NIGHT OWL Optics 5-Power NOXM50 Night Vision Monocular

If you were in the military and have prior experience with night vision gear, you will be disappointed. I recall using my ANV-4 night scope years ago and I can still recall the vivid green landscape as I peered through the scope, and that is what I had in mind when I purchased this unit. It is not the same, not by a long shot, but then again, if you have no night vision capabilities, anything is an improvement. With this Night Owl Optics monocular, you can see in the dark as well as if the lights were on indoors, in fact, that is where we have used it the most to find items after dark when we don't want to wake grandma (who lives with us) who has a habit of taking the main TV remote control to bed with her. Not wanting to wake her, we have used this device to navigate the pitch dark room and successfully locate the remote without needing to turn on lights and wake grandma up. I have used it outside with excellent results, you just have to focus a lot more often as you turn your head while looking through the monocular at different objects so the field of view is small by comparison but it does work, it does give the user the ability to see in the dark and not too shabbily for the money.

I was researching night vision for a hunting friend who needed something to see in the dark shadows after the sun goes down, mainly to study antler size and count on potential trophy buck deer. It boiled down to the Night Owl 5 power night vision. I ordered one to try before suggesting it and was pretty surprised at how well it worked. He ordered one too after trying it. With the faintest ambient light from the moon or far away lighting sources, you can see in areas which are pitch black to the naked eye. The infrared light on the monocular also works far better than I thought. Some people say they remove the battery after use because when they turn it off, it still seems to work for a while. Well it takes a short while for the capacitors to drain down after use,, but I have found that there is no battery drain by using the on/off button. Naturally you won't see police and military using this anymore due to expensive advances in night vision, but they once used this exact technology. If I were to ever need more than this, say the world goes bad, my next step would be in the $8000 range for thermal imagery scope. But if that time were to ever come, it would be mounted on a rifle for gathering food and protecting my family.UPDATE:Well, after a few months, it stopped working. Indicator lights work, infrared light works, but no image is produced, the eyepiece remains black. I am 63 years old and am careful with things, so it was pampered, never turned on when in light conditions, never bumped or jarred, stored inside the house in it's protective pouch. While observing deer feeding at night, I would turn it on for a while, then turn it off. The last time I turned it off, it never came back on. I put 3 new batteries in it and never lit up again. I only used one battery in the unit before it died. I have contacted Night Owl several times and they only have one lady who can help me, and she has been on vacation for a couple of weeks. I'll report back when I see how this is handled.Update: The lady at Night Owl called me and told me to mail it to them. Sorry I am so late giving this update, but I had forgotten about it and just got a question on the night scope and saw I had not updated on the repair process. But shortly after they received it, a new one showed up at my door. Great customer service. They just need two ladies trained to do that job. :)

Works better than I expected for the price. I use it for tracking pesky deer on my property to find where they bed and move. Also use in the woods to avoid spooking deer in the early morning. On star lite nights I can see approx 60 yards out in heavily covered woods. Can see about 100 yards out on start lite nights in open fields. Sees very well with IR to beyond 100 yards. Under all modes, i can pick out details of objects. Can't believe a Gen 1 works this well.Be sure and take time to follow the few easy suggestions from the instructions or you will regret it and can permanently damage the monocular.Only suggestion for the product is that it needs a rubber cup over the eyepiece to sheild the light from escaping and being seen by der or other animals you may be tracking. Also, I found that I could easily detect the IR red emmission so feel that animals and humans can easily detect when you are using IR.

I have to say I was very disapointed in the Night Owl Optics. I have an older model from probable 15 years ago or so. It has a slight issue but still actually works. So I thought, hey, why not get another newer model. Boy was I disapointed. Couldn't focus, no field of view. My old one I can see 7 acres to the back of my property and to the woods, this ones, not evenclose, maybe 10 ft, no wide field of view, just a few tall pieces of grass could bee seen, past that nothing but darkness. total junk now compaired to the old model. Old one was made of metal, new one platic. I could care less about the plastic issue if it actually worked. Not sure what Night Owl did but they clearly have failed. Quality isn't even close to the old version. I'd say, pass on this one. If anyone actually finds a model that works great for a few hundred bucks let me know....

Not bad. Does a decent job for the price. I use it more as a fun item for introducing people to stargazing.

Arrived early and works great!

This product works as described. I liked the small handle.The product seems well made and was easy to use.It does NOT come with batteries. Those are another $25 for 2.The product requires 2 batteries.It seems ideal if you wish to see in low light without being seen.For me not being seen did not matter and I found that a decent spotlightworked better.I returned the product. amazon made the return process very easy.

Purchased 1.5yrs ago and used outdoors 1 time. This technology is ancient. I think the IR worked in a dark closet a couple of times but I didn't see any difference when I tried to use it in Algonquin park. Ordered a 12pk of batteries thinking that might help but it's a piece of junk really. My Sony camera catches more light than this thing even when the IR did work. Disgruntled a bit, past warranty, no Canadian support or repair, and I was told this unit would cost about $200 (exchange and shipping inc) to repair. I should never have purchased a device like this online.