ATN X Sight 3-12 vs 5-18 comparison

I posted this on another forum, but wanted to post it here also because there is more information here on the X Sights than anywhere else I have found....

Just received the 3-12, because I felt the 5-18 had too tight of a FOV. I found out that the 3-12 is 10 oz lighter from HTxH. I was suprised when I opened the 3-12 the objective lens is barely 1" in diameter. The 5-18 is slightly over 2.25" in diameter. The 3-12 has approx .80 square inches to gather light. The 5-18 has approx 4square inches of light gathering ability. I guess I'll be going out tonight to see how much difference there is in them. On the 3-12 focus ring is less than 1/2 a turn from near to far. The 5-18 focus ring turns almost 3 full turns from near to far. I did notice on the 5-18 that it was only necessary to turn less than 1/2 turn to go from 30 yds to approx 150 yds.



I'm hoping there isn't much difference in the brightness of the 3-12 vs 5-18....

Has anyone noticed a difference, or is it more a function of the digital sensor, than the size of the objective lens???

thanks,
CC

you're just limited by the power of your IR

My experience with the 3-12 was that it didn't come close to the clarity of the 5-18 even after they added the adjustable focus to it.
FOV was the deal breaker on the 5-18 and clarity on the 3-12. The auto dimming was the final straw for me and I gave up on ATN, at least for a while.
Been completely satisfied with the change to a Photon XT. It is simple to operate and it does what I want it to do....work at night.

Just finished checking outside with both scopes. I can only check a distance of about 30 yds, because my back yard is fenced. The 3-12 is running firmware .253, and the 5-18 is running .248. The 5-18 version .248, has an auto dimming feature in the firmware, and would not get any brighter than the lowest setting on the built in illuminator. It would brighten for a split second then the display would dim, on both medium and high on the illuminator. I could easily make out the nails in the fence on 5X, and see blades of grass at 30 yds.

The 3-12 with firmware .253 is not auto dimming. I could see a lawn chair and 5 gallon bucket at least 150 yds away under a security light. I could also make out the nail heads and blades of grass in my yard with the built in IR illuminator at 30 yds on the lowest setting. If I went to medium or high on the illuminator, it got much brighter. I don't think the lens size is going to be a limiting factor, but I'll hold off on that judgement until the T50 illuminator comes in and I can check them both out in a field. Hope this helps someone.