Quick Tip: Red Dot vs Holographic Sight - What's the Difference? 

Pin this to the top channel moderator. Thanks, Godspeed.

well you dont look at the dot you look at the target, so it should be out of focus.

@@Backonos If you don't have astigmatism in your eyes it makes sense that you don't understand. Let's put it like this: when you have astigmatism in your eyes it can make a 2 moa dot look like a 10 moa starburst with jagged edges. So regardless to the fact that you're shooting with both eyes open and focusing on the target, with a red dot you're still superimposing the image of the dot over the target. If the image of the dot is all out if whack, it's not going to work for you.

This is an oversimplification. Collimating, reflector type (like Aimpoint) red dots are the worst, Holographic sights lack the collimating reflector but have mirrors so are less likely to create astigmatic aberrations but are not perfect. People with astigmatism report the least aberrations with prism optics. Best to worst: Prism HWS RDS

I have astigmatism & I just leave the smallest diopter flipped up on my rear iron sight. This keeps the dot crisp for me with my MRO on an absolute cowitness mount. Even with both eyes open the rear diopter ghost out, and all I get is a crisp dot superimposed over the target.

Agree. Prism should've been included.

Yeah A magnifier doesnt change proportions. Still good vid

He really tried to say it right. I think he understands it and it’s just semantics. I didn’t even know it was a thing but now it totally makes sense because nothing is reflected.

Magnifiers on red dots magnify the dot too: With holographic (EoTech) the dot doesn't magnify (it stays the same). And to be fair, one reason the EoTech is so big is the complete second protective shroud the dots don't have. Also, even if part or most of the optic glass is broken or covered in mud, Any part you san still see through will place the dot on the target, even it it's out in a corner of the glass. The EoTech is like the Hummer of dot sights.

@@DK-vx5co dots are always magnified with the objective, reguardless of type. Holos tech allows for a smaller dot. Proportions dont change. Always look for smallest moa dot if you are going to magnify.

He said that when you magnify with red dot, it is the same accuracy, when with hologram, you get double accuracy, because dot atays the same. (let us presume accuracy = dot size)

Same thing for me this is the second time this has happened im starting to think im being watched.

@@goldenblacklee you are.... Me too.... 😂😂😂😂😂

Oh that's just Google listening to your private conversations. Without you knowing. Happens to me alot.🤫🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Holosun optics fixed that problem they are solar powered and even can run without battery in sunlight. Eotech for me looses in a shtf situation because of batteries. I would also partner it up with a sure fire weapon ligh might be expensive but unlike other brands olight even stream light they are the only ones that can take rechargeable batteries from other manufacturers. Olight has a a specific battery & stream light doesn’t recommend rechargeable

I had to look in the comments to see if anyone saw that

Durability

If it’s for pistols you don’t really have much of an option other than to wear your damn glasses/contacts

That's actually what I was looking for when I decided to watch this video.

Why are you swearing at us in a foreign language?? I did you no harm!!!

You saying your students are getting shot? Please tell us where you teach so we can avoid attending that class.

@@tubeonline629 I taught for 45 yrs sir. The war I fought in we had no red dot or holographic sights. So I depended on the experience told to me by my younger students. Being Military I believe them. Were you Military sir or ever in combat? If you were thank you for your service.

Need to fix your "Armalight Rifle-15" video too, btw. AR = Armalite, not Armalite Rifle See: AR-17 shotgun, AR-24 pistol BRN-180, Brownells Rifle Nsomething-180?

Yeah ... I have to think about that as well. His statement was confusing to me.

It does become 3x as large, but so does your target. An etched lit reticle like on an lpvo does not.

@@randymagnum143 Depending on the reticle's focal plane.

