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Geez - I feel like a K-tel commercial ... (chuckle)
Okay - here's a solution to quite a few needs ...
First off - it's been said over and over again: "Don't use the scope on your weapon as a 'spotting scope' unless you're planning on pulling the trigger" (the people you're looking at can get a little nervous when they perceive themselves as being targeted ... which can be a bad thing if they're :
A. trigger happy and have live ammo,
B. civvies with direct access to people who can initiate a poop avalanche on your head, or
C. anybody else who is allergic to having a weapon pointed at them).
Second, on the off chance that you might be deploying to a sunny, inhospitable location (either abroad or right here in Canuckistan), you may have already experienced the frustration of trying to use a digital camera on a sunny day (i.e. when it's difficult to see the LCD viewfinder).
Third, a recent post on equipment wish lists from Fallujah reinforced something many of us already know - binoculars are a beautiful thing (something recognised by the thief who stole mine during my cbt tm comd crse ... but, I digress ...)
Okay - here's something you might wanna ask Santa for (especially if you're having a hard time trying to decide what to get for "the kit monster who has everything ..."):
BINO-CAMS
A combination binocular/digital camera (i.e. a pair of binoculars with a digital camera built right in). They're beautiful in oh, so many ways - you can take pictures discretely, since it only looks like you're observing through bino's vice a camera (something I found useful in Afghanistan, due to cultural issues).
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, you avoid committing the faux pas of using the scope on your weapon when you shouldn't.
Your vision automatically becomes bionic due to the magnification of the bino's (which reminds me of the expression "it's difficult to kill somebody you can't see" ...), and even if the battery goes dead you can still use them as bino's even though you're temporarily lost the camera function. Plus, not only can you see better, but you can take digital photographs of what you saw - something that has professional value, as well as sentimental ("Dear G2 - You'll never guess what we saw on patrol today ...")
And, as opposed to the in-freaking-credibly huge, clumsy, heavy WWII/Korea vintage bino's that you may have encountered through the system, these bino-cams are nice and compact - I tuck mine inside my jacket to keep them from freezing in the winter, which also protects it from dust and getting banged up.
They're relatively inexpensive, in the grand scheme of things (which can be a good thing if you break or lose them - you haven't spent/lost hundreds of dollars on a high-end digital cam). You can find a cheap pair for $30 or $40, and I just Googled and found a water resistant pair (wish I'd known they existed before I bought mine ... sigh ...) http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-binoculars-camera.html
Here's another site with lots of good info: http://www.thebinocularsite.com/dig...inoculars&camp=Binoculars&group=Camera+Binocs
So, there you have it - a suggestion from somebody who's been there, done that, and got the digital photographs to prove it (and, I do NOT have stock options or shares in any company that manufactures bino-cams, nor will I earn one cent in sales commissions ... chuckle!)
Hope I've made somebody's Chrismas shopping a little more fun!
Okay - here's a solution to quite a few needs ...
First off - it's been said over and over again: "Don't use the scope on your weapon as a 'spotting scope' unless you're planning on pulling the trigger" (the people you're looking at can get a little nervous when they perceive themselves as being targeted ... which can be a bad thing if they're :
A. trigger happy and have live ammo,
B. civvies with direct access to people who can initiate a poop avalanche on your head, or
C. anybody else who is allergic to having a weapon pointed at them).
Second, on the off chance that you might be deploying to a sunny, inhospitable location (either abroad or right here in Canuckistan), you may have already experienced the frustration of trying to use a digital camera on a sunny day (i.e. when it's difficult to see the LCD viewfinder).
Third, a recent post on equipment wish lists from Fallujah reinforced something many of us already know - binoculars are a beautiful thing (something recognised by the thief who stole mine during my cbt tm comd crse ... but, I digress ...)
Okay - here's something you might wanna ask Santa for (especially if you're having a hard time trying to decide what to get for "the kit monster who has everything ..."):
BINO-CAMS
A combination binocular/digital camera (i.e. a pair of binoculars with a digital camera built right in). They're beautiful in oh, so many ways - you can take pictures discretely, since it only looks like you're observing through bino's vice a camera (something I found useful in Afghanistan, due to cultural issues).
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, you avoid committing the faux pas of using the scope on your weapon when you shouldn't.
Your vision automatically becomes bionic due to the magnification of the bino's (which reminds me of the expression "it's difficult to kill somebody you can't see" ...), and even if the battery goes dead you can still use them as bino's even though you're temporarily lost the camera function. Plus, not only can you see better, but you can take digital photographs of what you saw - something that has professional value, as well as sentimental ("Dear G2 - You'll never guess what we saw on patrol today ...")
And, as opposed to the in-freaking-credibly huge, clumsy, heavy WWII/Korea vintage bino's that you may have encountered through the system, these bino-cams are nice and compact - I tuck mine inside my jacket to keep them from freezing in the winter, which also protects it from dust and getting banged up.
They're relatively inexpensive, in the grand scheme of things (which can be a good thing if you break or lose them - you haven't spent/lost hundreds of dollars on a high-end digital cam). You can find a cheap pair for $30 or $40, and I just Googled and found a water resistant pair (wish I'd known they existed before I bought mine ... sigh ...) http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-binoculars-camera.html
Here's another site with lots of good info: http://www.thebinocularsite.com/dig...inoculars&camp=Binoculars&group=Camera+Binocs
So, there you have it - a suggestion from somebody who's been there, done that, and got the digital photographs to prove it (and, I do NOT have stock options or shares in any company that manufactures bino-cams, nor will I earn one cent in sales commissions ... chuckle!)
Hope I've made somebody's Chrismas shopping a little more fun!
