These Fusion binoculars have been mentioned last year and news/rumors have been in circulation since. I am excited to say Visir Inc. is now offering The J-FB (Jerry- Fusion Binoculars) for sale; the first commercially available Fusion binocular system.
LET THE RECORD SHOW, I GOT SOMETHING FIRST BEFORE HORTA. Man that felt nice to announce
, now on to the review haha:
Housing came in a super nice box, not the plain cardboard anonomous like all others.
Custom cut foam, with textured top liner, for your pleasure.....Did I menttion nicest packaging I've seen from any NV related products ever (outside of RPNVGs, I've used/built them all). Oh and you get a nice soft case too.
Everything that comes in the box.
Glamor Shots of the Unit.
Due to the physical constraints with cramming thermal integration into a I2 unit, I was concerned with the length of the unit. Wearing something that feels like pinnocio's nose x2 would certainly feel awkward and probably not good for the neck.
The first thing you notice about the unit is it's the size and weight, it comes in under 21oz (with L3 tubes) and is actually shorter than a PVS-14; I was impressed. Compared side by side to a PVS-14 and PVS-23 (F5050)
Getting into the nuts of it, went out with family last night during the new moon. So there was no illumination except starlight. Side by side comparison of the J-FB and the PVS-14. Can you tell which is which?
The picture with pup was the J-FB. Thru the tube of the J-FB, thermal overlay pod. I got that first time looking thru NV "wow" feeling all over again the first time I look thru the J-FB. Warm fuzzies and tight pants all over again. Full thermal and outline modes
Video of pup and man at approximately 180yrds, outline mode.
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Video Full thermal mode, at approximately 180yrds.
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Wheres waldo?
Answers
The money shot, Raid-xe civ with illuminator opened up fully, treeline around 200 yrds.
Having used them for the last couple of weeks, I REALLY like them and think they are spectacular. Alot of small details went into this one that made if feel ever so slightly more like a premium product. The battery pack cable, as can be seen, is coiled so its self-retracting. The cable also came with caps that were tethered on to them, not seen as I removed them. A very nice presentation box and soft case. The unit has a bluetooth remote with velcro backing so you can attach it to anywhere. You can adjust the thermal overlay settings and NUC the sensor without having to constantly fiddle infont of your face; very convenient.
Now on to points I found a bit lacking. The image produced by the J-FB is competitive, as can be seen from the comparison photo; but the glass is definetly the main drawback. The glass was designed to make the unit extremely compact. But this also leads to a tighter eyebox and shorter eye relief. In order for me to observe the full 40 degree FOV of the tube, I set the bino about 1/2" away from my eyes. You still have a comfortable amount of peripheral fov, but its definetly not optimal. In highlight environments, objects around the edge of the FOV will exhibit what appears similar to chromatic aberation. This appears only in very high light, surburban-urban, situations and I wasnt able to pick up this affect properly on the camera. So its defiently not something thats glaring, but figured worth mentioning. Last there seems to be some artifacts/issues with the thermal overlay. Did you catch them within the videos? I knew what they were and could barely catch them, so more likely than not you didnt catch them lol. I've been told this was a software issue, and Infiray is sending me an update as we speak. So as long as Infiray's software fix works, I consider this a non issue and will edit this part of the review.
Despite the drawbacks listed, the unit works period. The fact that its not vaporware, will set you back well under 20k depending on tubes, and its performance; its pretty fantastic.
