Today we review the future of optics with the horrible ATN X-Sight II HD 3-14x scope. Now this is discontinued but we had one to check out so why not!
| Gear in this review |
ATN Optics
http://bit.ly/BRNATNTLD – Brownells
http://bit.ly/PAATNTLD – Primary Arms
AA Batteries (Actually a good deal lol)
| Tools |
Wheeler Professional Armorer’s Wrench
Discount code: Thin10
| Training |
| Discounts |
Olight Weapon lights
Discount Code: TLDco
Grim Hunter Tactical Gear
Discount Code: TLD10
The entire optic comes in a large green soft bag. The first thing I noticed was the insane instruction manual! From how to enable the GPS to setting the compass to recording video and taking photos…..this has WAYYYY too much going on.
This comes in at an amazing 2.1 lbs. And that is without the batteries and without the IR illuminator…and more batteries. Did I mention all the batteries? All 6 of them that give you 2 hours of battery life?
The optic works by use of a camera screen so you see nothing without the unit powered on. Remember those 2 hours of battery life? You’re going to need a lot of batteries.
The unit uses the knob nearest to the eyepiece to control how close or how far the video screen is from your eye. The eye relief on the ATN X-Sight II HD 3-14 is 2.5 inches from the housing…not from the end of the optic.
So the eye cover that is exactly 2.5 inches from the housing? Yea, you gotta put your eye on there.
The focus knob placed on the front of the ATN X-Sight II is how the focus plane on the video is changed. Be aware, this knob is VERY stiff and unforgiving. You need to have some super minute control over the optic but the tough knob makes that impossible.
The optic also includes a rangefinder…..sort of. You set the height of the target and then you use the optic to measure the top and bottom of the target and the ATN X-sight II will then give you the range based on those measurements.
I found the results to be wildly inaccurate unless the target height was PERFECT. So if your target isn’t EXACTLY whatever value is already stored, you have to run through 20 menu items to change it and set it to a new value with the horrible buttons.
The zoom feature is incredibly confusing. You hold down the “top” arrow and then the optic will begin to zoom. The most confusing part is that the reticle also jumps around. I’m assuming this is based on the programmed target distance but why would the reticle move based on the magnification?
A normal optic has the reticle that moves independent of the magnification. So you could be at full zoom and still engage a target at a very close distance.
The image also isn’t a magnification like a regular optic it’s more like looking closer at a still image. Take a photo on your phone. Now hold it as close as you can to your face. Congratulations, you’re familiar with the ATN X-Sight II optical zoom.
The knob becomes FAR touchier as you zoom. I never was able to get the image clear and bright when having the optic zoomed in. It was always too far one way or the other in terms of focus.
Overall this review required 14 batteries and also included the night vision recordings.
The night vision while functional…is not usable. The image quality is very poor and the focus knob makes any realistic adjustment an absolute chore.
Night vision also sufferers from massive input lag. That means the image is delayed from when it enters to optic to when it gets to your eye. As a scope optic possibly used for hunting….this is a huge problem. You have to realize that you are never looking at where the optic is….you’re always looking at where the target WAS. This is extremely apparent whenever you use the night vision setings.
If you had to respond to an emergency situation, it would be minutes before you had the optic turned on, dialed in, zoomed in, and focused properly to make any shot at all. This is junk.
The reticle also gives you no point of reference in terms of MIL or MOA measurements. This means that you CANNOT adjust to spotter calls. Oh you got told you’re 1 MIL right? Well neat because you have no way to adjust this optic in that manner. You have to just shoot blindly.
I don’t understand how this optic made it to the market. This is bad.
(DISCLAIMER: This post may contain paid advertisements or affiliate links. An affiliate link means that if you follow one of the gear links, Thin Line Defense Co receives a small portion of that purchase but incurs no extra cost to you. This helps us make the channel grow and get more great gear to review just for you! Thanks for the amazing support.)
Music by @Barren Gates