Photonis intens
 

I dont know how many of you have checked out photonis's latest offering, the "intens" supposedly it has a the ability to capture a broader spectrum then even gen III pinnical tubes, there claiming photo sensitivity into the UV band and up to 1000nm in the IR band.

Official tube page:
http://www.intensnightvision.org/

Photocathod response comparison at 915nm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RT55zMJXRQ

prehaps Ill have to get one of these instead of an omni VII and get myself a class 1 UV laser, skin cancer for everyone!

Look at the stars, the L3 and ITT tubes are still obviously much better. They are also using filters on the L3 and ITT tubes to decrease contrast.

yup your defiantly right about that, I got all excited for nothing. Regardless it is a huge innovation for gen II technology, and I do think that the spectrum is broader but the photo sensitivity is lower.

A Photonis tube is more than good enough for airsoft use, also good for those who can't access ITAR restricted US tubes. There is still a noticeable performance gap between European/Russian tubes and modern US tubes - they seem to be 15-20 years behind US tech when it comes to performance.

I looked through a Photonis, I was impressed. It is definitely comparable to US OMNI IV. When I compared it in low light to my MX-10160C, I had less noise, more clarity, better contrast, less fishbowling, better edge clarity etc.

Problem with shit on the internet is that its 90% hype and 10% actual performance.

Im currently using a gs-14 with whatever tube GSCI is currently putting into them, we have a D300 HP on the team with XD-4 in it and it has much better S/R then mine but they like to fish bowl when you pan with them, its really weird ive never seen a gen 2 tube do it but it sure does

Google says this about Gen 3 GS-14

Tube: Gen 3 CGT, 57 lp/mm min, FOM 1250

OMNI VI and VII tubes are at minimum 64 lp/mm and 1600 or 1792 FOM at minimum.

its not the gen 3 model its the gen 2 model, im not getting anything less then a intens, XR5 or a US omni 6 or newer if i upgrade, I believe the SNR on the gen 2 version is 19 and the resolution is 54 so the fom is 1026 which is meh, but then i didnt pay all that much for it

Ben already knows this, but for the sake of everyone else... lol

Cost is ultimately prohibitive at best. 5000 euro for a tube.
You can get a used autogated gen3 omni 7 for $3500-$4000 CAD

FOM is more impressive with the previous photonis gen XR5 tube boasting 55-72lp/mm resolution and SNR of 25-28, rivalling gen3 omni 6 and omni 7. INTENS should be around 80-84lp/mm max.
INTENS has a greater sensitivity range from UV to just over 1000nm, but ultimately the gain is still not nearly as good as a GaS photocathode.
XR5 is 30,000-50,000, so probably close to the same. Gen 3 omni 6/7 is running at 50,000-80,000 gain.

So they're depending on using a wider range of light to make up for the lack of gain, which is more of a regional problem, up here we should have more of the higher IR spectrum visible at night, whereas nearer to the equator it should be a wider range of available light at night.

SO, they should have better clarity, but in the end not work as well as gen3 with cloud cover at night.
Nevertheless, it's predecessor (XR5) has some CRAZY impressive specs for a gen2. You can even get them with autogating.

photosensitivity of the INTENS tube has an expected mean of 800. Where as OMNI IV+ contract requirements are 1600+ and top off around 2300-2400 IIRC for OMNI VII.

As I said in another post FOM means nothing its full data sheet or GTFO. Their is a gentleman who has shown me a FOM 2400 tube but has photosensitivity that is <800. In optimal conditions the image looks fantastic, but when the conditions go from full moon to heavily overcast the performance is awful.

Is there any decent photosensitive tubes outside of the USA though?

http://www.actinblack.com

Harder Digital; German Gen 3 tube

useless without a spec sheet, we dont even have a FOM for it

EDIT: never mind

You do realise they publish their spec ranges on their website for each tube right? They seem like they'd be decent tubes but obviously not close to current US tubes.

@Amoki
If you're in Canada, US made stuff isn't really that hard to get your hands on. There are several PVS-14s for sale on this forum right now with US Gen III tubes.

where? I can not find them for the life of me

EDIT: of course its under the FAQ BRB hating myself