Holosun AEMS vs AEMS Core: Night Vision settings

[Aries144]

The AEMS has 4 NV settings, the AEMS Core has 2 NV settings. Anyone have experience with them under NV? If the lowest setting on both is the same brightness, the Core looks like it will do the job for less money. I'm convinced that the glass/light transmission is good enough on either, I'm mostly concerned that the cheaper AEMS Core's dot may not get dim enough to keep from causing halo.

[mig1nc]

I've been wondering the same.


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[Furbyballer]

Yes. I worked with one at a bill rapier NV class. The glass isn’t great for light transmission for passive aiming. The NV settings are also not dim enough and it blooms a lot. Also, the buttons really suck when wearing gloves and it’s cold out. I still think the comp m4 and exps3 are the best options for passive aiming.

[Aries144]

Yes. I worked with one at a bill rapier NV class. The glass isn’t great for light transmission for passive aiming. The NV settings are also not dim enough and it blooms a lot. Also, the buttons really suck when wearing gloves and it’s cold out. I still think the comp m4 and exps3 are the best options for passive aiming.

Which one, specifically? Was it the one with clear flip down lens covers or the cheaper one lacking the solar panel and flip covers?

I recently rolled the dice on an AEMS (the more expensive one with the solar panel on top and the flip down covers) and it works well. I've found it has much better light transmission than my old Comp M2, which was just okay, and the NV brightness settings are equal to those of the Comp M2.

I hate the buttons. I'd much rather have a T-2 style knob or at least have a night vision button that could remember the last NV setting and the last daylight setting and switch between them. Going from visible light to NV requires 6-7 button presses. The buttons are not easy to find with gloves, you have to locate them by memorizing the feel of the housing and then mash at them and move your finger fore or aft until the brightness is going the direction you want.

Ultimately, the AEMS offers very good light transmission and brightness settings for under $400, at very comparable weight to a T-2, if you can catch a sale.

[mig1nc]

I found this video.

https://youtu.be/AcCF8E_4eQ0

It's interesting how good the PA 30mm red dot looks by comparison.


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[Furbyballer]

It was the more expensive version. It was also a pre-release so maybe some of the feedback we provided was incorporated. Those were our findings in challenging lighting conditions under nods and cold weather. We were shooting in an extremely dark environment with very little illum. At that $400 price level, and you can’t go any higher, I would recommend an Aimpoint pro for passive shooting.

[mig1nc]

It was the more expensive version. It was also a pre-release so maybe some of the feedback we provided was incorporated. Those were our findings in challenging lighting conditions under nods and cold weather. We were shooting in an extremely dark environment with very little illum. At that $400 price level, and you can’t go any higher, I would recommend an Aimpoint pro for passive shooting.

For $100 more the Aimpoint Duty RDS supposedly has the same glass and lens coating as the more expensive variety. At least that's what Brownells said. I assume it's true.


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[Aries144]

For $100 more the Aimpoint Duty RDS supposedly has the same glass and lens coating as the more expensive variety. At least that's what Brownells said. I assume it's true.
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The video I've seen suggests the Duty has inferior light transmission to a T-2, roughly comparable to a Pro.

It was the more expensive version. It was also a pre-release so maybe some of the feedback we provided was incorporated.

Thank you very much for your input.

I'm using a house at night for testing with all exterior lighting extinguished. The ground level has two rooms lit by small LED lights, the upstairs only what light filters through blackout curtains (nearly zero) and the basement, which has zero light unless the basement door is left open. I also experimented with aiming from darkness into lit exterior areas as well as having illumination behind me. I did find that having illumination from behind resulted in enough reflection from the back of the AEMS housing to inhibit seeing through the sight effectively. In all other conditions, the view I get through my AEMS, with my filmless tube, is definitely brighter/clearer than with my Aimpoint Comp M2 and dot brightness settings were essentially the same. I used the dot reticle option only, not the Eotech style circle dot.

Either something was improved since your test, my Comp M2 wasn't as transmissive as your PRO, or something else is going on, maybe with differences between NV tubes or QC with the AEMS lens coatings from unit to unit.

I don't like giving money to the CCP, but the AEMS, at comparable weight to a T-2, light transmission between a T-2 and a Comp M2, and cheaper than both makes for an attractive option. I got the AEMS for $360 shipped. If the CORE model works as well in low light, those can be had for around $280 shipped.

I'd love to see Trijicon get their act together and make something that doesn't suck. It'd be nice to buy something American made for a change.

[Furbyballer]

Yea man. Why someone hasn’t been able to make a better Eotech yet I can’t understand. They are still the passive aiming champ followed imo with the comp m4 series. After those two choices it’s all personal preference and size and weight considerations.

[Aries144]

Yea man. Why someone hasn’t been able to make a better Eotech yet I can’t understand. They are still the passive aiming champ followed imo with the comp m4 series. After those two choices it’s all personal preference and size and weight considerations.

You can have all the big Aimpoints. They're iconic and rugged, but there's stuff on the market now that weighs less than half as much. As for Eotechs, you can keep those too, lol. I've seen more Eotechs fail just in a competition/monthly training environment than any other optic and their battery life and weight are turn offs.

For me, everything used to be about weight. Now, it's about weight and compatibility with night vision. That's why I like the micro Aimpoints the best and have been looking for a more affordable alternative so I could avoid swapping one or two optics around on everything. Holosun is the best of the Chinese stuff. Their optics always seem to have better clarity, less parallax, and their new products feature more useful innovation, other than the stupid unusable solar panel stuff.

Now that I've got an AEMS in hand, I'm going to check out an AEMS Core as funds allow. If it works as well, I'll sell my other Chinesey red dots and replace them with AEMS Cores, since none of the other small footprint Chinesey optics work for passive aiming.