Red Dot & Astigmatism

J.R.

J.R.

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So as most of you know, I am pretty new to shooting. So I just picked up my first red dot (PA advanced microdot) After much excitement, I get it mounted, turn it on and Wham! a blob, no dot in sight. Fast forward, after some research it says try to take a picture of the dot, if it looks the way it should you have an astigmatism. Well, in photos the dot looks like, well.. a dot.

So! what do you guys with a similar issue do? Do you avoid red dots all together or just embrace the blob?
 
noway2;n44354 said:
Do you wear correction for it? I wear contacts and have never noticed an issue.
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Can't stand putting my fingers in my eyes any longer, I just stick to glasses.

Still not a huge fan of red dots so I'm anxious to try a prism sight to see how that works out.
 
noway2;n44354 said:
Do you wear correction for it? I wear contacts and have never noticed an issue.
Click to expand...

I don't wear glasses/contacts. I have 20/20 vision, so I was surprised to say the least when the dot was blurry.
 
Moved to Optics Talk -

Good topic, it was just in the classifieds
 
fieldgrade said:
Moved to Optics Talk -

Good topic, it was just in the classifieds
Click to expand...
No problem at all. We have so many categories, I wasn't even sure till I looked.
 
I wonder if anyone makes a green (instead of red) dot sight. When I spent ten years in industrial/commercial sales with Sylvania in the lighting business a lifetime ago, we were always told that green light is the easiest for the human eye to see.

As my eyes have gotten older and my vision deteriorated I have noticed how much easier it is to see green digital numerals on a clock radio, or cable box, etc, versus the red digital numerals from 20-30 years ago.

I also had a Pontiac I sold one of my kids a couple of years ago with a red illuminated instrument cluster that was hard as heck for me to focus on at night.

That said, I have an Aimpoint Pro (red dot) and a Holosun Red Dot that I can see crystal clear. I still wonder what it would be like if they were green.
 
Tailhunter;n44390 said:
I've got a bad astigmatism, I got a vortex red dot once the dot was horrible. Went with aimpoint, no more problems.
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What aimpoint do you have?
 
I have the same issues. I have an Aimpoint Pro that I barely have turned on because of an astigmatism. Mine didn't seem as bad a few years ago.

I really have considered selling it because of my eye issues.
 
Vortex Spitfire 1x Prism scope.

Edit: The illumination can be set red or green. Most importantly, it's an etched reticle so it is there with illumination or not. I hardly use the illumination at all.
 
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fieldgrade;n44392 said:
I wonder if anyone makes a green (instead of red) dot sight. When I spent ten years in industrial/commercial sales with Sylvania in the lighting business a lifetime ago, we were always told that green light is the easiest for the human eye to see.

As my eyes have gotten older and my vision deteriorated I have noticed how much easier it is to see green digital numerals on a clock radio, or cable box, etc, versus the red digital numerals from 20-30 years ago.

I also had a Pontiac I sold one of my kids a couple of years ago with a red illuminated instrument cluster that was hard as heck for me to focus on at night.

That said, I have an Aimpoint Pro (red dot) and a Holosun Red Dot that I can see crystal clear. I still wonder what it would be like if they were green.
Click to expand...

I've been looking into the vortex spitfire, they actually have a red/green option.
 
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J.R.;n44420 said:
I've been looking into the vortex spitfire, they actually have a red/green option.
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I had a Leupold 1.5-4x variable magnified optic with a green or red illuminated dot at the center of the etched reticle ( i think it was etched) . Anyway, I never needed to turn it on, so I'm no help. And for all my eyeball issues, astigmatism isn't one of them, so I am pretty much adding blather to the discussion. lol
 
NKD;n44414 said:
Vortex Spitfire 1x Prism scope.

Edit: The illumination can be set red or green. Most importantly, it's an etched reticle so it is there with illumination or not. I hardly use the illumination at all.
Click to expand...


HUGE Plus 1....I love this optic. My astigmatism was causing same issues as the OP. The Spitfire has been awesome.

I have one on my 300BO SBR and another on the 9mm SBR.
 
Tim;n44440 said:
HUGE Plus 1....I love this optic. My astigmatism was causing same issues as the OP. The Spitfire has been awesome.

I have one on my 300BO SBR and another on the 9mm SBR.
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Will the 3x be the same as 1x? Only reason I ask is PA has the 3x on their site and it might just be easier to exchange it vs getting them to try and return completely. Also, 1x I saw was $250 vs 3x at $350. I'll have to start researching the vortex more.
 
another +1 for the Spitfire

I have it bad. Every single holographic or reflex sight I have looked through from NCstar up to Aimpoint even Trijicon looks like a blob/starburst to my eye. But the prism sights are much much clearer. I sold all my dots and got a Vortex Spitfire 1x and I can use it. https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optics.../dp/B00HYRGOQQ

Sorry I have not use a 3x but if you get good results post it here?

I also discovered by accident that looking at a red dot through the hole in an AR rear sight makes the dot crisp and clear just like it looks in a photo. odd trick of optics I can't begin to understand but check it out...
 
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Catfish;n44475 said:
another +1 for the Spitfire

I have it bad. Every single holographic or reflex sight I have looked through from NCstar up to Aimpoint even Trijicon looks like a blob/starburst to my eye. But the prism sights are much much clearer. I sold all my dots and got a Vortex Spitfire 1x and I can use it. https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optics.../dp/B00HYRGOQQ

Sorry I have not use a 3x but if you get good results post it here?

