An almost mediocre solution to darkness

Firstly, I should start with the fact I wasn't out to buy a night vision device for novelty purposes. We have a neighborhood stalker/peeper that warrants the occasional glance in the darkness. This being said, the mood is set that I was not happy that the money was to be spent on this to begin with. Imagine my disappointment when I learned (270 dollars later) that you actually cannot view your small back yard at night with any new profound clarity.
It should also be noted that we live quite sheltered from the aura effect city lights offer, but this was a fairly bright night with a bright moon and the cloud/star combination that almost makes the device unnecessary. It was bright enough that with the unassisted eye you could easily walk through the yard and clearly identify larger objects such as vehicles, buildings, trees etc.

The sample images that ATN and most other manufacturers display have two samples:
1. Detailed markings of wildlife, and the background.
2. A beautiful mountain setting illuminated in a green tint, with detail of trees, rocks, and a river.

While with the IR turned on, you can see objects in front of your face ( up to maximum 20-25 ft away) they are only detailed when 10' or closer. The squirrel shown on ATN's website was either stuffed, or a family pet to be shown so close. This being said, I'm still not convinced that the picture was taken through a night vision device, and if it was, it certainly wasn't this one. What quickly removes the possibility of an object, and a clear background is the narrow focus. If you have an object in focus at 10' away, you're going to see nothing but blur 20' from the device. Panning across your yard/campsite/mountain range is not going to happen without slow dialing of the device. The edges have a fisheye effect, so your visual focus is naturally in the middle of the scope.

The beautiful mountain range scene is either viewed during a low sunset, or a complete and total mock up. This device shows absolutely no ability to see even large objects such as homes or trees beyond 40 or so yards without a profound light source at that location. If you can see them at this distance and greater, they are shadows at best, even with a light source behind them.

My mo4-1 arrived yesterday afternoon (4 days late from opticsplus.net). As night settled in, the box opened up. Very quickly I realized I was in trouble. The pictures shown on most websites shows a brilliant green circle with the device turned on, my experienced was more like having a sheet of very light lime colored cellophane over an eye. A slight tint, at best. I suppose this could be a sign of a weak tube, and after further experimentation and communication with the manufacturer, I will return the device for an exchange.

Admittedly I had inadvertently made a mistake before turning the device on. One thing I was excited about with this particular model was the increased magnification. With this in mind, I was very quick to install the mag doubler. It does have an effect on the magnification, but obviously doubles the sensitivity for the focus as well. What was much less obvious, and not told in the description, is that it also cuts the NV ability in half, or worse. My first attempts to view tree's etc in the back yard were absolutely uneventful. Time after time I removed the mo4-1 from my eye to be sure I couldn't actually see more with the naked eye.

After having removed the mag doubler, something became clear. The MO4-1 was not going to allow me to see in the dark, but it would allow me to see more clearly than with my naked eye. Sometimes. In our rural area, both my neighbor and I have some stacked wood in our back yards. I can see the stacks with my naked eye, but with the MO4-1, I was able to actually see a bit of detail in those stacks. What you cannot do is look into a dark area. There are a few trees around the garage, and this shaded area is viewed as black, both assisted with the MO41, and without.

Later that night we began getting our first real snow of the year, making all objects for 300 yards bright even with the naked eye. With this dramatic increase in ambient reflected light, the MO4-1 was able to see a little bit more detail, but still incapable of actually seeing in the dark.

Where does the MO4-1 redeem itself? It's not for me, but the ability to see through the home with the ir light turned on was adequate. The close-up (no more than 10-15') result was what I had expected in an outdoor setting for 30-40 yards. While my low expectations were shattered, if anyone is interested in watching their cat sleep on the sofa, this may be the device for you. The scattering that must happen to the ir outside is not an obstacle, and large print could be interpreted from arms length.

One thing that was interesting was at maximum focus, I looked across our inland lake. From a mile away, there were many more lights than you could see with the naked eye. What I mean to say is, there were areas with the naked eye with dark homes 5+ homes long with absolutely no light emission. Through the M04-1, there were a couple windows, and 1 random outside light that would shine brightly. Perhaps there was an ir source, or just a low light, but it was noteworthy.

As of now, nothing is chasing shadows better than the 6 cell mag light. One thing I will discuss with the manufacturer is if the models with lower magnification perform actual night vision functions better, similar to the experience with removing the doubler.

So far there are two reviews for this product. The first review seemed suspicious to me. Firstly, it's generation 2, which is at the very least $1200 more expensive. Tripling the ability of the device I received would not justify the rave review this person gave. I would suspect either a retailer or manufacturer gave this testimony. I would not like this on a plane. I would not like this on a train. I would not prefer this to a simple cane.