Night Owl Night Odyssey Monocular

Rating:
Summary: Low price, exceptional value
Review: I am amazed at the features this toy has compared to the price. At $150 this is the cheapest I have seen this particular model selling for. I have been looking at purchasing a night vision monocular for about a year now and finally decided on the night owl brand. I wanted something that I wouldnt have to worry about if it got wet. I also wanted to stay with in $200. I have owned the Odyssey for about 5 days now. Each night I spend an hour or two looking through it. It has performed well in near complete dark situations with out the IR illuminator turned on. When the IR illuminator is switched on I can see perfectly in the dark. I recently helped my neighbor find her cat when it wouldn't come home after dark. I was easily able to see her cat hiding in a tree. When I switched on the IR, I was able to pick out the details on the cats collar. I give this item 4 stars because of two improvements that I feel are needed. The lens cap screws on which is great. However, there is no way to secure the lens cap to the unit via a cord or string. If I am not careful I can see myself losing the lens cap. I would also like to see the Odyssey coated in shock absorbing rubber. I am scared to drop it as the manual says it isn't shock proof. Oh, one more thing...the batteries are a little expensive. I was able to pick up two of the 3V lithium batteries for about $10. I haven't been through the first battery yet, but Night Owl says one will last for about 20 hours. Overall, great features and a very low price!

Rating:
Summary: This really WORKS!
Review: I could not believe such an inexpensive device would work as WELL as this.
We own a country place we go to in the summer & watching what goes on nocturnally with wildlife is unreal. Where there appeared to be nothing during the day, at night we can see the true potential of our small forest surroundings. It is a blast! Deer, racoons, foxs, owls, coyotes, even BOBCATS come out all over the place!
We also like to watch the stars away from city light pollution & it's amazing what can be seen through night vision.
Another thing it is used for at home in the city is security.
With no sun, that equals no shadows, so it's like you can see right through bushes & thick undergrowth. No "snooper" is going to go undetected hiding behind bushes. (WE can even see THROUGH cars windows at night, if someone tries to hide behind a car)
The IR illuminator works VERY well, if you ever encounter a situation with NO ambient light, like in a totally dark room.
My husband even found a mouse that had been driving us crazy using this thing.
I also like the waterproof feature, but am SO scared to test it's "floatablity" feature.
If you have never experienced night vision, give this a try.
For the price of less than [money], it's a VERY useful item to own.

Rating:
Summary: Don' but it!!!
Review: I'm a research engineer and on the weekends a sailing instructor on the coast of CA and Hawaii. I bought a Night Owl Optics monocular and it worked great. After about three months it just stopped working. I sent it back for repair and it once again worked. When I pulled it out several months latter to use it, it was dead again. Because it was out of warranty I opened it up to investigate. The factory repair people had stripped out the screws and the inside was an example of the worse workmanship you could imagine!

Rating:
Summary: Don' but it!!!
Review: I'm a research engineer and on the weekends a sailing instructor on the coast of CA and Hawaii. I bought a Night Owl Optics monocular and it worked great. After about three months it just stopped working. I sent it back for repair and it once again worked. When I pulled it out several months latter to use it, it was dead again. Because it was out of warranty I opened it up to investigate. The factory repair people had stripped out the screws and the inside was an example of the worse workmanship you could imagine!

Rating:
Summary: could not see 40 feet
Review: My husband and I are avid hunters. I bought this for him for our 10 year anniversary. We took it deer hunting with us on several occasions. It would not let us see in the dark past 30 or 40 feet and the product says it will let you see at least 150 feet.
The product was not (to us) worth the money.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Okay, how many of us can say we really NEED one of these? Well, to be honest, I didn't think I did either. Until I got one--this one. Night vision is not new to me (I'm in the military), but such a light weight, apparently durable, and well performing gadget is truly a marvel. What I particularly like: (1) It feels great in your hand. It's remarkably light in weight and small in size (but it's no light-weight on performance!). If you've held one of the new light-weight video cams, this thing will feel right at home in your hand (right down to the feel of the handy built-in strap). And it is really light in weight! (2) It works great! Pop in the battery, power it up, and you'll be amazed at what you can see in the dark. As I mentioned, I'm in the military, and I've used the latest generation of night vision goggles that cost 20 times the price of this thing. In 99% of the situations I've used this thing in, the difference in this thing and a multi-thousand dollar unit--for me, anyway--is negligible. (3) The reassurance that it's waterproof. I bought this model for that reason alone. I haven't tried out the "flotation" feature (the ads say it floats!), but it's nice knowing a little rain won't hurt it. (4) It's easy to use (mostly--see more below). There are only three controls: a focus knob (straightforward--you turn it to make the picture clearer), a power button (it took me a minute to figure it out--you hold it down for a few seconds and it "charges" up the unit. The picture dims over time (3 minutes or so) and then you hit the power button again to "charge" the picture again), and a button to turn on the IR sending unit (works out to about 15 feet or so--push it and it lights up a dark room like you won't believe. But the "light" you are using is invisible. Cool!) And (5) Price. I can't believe this thing works so well for such a low price. Okay, a few things (minor) I don't like: (1) If you wear glasses, the focus knob might be a bit tricky. I'm way near-sighted, and I can't use the unit without my glasses on. I wish the focus had a broader "range," (2) The instructions are sparse. I had expected a booklet, but it really comes with only a little sheet. The accompanying video is GREAT (a nice plus), but when you're eager to get the thing up and running, you'd think the instruction "booklet" would tell you at least how to put in the battery. It doesn't. (I figured it out. There is a very small minus sign on the battery cover. It's so small I couldn't tell if it meant "negative," or if it was a manufacturing mark. The battery's negative side goes there (and not against the spring as intuition would dictate).) It's no biggy, but I'd expect a product this sophisticated to have a better manual. (3) It uses (expensive) lithium batteries. They last a long time (I suspect far longer than AA alkalines would), and I attribute that to the way the power switch works (see above), but $7 a pop is a bit steep. And the batteries are decidedly NOT included. (At $7, it's no wonder!) OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: This thing is a blast to use. If you're thinking of night vision, the NONO3 by Night Owl will amaze you, and at the price, I don't think you can go wrong! (Now, if I can just work up the courage to see if my new toy REALLY floats...)

