Questions about Night Vision

Why is night vision so expensive? is it because of demand or is it expensive to make? thanks in adance for the info.

Depends on your definition of expensive vs. quality. The short answer is the Mil grade NVGs are expensive, the acuity of the image in the newer Gen's are amazing compared to the older technology. Because of the small amount of individuals who procure high quality NVGs, they will be more costly. You can get a civilian one for hunting and such off the internet for a few hundred $$$. But if your talking Mil grade such as the ones they fly with, your talking thousands! A lot of the technology is in the tubes, which are a requirement for true night vision. A digital projection isn't technically NV, but is a synthetic vision. A true NVG has a tube that amps the light source.

The cost to manufacture NV equipment is indeed high. I've seen some of the testing done on high end gear and the complexity is amazing to say the least. So much so that no two tubes are truly identical. Some fully tested tubes that you can buy come with an approximately 30 page "DNA" report that goes with it documenting every detail of that exact tube. And no tube, no matter how much you spend will be perfect. And knowing exactly what you are getting is a whole different story.

Stephen O

I remember a few years ago, I felt like buying some night vision goggles like the ones I saw in the movies, and when I saw the price for some 3 gens, I thought someone had misplaced the decimal point on the price tags LOL

Seriously though, I've seen videos and I would really love a PVS-14, they are worth every penny in my opinion, but unfortunately I can't even remotely afford them

Cheers

Making photomultiplier tubes is a very involved process. Back in the '70's at least, it required liquid nitrogen just to prime the high-vacuum pumps, quartz glassblowing, and a long series of pressure and temperature steps to get the best performance. THAT was just to make the PARTS.

TEEJ said:

Making photomultiplier tubes is a very involved process. Back in the '70's at least, it required liquid nitrogen just to prime the high-vacuum pumps, quartz glassblowing, and a long series of pressure and temperature steps to get the best performance. THAT was just to make the PARTS.

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OH MY G..

Because the military buys them. Period.

my work NV binocs ran me close to $8000. So, I became an NV dealer and it's slightly cheaper for me now. Not much. But, I get all the good stuff!