ERGONOMICS —If you will be viewing for a long period of time, a lighter product will be more comfortable. Also, where you wish to carry your device will make a difference when deciding on what size to purchase.
PRACTICALITY —If you will be using your system on camping trips and other places where electricity is unavailable, make sure the battery corresponding to that system is easily available for purchase.
PRICE —Famous Trails specializes in creating affordable prod- ucts for their users, but prices can range from $199 to $10,000. Think about how often and in what way you will be using your product and thus how much you want to spend. A scope or monocular for $2,500 would be a fantastic piece of equipment to own, but you could also purchase a high definition system that will satisfy all your needs for under $500.
A Glossary of Night Vision Terms
ANGLE OF VIEW—the angle (in degrees) of your field of view when looking through a device.
BINOCULAR —a device that contains two connected sets of image intensifiers and optics that share a power source.
BLACK SPOTS —black spots on an image possibly caused by foreign substances on the surface of the lenses or marks within the image intensifier.
BLOOMING —a situation where a part of the projection has been overloaded with too much light.
BRIGHT-SOURCE or OVER-LIGHTPROTECTION—a circuit that will decrease or shut off power to a product when over-lighting occurs, protecting the image intensifier. (Over-exposure to bright light sources can decrease the life of your image intensifier) Normal viewing will resume within one to two minutes.
DIOPTER —a measurement unit for the refractive power of a lens, either for a device or for the human eye.
