Best Night Vision under $500 / £500

Question:

I would really appreciate your help…

My husband would like a pair of night vision binoculars .. largely to use for spotting wildlife as we live in the country … and I would like to get him some for Christmas.

If you had a budget of up to £500 ($500) max … what would you buy …?

I am thinking best quality over best gadgetry if that makes sense … and would you go for binoculars or a monocular? Any suggestions would be gratefully received

Luna Optics 3x50 LN-PB3 Night Vision Binoculars

Built like a tank these Luna Optics night vision binoculars really look and feel the part.

Their full metal body is tough but does mean they weigh quite a bit and so are not the most portable NV instrument that I have used, but they are the toughest!

Main Features

• • 3x magnification
  • 50mm Objective Lenses
  • Weight: 26.8oz (760g)
  • Two high-quality Gen 1 image intensifier tubes amplify the ambient light up to about 900 times
  • Built-in infrared illuminator
  • Water Resistant

Price Range
At the time I wrote my review, these cost about $599 / £650, but I have just checked and you can now get them for approx $560 in the US and just £450 in the UK, which I think makes them incredibly good value for money:

As well as the US and the UK there are links to retailers in Canada & Germany, the rest of Europe, Australia and India if you follow either of the links above.

• About Luna Optics – Also includes all of their devices I have reviewed

Night Owl Optics NOB5X Night Vision Binoculars

With their plastic exterior, these Night Owl Optics binoculars do not feel quite as robust as the Luna Optics one above and surprisingly they are heavier as well, but I thought they produced a very good quality and bright image on even the darkest of nights.

They also come with a higher powered 5x magnification, which is not always good, but may interest some people. Another advantage these have too many other NV bins is the central focusing mechanism, meaning that like binoculars, turning it focuses both lenses at once. With many others like the ones above, you have to focus each lens individually.

Main Features

• • 5x magnification
  • Central Focusing Mechanism
  • 50mm Objective Lenses
  • Weight: 38.8oz (1099g)
  • Two high-quality generation-1 image intensifier tubes
  • Built-in infrared illuminator
  • High-quality all-glass optics

Price Range

You can get this 5x version for about $450 in the US and £520 in the UK, which in the UK is a little over your budget, however, the 3x version is available for much less at £420 which may be ideal for you:

Link above includes retailers in the US, UK, Canada & Germany and more!

• About Night Owl Optics – Also includes all of their devices I have reviewed

Luna Optics LN-NVM5-HR Night Vision Monocular

This monocular improves on the older Luna Optics models that I tested a few years ago, both in the quality of their construction and in the resulting image quality and brightness and the scored an excellent 72% when I tested them.

What you now get is a tough, take anywhere device that with its high power and bright image will not disappoint and is ideal for night time wildlife observation.

Main Features

• • Good Quality Waterproof Body
  • High-Resolution Generation-1+ Intensifier Tube
  • Powerful 5x Magnification
  • 15° Angular Field of View
  • Large 50mm Objective Lens
  • Built-in IR illuminator
  • Max Light gain: Min 500x
  • Max Luminous
  • Sensitivity: 250µA/lm
  • Resolution: 32-34lp/mm

Price Range

These high powered monoculars only cost around $200 in the US and £280 in the UK, which I think makes them stunningly good value:

Link above includes retailers in the US, UK, Canada & Germany

• About Luna Optics – the page also includes all of their devices I have tested

Night Owl Optics iGen 20/20 Night Vision Viewer

Another option is to opt for a digital night vision device. The advantage of this is that like a camera, you can record what you are viewing.

You also get more control in that you can adjust the light amplification and exposure, to get the best possible image in a wide variety of different situations. For example, you can crank it up when it is completely dark, but lower it when there is still plenty of ambient light and so the image you see does not overexpose.

Main Features

• • Magnification: 2.6x
  • Adjustable Light Amplification from 300x to 10000x
  • Control Exposure with adjustable frame rate (2 fps to 30fps)
  • Gain Control to adjust sensitivity to light
  • Built-in Infrared illuminator
  • Image Capture
  • Record Video to an external device
  • Tripod Mountable

Price Range

Under budget in the US at about $450, but somewhat disappointingly over budget in the UK at £600, when I last checked:

CLink above includes retailers in the US, UK, Canada & Germany

• About Night Owl Optics – Further details on the company as well as links to all the other Night Owl devices I have used and reviewed.

Luna Optics LN-DM5 Digital Night Vision Monocular

Currently (at the time of writing) these digital night vision monoculars from Luna Optics cost only $180 / £150 which is quite incredible considering the build quality and performance that I saw when I tested them. They really do compare and even better many Gen1+ and even some Gen2 devices out there.

Whilst you cannot record what you see (which is why the cost is so low), these are a perfect low-cost option for home security or viewing wildlife in the garden or whilst camping or even on safari, where their compact size also makes them no problem to travel with.

Main Highlights

• • Low Cost
  • Powerful 5x Magnification
  • Large 50mm Objective lens
  • Built-in Infrared illuminator
  • Visual Range: 250m (273yds)
  • Effective IR Range: 100m (109yds)
  • Tripod Mountable

Price Range

Way under budget, these really are perfect for those on a tight budget:

Link above includes retailers in the US, UK, Canada & Germany

• About Luna Optics – this section goes over all their devices that I have tested as well as others that I have not.

Want Some Advice?

If you have any questions regarding night vision, binoculars or indeed anything on optics that I have not covered, I would love to see if I can help. Send me your question here.