Scopes)



Bright light! Bright light!

The pic below shows a view looking through an Aimpoint M4S with its illumination at the highest setting. The target in the view has two very bright, white photography lights shining on it from a distance of less than 2 feet; basically the brightest ambient light that I was able to produce indoors.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/7c88uqst45.jpg




Now, here is a pic using the exact same setup of lights and target, except this time the optic used is a Schmidt & Bender Short Dot LE.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/slju53vq6o.jpg




Here are the two views, side by side.



http://www.box.net/shared/static/5mi25hruka.jpg




Horton Sees a Hue

The pic below shows a view looking through a Short Dot LE with the magnification set at 1.1X. The chimney in the middle of the view is approximately 100 yards away. Notice the orange leaves and bricks, the green shingles and the white and yellow aluminum siding. Also notice that the only hue, in the view, that remotely resembles a shade of blue, is the small patch of sky near 3 o’clock.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/y2djx5630q.jpg




http://www.box.net/shared/static/vmnqzqiv98.jpg




Colors

There has been a lot of bandwidth devoted to the color of reticles as of late, particularly the color green. Pictured below is a view through a Trijicon TR24-G, which has the green triangle reticle. The scope is “aimed” at a target that is 25 feet away, in a pitch dark room!




http://www.box.net/shared/static/579h6dl8ar.jpg




Here is the same view, only this time looking through a Trijicon TR24-R, which has the red triangle reticle.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/bcagzqfbtt.jpg




Both views, side by side.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/odk9vj75fa.jpg




Now, here are the same scopes, in the same set-up, with the only thing different being a switched-on SureFire X300 white light attached to the left rail of the handguard.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/hx6a41svsp.jpg




http://www.box.net/shared/static/r1tsrd8ara.jpg




http://www.box.net/shared/static/ituye7mr5i.jpg




http://www.box.net/shared/static/lnzxv1sl3p.jpg




Radioactive.

The major weakness of most optics that utilize tritium and fiber optics to illuminate the reticle has been the “washing out” of the reticle when aiming into a brightly lit area from a dark area. The Trijicon TR24 series of Accupoints has vastly improved this situation, although not completely eliminated it.

The view below is looking through a TR24-G that is in a darkened area of the house, looking into a brightly lit area. As you can see, the fiber optics are not being fed enough light to brightly illuminate the reticle and the tritium is having a hard time overcoming the brightness of the target area. The reticle is certainly still usable, although not ideal.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/tee6552o2y.jpg




This is the type of situation in which scopes with battery powered illuminated reticles really shine (no pun intended.) The next picture shows the same set-up as above, but looking through a NightForce NXS 1-4 x 24 at 1X magnification with the illumination on.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/ldni3n0ehq.jpg




Again the same set-up, this time looking through a Short Dot LE at 1.1X magnification with the illumination on.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/hbpuda4sk1.jpg




continued . . .

[Molon]

The Ruler of Truth

Pictured below is a view of an Aimpoint M4S with a metal ruler running through its field of view and beyond. Notice that the lines formed by the top and bottom edges of the ruler continue uninterrupted when passing through the Aimpoint’s field of view. Notice that the numbers and graduation marks are the exact same size, both inside the Aimpoint’s field of view and out. This is “true” 1X magnification; that is to say, no magnification at all.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/58pd7y9c7g.jpg




The next view has the ruler running through the field of view of an EOTech HoloSight. Again, the lines of the ruler continue uninterrupted and the ruler remains the exact same size inside the EOTech’s fied of view and out.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/vq6utzjd7i.jpg




Now, let’s apply the Ruler of Truth to what many here have called a “true 1X” optic, the Trijicon Accupoint TR24-R. The magnification ring is set to 1X in the view below.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/jh4aayxniz.jpg





As you can clearly see, the lines formed by the edges of the ruler are shifted when running through the field of view of the TR24-R and the ruler is clearly larger inside the field of view of the TR24-R; that is to say, the ruler is MAGNIFIED.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/r8hyxavoyl.jpg




The Ruler of Truth applied to a NightForce 1- 4 x 24 NXS with the magnification ring set to 1X reveals the same findings.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/1377knqo8b.jpg




http://www.box.net/shared/static/cdpf2qdn1k.jpg




The Ruler of Truth applied to a Short Dot LE with the magnification ring set to 1.1X shows little difference from the NightForce NXS on 1X.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/m7ck5sbbz9.jpg




http://www.box.net/shared/static/en9lqsv308.jpg




In truth, since the “true 1X” scopes are not truly without magnification in the truest sense of the word like an Aimpoint or EOTech, the only thing that truly matters is, can these optics be easily used with human binocular vision; that is, both eyes opened and focused on the target at the same time? The answer is a resounding yes, just as it is with the Short Dot LE at 1.1X magnification.




Focus On The Front Sight


Here's a view of the front sight when looking through an Aimpoint M4S.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/2xkb5uv154.jpg




This view is looking through a NightForce NXS 1-4 x 24 at 1X magnification.




http://www.box.net/shared/static/07belpyc4t.jpg




12 O'Clock High



http://www.box.net/shared/static/3fvvvc6ad0.jpg




Weighing In


Trijicon TR24 with LaRue SPR-E mount:

1 pound, 6 ounces



Aimpoint M4S combined with Aimpoint 3X magnifier, both in LaRue mounts:

1 pound 6.8 ounces




NightForce 1- 4 x 24 NXS with LaRue SPR-S mount:

1 pound, 7.5 ounces



Schmidt & Bender Short Dot LE with a LaRue SPR-E mount:

1 pound, 11.1 ounces




…..

[SomeOtherGuy]

In showing the 1x scopes, I would suggest you show images both of near objects and of farther objects. There is an important point, which I expect you know but many don't - a true 1x scope can in fact be truly no magnification, but it forms an image from the location of the objective lens. This is why it seems to magnify objects that are very close. It is not actually magnifying them in the optical sense, it is showing a 1x view from the location of the objective lens. I understand that for practical users this may seem as if it's not a true 1x, but there is an important difference. For those who have/had 35mm film cameras, the 1x scope is much like a 50mm lens - no magnification for practical purposes, but with some caveats. And a quality 50mm lens can be used for "macro" shots that effectively magnify small objects that are very close to the lens.

Viewing an object at merely 10 or 15 yards, most people will not be able to tell the different between the view from their left eye at, say, 30 feet, and from the right eye viewing a 1x image as viewed by the scope at 29 feet. With a photo comparison the difference could be found, but it's not important. At the close distances where it makes the image look strange you are probably in a contact shot situation anyway.

Another person stated, in another recent thread, that an Aimpoint (or other RDS) was more like looking through a window, while a 1x scope was an image-forming lens system without magnification. I think that's both correct and easy to understand.

A side issue, worth knowing about, is that the focusing of the ocular can affect the actual magnification of the scope, at least as seen by a person with good vision. If it's correctly focused you should have no magnification (of distant objects) at 1x, assuming a true 1x, and a reticle in focus. If pushed to either end of its range, such as it might be for someone requiring a major correction, it may cause some actual magnifying or wide-angle (less than 1x) effect. In my experience it's important to check the ocular focus at 1x to ensure you haven't made an adjustment that interferes with the 1x picture.

[acjones20]

very informative, great post