Bushnell Night Vision products feature a built-in infrared illuminator for enhanced images in very low light for use when camping, exploring caves, patrolling warehouses or other locations where there is no ambient light to amplify. Backed by a 2-year limited warranty, the Bushnell line-up of night vision equipment is lightweight, compact and ready to use for work or for play.

5 Responses to “Bushnell 2.5×42 Night Vision Monocular”

1. JS Bird says:

   June 5, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I am using this Bushnell night vision monocular for security purposes and when my backyard motion sensors (I have a large yard) inform me of abnormal movement. I am now able to experience excellent night vision when I do my own security surveillance from the comfort of my bedroom window. I am not giving it 5 stars as I would imagine the more expensive (military) types should earn all the stars. I am a happy user.
2. Matthew J. Woerly says:

   May 19, 2010 at 12:00 am

   This product is about as good as you can expect for the price and being a Gen 1 device. It’s larger than I expected, a little larger than a small camcorder.

   It needs a little bit of light to function well. If your eyes adjust to the dark, what you can begin to see, this device brightens up a good bit. What is still too dark is also too dark for the device. It’s good at showing detail in dim scenes. It’s also good in places where there may be a bright area (where you can see) right next to a dark area. Your eyes have a hard time adjusting to the dark area with bright lights near it. This device allows you to look into the shadows and dark areas and see things your normally can’t (of course, don’t point it at the bright lights…) The manual says you shouldn’t point it at anything brighter than 1 lux for very long. That’s about a full moon, maybe a little brighter.

   The IR light works well out to maybe 50 to 100 feet. It’s pretty bright on closer objects. Much further out it doesn’t help much. As mentioned in other reviews, it’s also really bright if you’re looking right at it. If you put something in front of it, you can see the red light shining on it for about a foot. I’ve considered getting a filter for it, but am not really sure where to look. Some people suggested using primary red and congo blue stage lighting gels, I may do that eventually. I tried a floppy disk, and it helped, but it also made the IR light a lot dimmer for the night vision.

   Once focused, the image on the device is very sharp. It’s distorted around the edges as with any Gen 1 device, but provides a very clear image in the center. I think the 2.5x is a good balance for providing a good angle of view but some magnification also. It’s not great for things closer than 20 feet or so, or things over about 200 feet away.

   When I first turn it on, there are some bright flashes and such as the manual says may happen, but those disappear quickly. The image also kind of flickers, flashing a bit brighter sporadically. Not sure if that’s normal, but it’s not really that big of a problem.

   Especially in really dark places (where it’s not much good anyway), and also a bit in brighter places, you can see what looks like static in the image. After you turn it off, the image remains for a few minutes before fading away. I found that once you turn it off, the image quality is actually better at first. The static clears up and you get a pretty clear image.

   The battery compartment can be tight. I have some normal alkalines that went in fine, but I have some rechargeables that are a bit larger that got a bit stuck in there.

   I was able to line it up on a chair with my DSLR camera and got some decent shots (a little blurry from movement and static), though it’s really hard to point it where you want it and have it stay still in the right place. I needed about 10 seconds to get enough light for a good exposure at ISO 1600.

   It’s no high end device but it’s still functional and fun to play with. I hope to get some good time using it this summer.
3. Lee Paulsel says:

   February 18, 2010 at 12:00 am

   My son-in-law wanted this type product. I selected this for him. He loves it, so it must be good. He is a professor and very discerning.
4. J. H. Thillmann says:

   January 18, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I bought this night vision instrument to keep an eye on my small dogs when I let them out at night. It does the trick. Its pretty much idiot proof but does take time to get used to it.
5. Charles Barb says:

   November 9, 2009 at 12:00 am

   I ordered and returned an apparently defective unit. Amazon handled the return very efficiently and at no cost to me, and has credited my credit card for the purchase. Due to this performance I tried again and ordered the same unit again. Again it appeared to be defective, it wouldn’t turn on. I was following the illustration in the manual for insertion of the two batteries. The illustration in wrong: the batteries go in the other way and a small metal piece linking the two batteries is not provided or needed in the current product. Once I reversed the batteries the unit has worked fine and I’m quite impressed with it. I’m also very satisfied with purchasing a product directly from Amazon, it fact it was the factor in my selection of a night vision scope. Other than the problem with the user manual I would rate this a 5-star product.