@@GNpatent I think BRN is an abbreviation of Brownells... unless that was your point

Me too. This is gonna sound weird but I try a lot of glasses vs no glasses shooting. With holos i can actually still shoot accurately no glasses with the dot they bloom to much for me, to be useful as distance

Nice explanation

Have you though about getting a different color dot? Long read warning. Yes brightest is better most times, but contrast is a way to get more from brightness, If you live in the desert where most of your shooting is in orange, tan, or brown backgrounds, you can get a green dot. If your live in the forest or mountains where your shooting is on green or snowy background use red. I've been using the circle dot sight from Holosun, I know it's Chinese but the quality is very decent. The HE507C-GR V2 is what I have on my pistol (S&W M&P 1.0 357SIG) it's my daily carry for almost 2 years now and haven't had anything brake yet, it also has 2 or 3 night vision settings. I work at a farm so everything gets banged up here, including and specially anything protruding attached to my body.

@@linkbond08 I do believe holosun just moved their manufacturing to the US

@@steakwilliams4448 I didn't know that thank you, I guess I don't have to feel bad for buying Chinese holosun optics anymore LOL.

Great post. Oh, and green dots are fine as long as you're not hunting leprechauns.

Sounds like YOU don’t need to hear about it. It’s those that don’t know what the difference is that do…

@@AutopilotAndChill Brownells is a reputable source. That is why I would like to hear it straight from them instead of the rumor and conjecture of the Internet. But thank you for your snarky comment just the same!

I agree, also a holographic sight will not expose your position, or so I have read. I would like this idea Smithbusted!

From Brownells' presentation, I cannot figure out why holographic sights are still being made. Who wants something bigger, heavier, costlier, and has less battery life.

I don't think there that many differences, other than reticle size.

Does the fuzziness increase with the brightness? If so, it's more likely you have an astigmatism than anything happening with the sight.

Yup sounds like astigmatism. Get a prism sight

@@jarink1 anything to fix it? Thanks

Try a Holosun 510C. I can't use an Eotech because the center dot is 3 dots to my eye and the circle is about 200 dots. The Holosun is sharp as a tack for me.

@@CM-ve1bz thanks! My vortex and sig sauer are way to fuzzy and only get worse with brightness turned up.

Most red dots are parallax corrected for 50 or 100 yards, so they will hit where the dot is regardless of being centered at that range. Refer to the specs of the specific optic. The parallax will be set based on intended use, so a pistol red dot, 50 and a rifle 100. Closer or further from the range they correct for, the bullet will not hit where the dot is if it’s not centered.

I have an astigmatism too, my Eotech EXPS2-0 works great for me. If you're not willing to drop $600 on a chance, I'd recommend a prism or an lpvo.

This. Having used all manner of red dots, holographic sights, both with and without magnifier, I have come to the conclusion that a QD 1-4 with an Illuminatable etched center dot and good eye relief IS the way to go. You have the faux red dot for quick acquisition and you have the zoom to more easily descern and reach out and touch somebody.

Parallax and eye relief kinda sucks for close quarters unconventional stance shooting

My holo+3x magnifier doesn't cover a ton of the target, but I still prefer more magnification if I'm doing 100+ yards

It is behind the red dot... And I am very aware of what I am seeing. It is not a terribly high end optic by any means. I tried changing the spacing between the two, see if that made a difference. Not really.

Yes I believe even EOTech describes their dot as 1MOA but in reality it only appears that large with the naked eye.

@@GNpatent Honestly I don't know why they do that, just give an actual number and then say that it is resolved to 1 MOA by your eye without magnification. As far as I've heard, it is still the same perceived size at 6x magnification so at the very least we know it's a 1/6 MOA dot.

Na, it has iron sights anyways lol

Pretty much depends on what you are using it for. A red dot style optic might be best or a bead sight depending on what you are using this shotgun for. Your best bet for a general purpose type sight is probably your basic red dot. And at the BAREST MINIMUM spend $100 do not buy no name knock off stuff from amazon. Bushnell makes decent sights with a good warranty for pretty cheap. Id step it up to at least the $200 mark and go from there. By once cry once The see all sight is also a great option for a shotgun if you want something something in the middle of an iron/bead sight that doesn’t require batteries. Ive always wanted to try a primary arms cyclops on a shotgun too.

