Video Archive for ATN X-Sight 4k Digital Scopes

I thought a thread with ATN X-sight 4k (new models) videos was in order to evaluate the quality of the content aside from their #1 Pro-Staffer.

Here are a couple I've found today:



I didn't even see the cows behind the coyote until the shooter mentions them and does the video seem super laggy / sketchy to anybody else.

Granted if the viewfinder image is brighter than the recorded video that is understandable and safer however whats the point of 4k video recording if the uploaded videos are unwatchable...???



This guy is a decent shot, I was hoping to see some follow up shots on runners but he ruled that out. Interesting observations are I cannot even make out the fox at 150 yards (in the recorded video) at minute mark 2:54 and then later in the video the reticle didn't record???



How'd you like this guy as your neighbor...............



This is a video with a $200.00 IR light being used, you can see the shadow on the outline of the hog indicative of the high levels of IR being cast, wishing focus was tighter to get a good image on this vid...

If you want an unbiased, honest review, I've got a couple 3-14x 4K units that are coming in this week and I'll be testing them. If anyone has read my comments before about ATN (and any other brand), I hope you think I'm pretty fair and balanced in my opinions. Until something major changes, the customer service issues will always be the glaring issue for ATN.

Customer service and past complaints aside, I'm more than willing to give an honest unbiased review of the new 4K X-Sights. I've done extensive testing and hunting with the new Sightmark Photon RT's and put out very detailed reviews on them so I'll have a very good benchmark to test the 4K's by. Plus I've used all the previous model Photons and X-Sights so I'm very familiar with digital NV and how the performance and quality has increased over the years.

Customer Service and botched Xsight releases aside - I wanted to post a thread dedicated to user uploaded videos , today on YouTube - next month who knows where video will be found.

Anyhow from the videos I found today I would say all but one are useless from a shot analytics standpoint.

There is just something hinky at play based on what I’m seeing.

Jitter / Studder / Chop / Undulation - it’s giving me a stomach ache

Perhaps your review can mention that none of this is present on the actual viewfinder screen I.e. it’s smooth as silk , which would be good to hear. But the video recorder in me wouldn’t be happy with the output quality if this is what it is going to be.

No offense, but there is no way in world anyone should ever believe that a vendor is offering an unbiased review. First, nobody offers unbiased reviews if they present anything beyond raw data and even some raw data presentations are biased because of the testing methods used or information included or excluded. Beyond that, we are all biased. The potential is there for a vendor to be even more biased because the vendor stands to make $$ from offering his/her opinion.

Some reviews may be more informative than others, but they are not without bias.

This does not call into question one's honesty. A review can be 100% honest and be very informative while at the same time being very biased.

The inability to see one's own biases is in and of itself a bias.

Yep following....

If you are unhappy with my word "unbiased" I will retract it. I think it's fair to say we are all biased. Fair enough. But trust me, I can guarantee you my motivations have 0 to do with money because I'm in a very low margin business I make better margins on ATN than any other NV brand and guess what brand I generally chose not to sell? ATN. So yes, I'm biased but I'm definitely not biased towards them. I told a THF member via PM today that no matter how good the 4K is, I will still recommend the Photon RT (that I make less money on) because of Sightmark's customer service. However, if it's true, I will gladly come out and say "The 4K is the most amazing NV scope ever to hit the market." but that doesn't mean I'll tell someone to buy it.

I realize that as a general rule you should be wary of vendor reviews for obvious reasons. But who are you going to trust on this? A prostaff member for ATN, an ATN employee, a member of a public hunting forum who has spent the last 3 months bashing ATN endlessly (probably for good reason)(not referring to you), an ATN dealer, a customer who paid $600 for a scope and is either trying to defend their decision to buy the scope or a customer who paid $600 for a scope and has problems with it and now wants to destroy the company or a NV dealer who generally doesn't sell ATN because of their poor customer service and past quality control issues? None of those are great options.

Who is qualified to do a review that will ever be unbiased or honest "enough". And maybe that's your point.

If my review isn't going to be helpful, I'd just assume not waste my time on it. I would only be doing it for THF because I have no plans to do one otherwise.

Jason ,

What’s your honest opinion on the 3 night videos posted above?

I’d say if you get an ATN 4k scope and you find that the recorded video doesn’t do the scope justice then don’t bother wasting your time on an extensive in-depth video review.

My honest opinion is, it seem like the video is jittery. I will be very interested to see if the user sees that on the viewfinder. The previous models of X-Sights were known to "lag" and not provide smooth, seamless video when panning around. I really want to see if that problem has been corrected and I want see how the video looks on the screen compared to the videos posted above.

I held the 4K's at SHOT Show but they were in daytime mode so that doesn't answer any of the questions at hand. I also didn't give them much time at all. I ordered 3 of each model so I could test/demo them and I moved on. Honestly, no matter what the brand is, testing out NV/thermal optics on a showroom floor really doesn't tell you much.

I'll report back what I find compared to the videos posted above.
- Jason

I still see image smear and jittery video in this one. I just asked Peter if he can see it in the scope.

Quick update for ya Pig Popper.

I got in my demo unit of the X-Sight 4K 3-14x yesterday. I will refrain from giving my overall thoughts right now but I will comment on the question at hand on the jittery video.

In my limited testing last night, I saw absolutely no lagging, jittering, smearing, whatever you want to call it, when I was looking through the scope's view finder. I scanned 180 degrees left to right, jerking it back and forth as fast as possible, trying to cause it to lag and I never saw it. The image movement was as smooth as you could hope for. Whatever smearing or jittering we are definitely seeing in those videos was not present in the scope last night.

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of the scope and I only have a short time behind it. I do see major improvements over the previous X-Sights but I also see major things I don't like. I want to spend more time with it before I give my definite opinions and observations on different issues. I do feel from what I saw last night, I think the smearing in the videos must be from the recording process. If it turns out I'm wrong and I start to see it, I will definitely update my statements.

The one thing I can go ahead and say with confidence is, the IR Illuminator that ATN includes is extremely lacking. I tested with a UNV 20IR and the image quality improved 2x immediately. That's why even Jtprocaddie is using an upgraded IR light for 60 yard kills. A better IR is going to be purchase #1 for most serious night hunters.

Good info Jason -

It is certainly nice to hear thoughts from an individual who handles and uses a wide array of gear and it’s good for those who will be spending their hard earned dollar if the night image in the viewfinder is lag free because this is where the rubber meats the road!

The IR illuminator (aftermarket) is a $ 45 dollar problem - not a big deal.

I’ll continue to monitor YouTube for vids , as of yesterday - no new content by users

But if it were my hard earned money , I wouldn’t be satisfied with post hunt shot analysis with the video I’m seeing and wouldn’t be able to share it with my hunting partners in doing the same - that’s just me though!

Thanks again for the follow up

I don't disagree with your analysis at all. I'll use it some more and come back with some more observations. There are some things that are really big and immediate turn offs but I want to give the scope a fair chance before I form my final opinions.

First 34 secs is a 4k Xsight