Yukon photon 5x42

[some bloke]

Been thinking about one myself. But after reading all these comments I may reconsider ?. So they aren't for airguns ?. May just stick with the old Yukon add on ?. It's worked o for me so far.

Pm-ing you with a couple of vids that might cause you to reconsider.

[salmo]

Dont give up on the Photon's, they need good IR and an iris, some will also prefer them with a doubler depending on range or how close you like to see your target.

Once you get them sorted they are a seriously good bit of kit for around £600 all in with the doubler. If you use it as standard with the on board IR and no iris it will be poor and you will want to sell it. First step is to get some decent IR, a T20 for example, second step is to create and iris which is a blanking cover for your lens with a 23mm hole in it. Third step, get a doubler if you feel the need.

[MrGreengrass]

I would have thought that the bog standard photon ( no doubler) would be pretty darn good on an air rifle?..They are....I do ..and even shoot rabbits in the day and use the onboard Ir at night when i feel like it.

I have no intention at all of buying a doubler and don't use a drilled cap either..just have plenty of rabbits to shoot at..and the Photon helps me to cull them better with less fuss and fiddling than with any other units i have used. ....
....in and out the motor....and especially over drystone walls ...where the Photons normal head position is real important...maybe not to most... but for us is essential.

Ps Culling rabbits on large estates is not like popping one or two off here and there.... like a few "experts" seem to do...if there was anything vastly better in all respects i would buy one to do the job...but there isn't.

If there was a different story to tell i would......some folk have an airgun and hunt..we cull rabbits and use airguns....hunting has very little to with it for most of the year........ as there are so many of them.

Works very well ..and for us is the ...only ..option....i know what you need for the job up there and the Photon is one of them..and a T20...been waiting a long time to something like it to come on the market.

Mine will pay for itself very quickly indeed..

[salmo]

Nobody said you had to buy the doubler MrGG, its just an option if you want it.

However, a 23mm iris makes about as big a difference to the performance as you see when switching from the onboard IR to a T20, probably more in fact, its well worth it. Without an iris the focus is fussy, get it sharp on a 25yd rabbit and its not sharp on a 50yd one. Nobody can dispute that, there are forums littered with complaints about the fussy focus issue and many a Photon was sold as a result, the cant be and are not, all wrong. With an iris you can set focus at a mid point of your shooting ranges and it will maintain a really sharp image to your near and far ranges really well. Don't knock the iris option until you have tried it, its easy enough to do with a 23mm hole centered in a bit of card which you tape over the lens in a central position. If you like it you can buy one or make a more permanent one. It can be as simple as a hole in the end of an aerosol cap.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...cs/photo-4.jpg

I dont think anyone who did this would not honestly say they saw a very distinct improvement in what is called the depth of field, even you. Simple fact is you cant say its not an improvement if you haven't tried it.

ps. Im sure your not the only one of us who shoots lots of rabbits on a big scale either.

[some bloke]

The full power Oslon Black T-20 IR conversions were a necessary creation for rear add-on NVD's that have to drag an illuminated image through a day scopes several lenses that have the wrong wavelength coatings - then a tiny exit pupil - all before it gets to the camera lens - then the sensor.

The photon is too responsive to very low light levels for your own good if you continue to throw the huge amounts of light out front needed for those less efficient rear add-on type night vision devices. The extremely low lux rated camera used in the Photon is working the way it was designed to work with one decent lens assembly in front of it, probably with IR wavelength anti reflective coatings on -

Like any decent camera, the light reaching the sensor often needs to be reduced so that it doesn't overpower the image... but the Photon is not equipped with an iris to facilitate that. Moderate IR levels coupled with a moderate iris of 25mm~27mm is more sensible.

If you are going to unnecessarily bang loads of light out for a Photon you will need to reduce the amount of light hitting the sensor by a very substantial amount. Salmo has had to block off excessive light which is completely unnecessary for the standard Photons maximum 200 yardish practical range with an otherwise unnecessarily light reducing iris.

I can't be the only guy who thinks it seems silly to use excessive light for sometimes light shy quarry just because you can - then restrict loads of it from getting to the camera.

[salmo]

Is there a yawning smiley?