@@chazdoomy1512 thanks for letting me know

I'm not a shotgun owner, but I'd say an optic of any kind is overkill for most shotgun uses. Maybe a low profile red dot if you really want one, but I would think ghost rings would be ideal unless you need the most accuracy possible.

Sure, the 1MOA in the holo is actually smaller than 1 MOA but our eye perceives it as 1 MOA. So as we magnify that >1 MOA, we still only see it as 1 MOA.

If the sight is damaged/lenses break an eotech will still work. And the sight itself appears better under magnification based on the sources I read. A 2moa dot even magnified is pretty danm small just not as “fine” an aiming point as a lpvo or traditional scope is.

@@chazdoomy1512 I just think if I'm gonna use a magnifier a lot, at that point a illuminated LPVO would be a better choice altogether.

@@linkbond08 its a personal choice. There are negatives and positives to both. Just buy quality.

From what I've read, the reticle on the EOTech appears to float at the same distance as your target, whereas a red dot will appear up-front in your vision. This makes both-eyes-open shooting really easy (that and the huge viewport). I own an EOTech, so I can tell you this is true, but my experience with red dots is limited, so I don't know if makes a huge difference over the dots. I think you can't go wrong with either a good red dot or an EOTech.

@@HelloWorld-nk9ph reticle appearance might make a difference for some people, I have been shooting just fine with just a circle and dot. And I am not by any means down playing the eoTech, it's a proven sight, but it's an older design, and LED technology has come a long way. I'm more worried about size, weight, battery life, first. hardness, and price, second. I'm not trying to overthrow a government with it, I'm trying to have fun and make some hits at 200 max

Well said. Especially if budget matters on the selection of an optic...not everyone has $600 for an Eotech, but $60 for a Bushnell red dot will do the job just fine.

It’s a faster optic

Thousands of Army Rangers and Green Berets (and Delta) love and prefer Eotechs. The “donut of death”.

@@YT_handles_r_stupid which are?

The Eotech is well-proven to be resistant to shock, vibration and general environmental degradation. On a hard recoiling weapon a cheap electronic sight of any type may have a lifespan measured in a few rounds. Most any semi-auto shocks the sights pretty hard when the bolt slams home, too. Add that to environmental effects and it adds up. Oh yeah, one more thing. I had trouble with my Eotech when a few years out of warranty and they fixed it for me ABSOLUTELY FREE.

Depends, is it an Abrams or a Garand? ;)

If its a Garand then dont do it, the entire universe will come to an end if you do !

Not much reason to get a holo sight unless you're using nightvision or have really bad astigmatisms. Check them out in person at a store and see if you like a red dot before jumping to a holo

@@nk-dw2hm Thanks!

@@benkanobe7500 literally thousands of Army Rangers, Green Berets, and Delta prefer Eotech - so use what you like. Don’t skimp on optics

@@petersouthernboy6327 Thanks! I appreciate it. Back in '73 my Marine issue M16A1 only had iron sights.

Yup

Yes, learn the basics first. When technology lets you down, it is easy to employ "old school".

@@Leveraction-xr4uz well then it's time to change your name. We'll call you "Peeping Tom"

Have a BUIS. The dot on my Eotech sits perfectly on the sight post when I flip up the BUIS. I think that's pretty cool.

Learning to use them is great, using an outdated technology that isn't nearly are good because of nostalgia isn't worth my life.

First you're right, magnification doesn't change the MOA. Secondly, the example that you used is not good. A red dot is a physical thing, so if Kaleb's statement was true (which IMO isn't) a 1 MOA would become 2 MOA, since we aren't talking about abstract numbers like in arithmetics.

@@zz3690 Actually no, first off its *Caleb. Secondly (thanks to lawless911sc) The human eye can only discern a single point of light no greater than ~1 arcminute or 0.017 degrees (roughly 1 MOA) in the visual spectrum. An Eotech's center dot is ~.33 (.28 I think??) MOA so our eyes just round it up (more like bloom it out) to precisely .94 arcminutes/ 0.0003 radians, or about 1 MOA. There's no black magic there - if you magnify that X3 you still get

If you think it was false, please explain your reason.