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Okay, how many of us can say we really NEED one of these? Well, to be honest, I didn't think I did either. Until I got one--this one. Night vision is not new to me (I'm in the military), but such a light weight, apparently durable, and well performing gadget is truly a marvel. What I particularly like: (1) It feels great in your hand. It's remarkably light in weight and small in size (but it's no light-weight on performance!). If you've held one of the new light-weight video cams, this thing will feel right at home in your hand (right down to the feel of the handy built-in strap). And it is really light in weight! (2) It works great! Pop in the battery, power it up, and you'll be amazed at what you can see in the dark. As I mentioned, I'm in the military, and I've used the latest generation of night vision goggles that cost 20 times the price of this thing. In 99% of the situations I've used this thing in, the difference in this thing and a multi-thousand dollar unit--for me, anyway--is negligible. (3) The reassurance that it's waterproof. I bought this model for that reason alone. I haven't tried out the "flotation" feature (the ads say it floats!), but it's nice knowing a little rain won't hurt it. (4) It's easy to use (mostly--see more below). There are only three controls: a focus knob (straightforward--you turn it to make the picture clearer), a power button (it took me a minute to figure it out--you hold it down for a few seconds and it "charges" up the unit. The picture dims over time (3 minutes or so) and then you hit the power button again to "charge" the picture again), and a button to turn on the IR sending unit (works out to about 15 feet or so--push it and it lights up a dark room like you won't believe. But the "light" you are using is invisible. Cool!) And (5) Price. I can't believe this thing works so well for such a low price. Okay, a few things (minor) I don't like: (1) If you wear glasses, the focus knob might be a bit tricky. I'm way near-sighted, and I can't use the unit without my glasses on. I wish the focus had a broader "range," (2) The instructions are sparse. I had expected a booklet, but it really comes with only a little sheet. The accompanying video is GREAT (a nice plus), but when you're eager to get the thing up and running, you'd think the instruction "booklet" would tell you at least how to put in the battery. It doesn't. (I figured it out. There is a very small minus sign on the battery cover. It's so small I couldn't tell if it meant "negative," or if it was a manufacturing mark. The battery's negative side goes there (and not against the spring as intuition would dictate).) It's no biggy, but I'd expect a product this sophisticated to have a better manual. (3) It uses (expensive) lithium batteries. They last a long time (I suspect far longer than AA alkalines would), and I attribute that to the way the power switch works (see above), but $7 a pop is a bit steep. And the batteries are decidedly NOT included. (At $7, it's no wonder!) OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: This thing is a blast to use. If you're thinking of night vision, the NONO3 by Night Owl will amaze you, and at the price, I don't think you can go wrong! (Now, if I can just work up the courage to see if my new toy REALLY floats...)

Rating:
Summary: Exellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: The first time i used this night scope i was a little disapointed as i didn't read the instructions, i just put the battery in and pressed a button, but later on when i pressed the IR button...WOW, i am amazed by the results, my garden is about 160 feet long and even in total darkness i can put the IR on and clearly make out any objects/animals that are in the garden. Here in the uk they charge about $450 dollars for this item, I managed to get this model in the Seben Make for about $175 dollars (inc. Delivery from Germany). It is exactly the same model, my mate has the Night Owl Version, and we have compared, they even have similar Serial numbers.
P.s. No matter what Night Owl say these are Designed and made in Russia, not the USA.

Rating:
Summary: night vision rocks
Review: The night owl night odyssey is one of the best out there in my opinion it works like magic and it is easy to use. It's waterproof so you don't have to worry about getting it wet. When you turn the infared illuminator on, it's like there is a huge flash light that is scaning the object. It really works great.