Reviews & Ratings for Firefield Nightfall II 5x50 Gen 1 Night Vision Monocular — 10 reviews — Page 1

Given the weather at present not really tested fully, but works as it's supposed to. Have had the opportunity to use it in moonlight without IR and am impressed. Good for the price. Delivery was slow - NOT the fault of Optics Planet - got held up in Customs (info for overseas buyers).

I ordered two of these and the first one had a real bad ghost right in the center of the lens. It was virtually impossible to use due to this. enery time I tried to scan in the field it looked as if soething was moving. The second one had very clear optics but the IR illuminator was aiming too far to the right so it only lit up half the viewing field. I have jumped up in price hoping for an improvement by trying the Bushnell Equinox Z. Hopefully I will be writing a good review for it in the near future.

Right out of the box, this unit did not work though several sets of fresh batteries were tried. I ordered a replacement, returning the first one and the second one also did not work at all. I would definitely not recommend these units nor trust one that might work initially. I ordered a Night Owl replacement and have been satisfied with its performance.

Really can't beat it for the price. It is very clear and virtually no specks or distortion in the lenses at all. The inferred light works extremely well in no light conditions. I can see a considerable distance down my back alley which has NO light at all.

I received this yesterday and have had it out several times. The 50mm objective lens is good, the bigger it is the more light it lets in and the bigger field of view. The 5 power is just right, not too much or to little. Focusing was easy, first the front objective lens then the back ocular, then fine tune the front. I needed to refocus just a bit when I went from looking at something at 50' to something at 200'. I had a really good picture for Gen 1 and didn't see any spots. It was only unfocused or fisheyed around the outer 25%. The intensifier tube stayed energized for 5-10 minutes after the power was turned off. Make sure you put the rubber cap on before you go back into a well lit area. I have security cameras around the outside with IR lights on them. It made looking around this area like daylight with no need for the IR on the NV. If you are trying to keep an eye on a specific area I might recommend getting an IR floodlight bulb and keeping it on in this area. Taking 2 standard AA batteries is a huge plus over the ones that need the CR123. Battery life on this is supposed to be 70 hrs vs 2.5 for the CR123. I considered a digital unit but read you can't look thru them and sweep a view as the digital picture will break up...Very happy and would recommend this.

I see now the price has dropped to $155! As this monocular's reputation grows, folks are gonna see this is a screamin' deal! For those of you who've been keeping track of my reviews, you know I've been going through quite an ordeal: http://www.opticsplanet.com/msgboard/about7-20935.html
Well, after testing the Firefield, I've finally got a Keeper. I'm greatly impressed with this low-priced NV monocular. The built-in IR is extremely strong and I had no trouble identifying a raccoon at 40 yards tonight.
The owner's manual warns about spots appearing in the image and how this is normal for Gen 1 NV optics. Well, I'm thrilled to report that I could detect absolutely no spots or twinkles in this unit. Nothing but a bright, crystal-clear image!
My only minor complaint would be the narrow field of view. This I attribute to the 5X magnification. My Armasight Prime 3X has a slightly wider field of view. It seems that in NV monoculars, more magnification isn't necessarily better.
Another plus for the Firefield is that it uses common AA batteries instead of scarce, expensive CR123's. That in itself is a huge game-changer. NV is now not such an expensive hobby!
Although I searched all over the box and owner's manual, I can't find anything to indicate in which country this unit was made. China? Russia?
Will this unit hold up with constant use? Will warranty repairs and customer service be hassle-free? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, I'm very ha...
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This lights up the night more than I expected. Good deal for the price. I'll be using it mainly around the camp for night critters. The kids have fun watching each other and the dog at night. It is fuzzy around the edges and has bubble eye effects, however, I didn't have $2-$4K to plunk down for mil-grade NV.

What a great deal! Works great too! Bought one first, then bought two more as gifts. Can see the deer in my back yard at least a 100 yards away. Demo units looked and worked like new. Great security tool.