@@CalebSavant Was that not the Holosun 503g with ACSS reticle and a chevron not a dot? The tip of that chevron is not 2 moa, it's infinity moa. As far as the 2moa vs 4, it's my understanding that the if the image is magnified along with the dot, moa hasn't changed as the 2 are still the same size in relation to one another. Am I missing something?

I believe you misunderstood, I never said that a 1moa dot will grow.

@@CalebSavant thanks for replying 😀 Regardless if its an 1moa dot or 2moa. The proportions dont change was what i was trying to say. A 2moa and 4x magnifier isnt going to make an 8moa dot. Im not a scientist but this is something i remember from school and focusing light. Optical aberration: Some people are commenting that the actual holos have sub moa dots. You can see this under magnification as you would look at any other focused laser/light source. The dot is sub moa under magnification as well as under the naked eye. But A phenomenon occurs where we cant get a true definite line where the light/laser starts and stops. Its very close though. So the brightest part of the light is the center and the darkest the edges where it blurs slightly then stops. This blurring is called the optical/chromatic aberration. Our eye is a lens as well as the optic with multiple. This allows for the “tolerances” to not be perfect and the distortion to happen. The end result is the dot under the naked eye looks like an 1moa dot because our eyes arent magnifiers and cant see the fine blurring of such a tiny dot. Well unless yoi usve eagle eyes and get really close to your optic. Suns get halos too dont know if this is the same. Heck i could be wrong too If you could please maybe explain in a video a little deeper it would help a lot of us. And maybe throw in some jokes in the future about the hair. Thanks for all the great videos *coffee cheers* ☕️ 🍻

Take a look at prismatic sights, they don't have any issues. I have a slight starburst in my right eye when using red dots but nothing with prismatic sights. Primary arms has a lineup built like tanks.

@@terrybailey9621 I will thanks

Holosun 510C fixed that problem for me. Eotech was a no go for my eyes but the Holosun is very crisp.

Glasses changed my life for red dots. Look into getting a good prescription.

You have astigmatism. Get prescription glasses or contact lenses to correct for it.

Yeah, but does that really affect your aim though?

@@jeffreystayman375 yeah the dots are huge blobs I guess at close range it doesn't matter

Good thing you got 3, so you can replace one after it falls apart. I buy what survives the testing by sage dynamics. You pay for the glass, housing material, small amount of parallax, battery life, break resistance, anti fog/scratch coatings and reduced glare against sunlight . Think where this low price comes from...low quality, no QC, inhumane working conditions.

@@onpsxmember Yeah. Right. Just because you say it's so, doesn't mean it is. (as a matter of fact, it probably means it isn't!)

Which ones take AA batteries? For red dots, coin cells are common.

@@harrkev I have a aimpoint comp M 4 takes 1 AA and has a 8 year battery life . EO Tech 512 is also highley rated and takes 2 AA batteries . Enjoy

Literally thousands of Green Berets, Army Rangers, and Delta prefer Eotech. Use what you like and don’t skimp on optics.

A CR123 is not expensive, and if you buy rechargables, you only pay once. Don't be a cheapskate.

@@Orcinus24x5 plus CR123’s are powerful, long lasting, you only need one, they’re small and compact, and as a spare they fit quite nicely inside a pistol grip. Most rail lights use a CR123 also.

We are addressing the physical dot here, go check out some of the previous comments for a better explanation. Hopefully that will give you a better understanding.

We have done those in the past, that's not what this video is. Before thumbs downing this video, check out the video you were actually looking for then come back to this one for a better understanding.

@@CalebSavant Fair enough I guess, and I understand these tend to be short hits rather than comprehensive, but you could include links to that content in the video I would think?

@@arsbadmojo We didn't because we have done WAY too many on the topic! But here's this- ru-vid.comsearch?query=red%20dot

He's a Dapper Dan man, and doesn't waste his money on Fop! (The pleasing odor is half the point)

@@warped2875 Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?....well done.

@@warped2875 Please... I have my custom line... loxandcompany.com/custom-line/baron-balm/