Customer Reviews

Night Owl iGEN 20/20 Day/Night Vision Monocular (3x)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

at first sight, I was skeptical about the iGEN20/20 as I am new to the world of night vision. Over the next week I researched the iGEN and other generation I and II models of night vision. with out actually seeing the difference in generationI and GenerationII and digital, I made a leap of faith and decided to purchase the iGEN 20/20. after reciept, I quickly picked up on the digital menu and functions of the iGEN 20/20. On a trip to the mountains I ran into a fellow hiker with GenerationI night vision and we both got a chance to see through each others monoculars. the iGEN20/20 was far superior to the GenerationI phosphorus tubes. After that night I felt very good about my purchase of the iGEN20/20. I typically use my iGEN for viewing my 15 acre property and when my dogs go crazy at night, I can now clearly see coyotees, dogs, people wandering around my field. on a night with some good light from the moon I don't even have to use the infared. at one point of my property about I have clear vision abotu 800 yards away and I mean clear vision. Ihave found the best viewing is 20'+. as close up items can tweak the exposure and cause a quick white out. The ability to change colors at night is a major plus. The green and white display allow maximum detail and the blue and red allow your eyes the ability to adjust to the transition of the darkness when your eye is removed from the monocular. function controls are pretty easy to use and the ability to connect to a video camera is a plus although I don't use it much. the down side to this equipment is the infared buton location. it sits right above the on/off button so when you are holding on tight and try to swith the infared from auto to maximum often times you'll hit the on/off button witch shuts off the display. the other downfall of the iGEN20/20 is the body design. the body design does nto sit well in the hands however the flat top and bottom is easy to steady if you have big hands. If your hands are smaller you will most likely find yourself leaning on an object to get the monocular to steady for viewing at distances. I would recommend this product to anyone looking for a great night viewing experience without breaking the bank. 4 1/2 Stars out of 5.

I just got one for Christmas, and it is simply amazing...on a clear night and only a 1/4 +moon I find that I do not need the infrared emitter at all\ I can see across the valley floor with this easily, in fact on most nights you can just adjust the exposer frame rate and gain to a point of not needing the emitter 80% of the time. I am blown away by the high quality of the product\ and it's night vision capabilities. Does not use intensifier tubes, but rather like video night shot type low lux video capturing technique, has an RCA video output, I can pipe it to my TV and watch the night away\mount it to a tripod and capture images through my VCR...the stars just jump out with theses. Going to see if I can mod it for use on my telescope.

It's almost too spooky how one can see so clearly in pitch blackness\
Living out in the country this is a must have for checking the fields for trespassers or predatory animals before walking out to the out buildings, simply having a means off self defense is not good enough unless you know where to point it\ this gives me the edge on dark nights...My brother got to use them and stated that it was a good investment to have in the country. Great for camping, hunting, star watching or just night wild life viewing.
Looking for high end night vision gen type 2+ on the cheap? Then get the Igen nv20/20, you will not be disappointed.

As for durability or reliability for long term use\ I will post back after I put some hours\or days on it.

Pros:
All glass optics
Less use of the emitter in bright moon nights
Solid construction
RCA video out jack
Highly configurable with the thumb wheel driven menu
Easy to use
Clear edge to edge viewing
Tripod mount

Cons:
Not a real complaint.
The manual is consumer friendly\No high tech specs\breakdown image for us geeks :^)

after using my Yukon Night Ranger during night time airsoft games, my son started looking around for his own. i recommended this one to him because of the multiple color features and compact design. i have to admit that i want one now. it is a digital night vision with manual focus and auto adjusting light sensitivity. you can choose from 4 different image colors: white/black, red, green, and blue. i prefer red for less eye strain. it also has an RCA output for composite video. i use this to record on a portable DVR.[...]

i also hook it up to a portable monitor on the DVR output so we can all see what it's seeing. [...]

to protect the lens, i taped on a cheapo camera UV filter i had laying around the house. i haven't measured the exact size, but i'm sure you can find the correct size that screws on to the lens. i shaped a clear plastic lens to fit inside the IR illuminator cap (the cap unscrews). it has a good 300 feet range without lowering the frame rate or increasing the gain.

the tripod mount holds well. i used a small 1/2 inch rail riser and drilled a hole through it to attached a 1/4 screw with a nylon washer. i use a red laser to sight the unit. once sighted, the IR reflects off the white bb and can be tracked.

I received this item on October 13, 2008. I had previously purchased and returned a different manufacturer's night vision device that was inexpensive and worked poorly. The iGen is new technology in that it is basically a low light video camera (without recording) instead of a phosphorous tube. I tried this device last night in the backyard with a full moon. It worked great. I was able to see into very dark corners of the yard (approximately 50 ft) by using either the infrared lighting or by simply slowing down the frame rate to 10-12 FPS. These corners were so dark I could not see any detail with the naked eye. I was also able to clearly see activity about 200 yards down a street that has very little street lighting, again by slowing down the frame rate to around 20 FPS. I took it hunting with me up to very rural and isolated area in Mendocino County. While I couldn't count the points on the bucks antlers I could tell if I was looking at a buck or a doe (or a bear for that matter!) You won't be able to to identify a person in very low light at 100-200 yards but you will be able to tell a person is there and follow their movement. The menus and controls are very easy to use and very intuitive. I consider I received good value.

Previously purchased another brand that utilized the phospherous processing system and was better than average. This is hands down better and I believe similar technology is being installed on high-end yahts for boating at night. If you are thinking about a mid to high-end tradtional night vision scope, consider stretching to this model. The picture taking capability is worth the extra cost too. Enjoy.

I have a friend who is in the military and allowed me to use a pair of ATN 3rd gen night vision and they were great and after hearing the claims of the night owl igen i did not believe it,when i purchased the igen i put them to the test along side of the ATN 3rd gen unit and there was a difference but in my opinion only minor.the igen worked great and has functions that the higher priced units do not have and with clarity that can stand next to 2nd and 3rd gen units with adjustable settings that dig into the darkest night,If your looking for a good night vision scope but don't want to pay the higher $$$$ then the igen is it.

Purchased this for husband birthday present - very pleasantly surprised that my husband likes & uses. He has almost everything he wants & very hard trying to think of something neat to get him as present - this was good high tech toy & he looks cool with the kids & grandkids (when they use indoors this one doesn't break).

I have the Igen 20/20 for 2 years now. It is a work horse but their are a few problems.
1. It would be nice if the company added a power supply jack for longer use.
2. The springs that hold the batteries tend to get compressed over time and makes for a poor battery connection.
3. Use rechargable batteries otherwise you will pay a lot for regular batteries.
4. The image is not as the company advertises. It does have distortion on the edges...not 100% as they claim.
5. When viewing lights far away at night, bright lights are blurry. If you turn the gain down it looks better but you can no longer see dimmer lights. This 20/20 is ok but can use some improvments.
6. I wish the company made this IR camera with HD or better resolution and had a little more magnification (3 to 5 power) for other applications.