I know this is old news, but photonis really isn't even gen2 nightvision. It uses some type of tech totally different from both gen2 and gen3, so people lable it as "gen2+," which is really misleading.
Pretty awesome for a gen2+ tube. I’m still trying to figure out how to get my recordings to look this clear through my gen3 elbit tube. Looks great to my eye but camera doesn’t do it justice
hey!, nice review man. I have a question...I am from Spain and getting a NVG is very difficult specially a gen 3 tube. There is a guy that sells new PVS14 Photonis echo one for 4k dollars with arm and mount. Would you buy it as a first nvg device? or Would you try to get a gen 3 one ? It would be my first google. Thanks!
Outside of the USA getting Gen3 tubes is stupidly expensive for the most part as the export out of the US is a complete nightmare. Photonis tubes really make the most sense for anyone not easily able to source tubes from the US.
Get the photonis. Obsessing about the last 10% isn't worth it if you're not a soldier and your life depends on it. Sure, Gen3 might give you a bit more performance in moonless nights away from civilization, but are you sure an IR illuminator can't be used to cover these few cases? Filmless Gen 3 is better than Echo, but you're really paying heftily for a bit more gain.
dude like 10-15k hours tube life depending on the tube you wont burn it out with proper care and if you did you can afford to replace it hahaha my buddy has an old 4d one from like yearsssss ago and uses it alot after at least 6-8 years
I had an XX2540DG, XR5 WG, Gen 2+ tube, was bought for £900, new "old stock" and in dynamic light conditions it was Amazing, super-fast auto-gating and perfect for someone in an Urban environment that doesn't go into many really low light areas, BUT, I do and therefore I wanted Gen 3, but my limited budget would not stretch to a new Gen 3 with AG, so I bought an older Gen 3 from eBay, it was still £1200 and its an ITT F9800P, Omni 5 equivalent, its lowlight performance is about 30--40% better than the XR5 tube, which is what I wanted, but without AG, the recorded camera footage gets washed out when I use any of my IR lasers/Illuminators, which is a disappointment, but something I'm willing to live with. Its certainly better than having digital night vision, and I'm grateful I have night vision at all, as its not a cheap hobby. Here's a quick comparison of my Gen 2+ vs my Gen 3. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s9H5YvxHxW4.htmlsi=vf6rRL17hmYBsWvm
Here’s my beef with photonis, they aren’t cheaper.. you can get RNVgs with Elbit thin filmed tubes for $4500-$5000 GP or $5300-$5800 WP..dual Photonis tubes are running $6000-$9000 and Eotechs new release to the market this year is $13,000 dollars and they are running gen 2 tubes. I understand that with moonlight photonis tubes work but gen 3 thin or unfilmed will work in any outdoor lighting conditions no matter how dark and inside structures (depending on the structure) can still produce an image without IR illumination. If duals could be had for $3000 with photonis then that would be a reason to look into them. But with Elbit gen 3 tubes getting so cheap there is no reason to buy photonis. The only time photonis tubes get cheaper is in pvs14s. But even then they sell for what $2,200 to $2,600 and even $3,000 if they have 1800 fom? Elbit tubes in green are the same price. I like white phous don’t get me wrong I personally run L3 filmless but 10 years ago when I first got into Nightvision if the market was like it is today and I wasn’t invested in NV yet I’d buy gen 3 thin filmed in green phous way before spending the same money on a gen 2 unit just cause it’s white phous. I don’t know call me crazy I guess. I feel like photonis preys on new comers with no experience to be able to compare. Under moon light the naked eye can spot people walking around in open spaces. My house is basically in the middle of a giant field and I’m surrounded by open land with trees edging the boarder about 200 meters in all direction, no ambient light anywhere. On a moon lite night you can see the fields 200 meters away there is no sneaking around, my wife can spot me out in the yard when the moon is out. But when the moon is gone and it’s pitch black my L3 tubes and my buddies thin filmed tubes see everything, my buddies that bought photonis can’t see shit without IR. I 100% get this shit is expensive but photonis isnt selling nods cheap enough to justify buying them over an Elbit gen 3 . I constantly see dual thin filmed in both green and white selling cheaper than dual photonis.
good points. I just learned that photonis is not actually gen 2. It's more of a hybrid between gen 2 and gen 3. I agree with you though. gen 3 gp is preferred over photons in terms of performance to value.
Sadly, not all of us, actually most of us, don't have access to gen 3 night vision, and if you do, it's stupid expensive, like 10000eur for a monocular expensive. The best we can do is photonis, and that only performs well under city light, where you don't really need nvgs anyway. So it kinda sucks, because then you have to resort to facebook groups or unnamed gen 3 tubes, which probably gets you scammed.
@@Patriot2609it's just not true that Echos require city light. Anything except moonless nights under foliage is totally fine! Echo and Gen 3 isn't like night and day, it's a gradual difference!
@@testboga5991 When it really gets dark, aka when you will probably use night vision, gen3 destroys the echo. Sure in overcast full moon you might see something with the echoes, but it's still a fact that gen3 beats echoes.
