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Night Vision DBAL D2 vs Luna

nexusfire

Secks fi millimeet
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 9, 2010
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Mesa, AZ
Is it worth getting the DBAL D2 if the main function will be for the IR illumination? Or should I just save the money and go with the Luna?
 
Luna for sure... Not even close and I have both.


A Luna will paint my steel easy at 1200 and you can tighten the beam down to a legit pointer or have if way open. You can also control the output power.

D2 will get you maybe 250 yards on an ipsc
 
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Luna for sure... Not even close and I have both.


A Luna will paint my steel easy at 1200 and you can tighten the beam down to a legit pointer or have if way open. You can also control the output power.

D2 will get you maybe 250 yards on an ipsc

Is that with the filter off?
 
How often do you think you'd use the IR pointer as a secondary function? May be worth it for that and for the extra ruggedness. I have both and use both for different things. I definitely baby the ELIR more, as it feels like the bezel would snap right off if bumped wrong.
 
It depends what you're going to use it for. IMO the Luna shines with a clip on at distance, especially when spill in the foreground can be an issue. On a semi auto especially and inside 4-500yds I prefer the d2. It's easier to pick things out in the clean led flood vs the diffused laser.
 
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Lets say you don't go with a all in one unit like a DBAL, PEQ, MAWL, etc. What besides the luna would you need to complete the NV rifle setup? a Modlite 850?
 
From my understanding, even though the luna will get pointer narrow, it isn't really reliable to hold zero. So you'd probably want a separate pointer. Modlite would basically be a wide throw illuminator, so I'd think it would be a bit redundant with the luna.
 
But I also think where the luna really "shines" is long distance illumination. Modlight would be for something more in close. So depends on how you plan to use it.
 
Yetterisbetter- the nice thing about the adjustable power and beam of the Luna is you can use it closer up also. As Totdoc said it really "shines" at distance (I like that BTW), but you can use it closer as well.
 
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i like the D2, but that could be confirmation bias, since i have one.
i never expected to use this at great distances, and is really just for killing zombies and other nocturnal annoyances.
the pointer works well and being able to add a pattern so you can tell who is who when hunting zombies as a team might be nice.
also, the green laser used to zero the pointer is extremely bright (brighter than my surefire x400u) and gives you another day/night option.
 
Lets say you don't go with a all in one unit like a DBAL, PEQ, MAWL, etc. What besides the luna would you need to complete the NV rifle setup? a Modlite 850?
i don't have one, but some like the surefire vampire so you get white light and IR in one.
 
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I must have had a bad Luna. But with the mod I still thought it was a rather dirty laser and not all that useful. Powerful? Sure... but not insomuch that it would provide a usable signature at distance. I also love a D2 so I’m probably the odd one....D2 is useful 250-350 maybe? That’s pushing it on a reflective surface but realistically for civi market probably more than adequate. I sold my Luna, kept the D2 and others.
 
Really depends on the application... if ALL you need is illumination, Luna will be fine and save you some $$.

If you are putting it on a carbine and want laser + illum then the D2 or MAWL is probably the best out there for civilians
 
Really depends on the application... if ALL you need is illumination, Luna will be fine and save you some $$.

If you are putting it on a carbine and want laser + illum then the D2 or MAWL is probably the best out there for civilians
This really answers my question, thank you. It is just for illumination.
 
Your question has been answered but I wanted to put my 2 cents in. I do not have a Luna. I do have a DBAL-D2. It can definitely illuminate targets past 250 yards. I've personally used it to illuminate a mini IPSC at 300 yards. The issue I ran into at that range is difficulty identifying targets. I didn't realize how much I depended on color contrast. I'm sure the Luna has a tighter beam and is brighter, but it can illuminate well enough out to 500.With a PVS-9a clip-on, spill is an issue with the D2. Anything in the beam path will appear as really bright and distracting bokkeh/halo when you're focused downrange. That might be something one could mitigate with better mounting but it should be noted.
 
As has been stated a thousand times before, useful range for these devices depends on many different factors. Here’s a few examples from the group NV shoot we did last November, with a handful of devices at 300yd and the D2 at 1000. Very low ambient light helps greatly in their effectiveness. A big moon night, foggy conditions or a bunch of man made lights to fight against (photonic barriers) would hurt the brightness of the IR beams.

E9D2AB76-4B36-488C-AA2B-C1A86D2370BE.jpeg


4BF8D221-5348-4032-B9CA-D84B2812B221.jpeg
 
I've seen you post some of that before but it's worth saying again- Awesome work JW!!!