I also discovered by accident that looking at a red dot through the hole in an AR rear sight makes the dot crisp and clear just like it looks in a photo. odd trick of optics I can't begin to understand but check it out...
Click to expand...

I tried to look through the rear sight but it was still a mess. I'm gonna get w PA and see what my options are.
 
IMO,
Either get a 1x optic / redot, or get a variable low power optic like a 1-4x24 or 1-6x24. A fixed 3X is neither.

I like the 1x prism as it has all the benefits of a fast red dot and can be shot with both eyes open. It really shines in this role. Magnifying it kills it's usefulness for me and at that point I would buy a 1x4 variable. The reason, because even with a variable optic I still use 1X for about 95% of the time. I just shot 250 rounds at a carbine match and used 1x the whole time on my 1-6 scope. If I were at a longer match, I would have dialed up to higher power only briefly once or twice for shots beyond 100-200 yards.
So, I don't see the point in a fixed 3X scope.


The Vortex Spitfire 1X has brighter glass and crisper reticle than a basic dot, so it's much easier to make distance hits than a basic red dot, if distance is a concern.. I have seen it often for 199$ and have seen it for 169$ before.
 
BTW:
I am in South Chapel Hill/ Pittsboro area. If you are local you can take a gander thru mine anytime.
 
I have a slight astigmatism and I used to run a aim point pro and it flared a slight bit but it wasn't on a precision gun so as long as it was minute of man I don't care. I have a MRO now and it is not as bad and still it is on a fighting rifle so I don't mind a bit of flare when it is still able to group in a spell at 100 yards.
 
NKD;n44525 said:
IMO,
Either get a 1x optic / redot, or get a variable low power optic like a 1-4x24 or 1-6x24. A fixed 3X is neither.

I like the 1x prism as it has all the benefits of a fast red dot and can be shot with both eyes open. It really shines in this role. Magnifying it kills it's usefulness for me and at that point I would buy a 1x4 variable. The reason, because even with a variable optic I still use 1X for about 95% of the time. I just shot 250 rounds at a carbine match and used 1x the whole time on my 1-6 scope. If I were at a longer match, I would have dialed up to higher power only briefly once or twice for shots beyond 100-200 yards.
So, I don't see the point in a fixed 3X scope.


The Vortex Spitfire 1X has brighter glass and crisper reticle than a basic dot, so it's much easier to make distance hits than a basic red dot, if distance is a concern.. I have seen it often for 199$ and have seen it for 169$ before.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna go with the 1x I think, I'm gonna see if PA will just return it.

will the 1/3 co witness work with the spitfire or will I need a new mount
 
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I wear corrective contacts and still cannot use a red dot scope. Like trying to use a shamrock for the dot. Holographic reflex sights are not as bad for me.
 
J.R. said:
NKD;n44525 said:
IMO,
Either get a 1x optic / redot, or get a variable low power optic like a 1-4x24 or 1-6x24. A fixed 3X is neither.

I like the 1x prism as it has all the benefits of a fast red dot and can be shot with both eyes open. It really shines in this role. Magnifying it kills it's usefulness for me and at that point I would buy a 1x4 variable. The reason, because even with a variable optic I still use 1X for about 95% of the time. I just shot 250 rounds at a carbine match and used 1x the whole time on my 1-6 scope. If I were at a longer match, I would have dialed up to higher power only briefly once or twice for shots beyond 100-200 yards.
So, I don't see the point in a fixed 3X scope.


The Vortex Spitfire 1X has brighter glass and crisper reticle than a basic dot, so it's much easier to make distance hits than a basic red dot, if distance is a concern.. I have seen it often for 199$ and have seen it for 169$ before.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna go with the 1x I think, I'm gonna see if PA will just return it.

will the 1/3 co witness work with the spitfire or will I need a new mount
Click to expand...
It comes with a mount.

However, cowitness is off a little with prism scopes. I would take the optic off if it failed.

I believe ADM also makes a QD mount for it.
 
I kept going back to my optometrist complaining my eyeglass prescription was bad due to the inability to get rid of the starburst in all my red dot sights. Even took one with me to test prescriptions. Rx kept coming up the same regardless on every repeat exam. Then I went to Lense Crafters at the Westgate Mall with the same complaint. They ran another test I had never seen and voila! Apparently I have the beginnings of cataracts. He described it as looking through broken glass.

The good: shooting helped diagnose my vision problem early.

The bad: only solution is surgery.

Think I'll try the Spitfire for now.
 
bigfutz said:
I kept going back to my optometrist complaining my eyeglass prescription was bad due to the inability to get rid of the starburst in all my red dot sights. Even took one with me to test prescriptions. Rx kept coming up the same regardless on every repeat exam. Then I went to Lense Crafters at the Westgate Mall with the same complaint. They ran another test I had never seen and voila! Apparently I have the beginnings of cataracts. He described it as looking through broken glass.

The good: shooting helped diagnose my vision problem early.

The bad: only solution is surgery.

Think I'll try the Spitfire for now.
Click to expand...
My mother had cataract surgery on both eyes. It turned out being a walk in the park and she sees much better now.
It used to really kill her night vision and trying to drive on a rainy night was...........horrifying for the passenger. So I don't think you have too much to worry about. Seems eye surgery gets better/simpler/cheaper every day.
 
bigfutz said:
I kept going back to my optometrist complaining my eyeglass prescription was bad due to the inability to get rid of the starburst in all my red dot sights. Even took one with me to test prescriptions. Rx kept coming up the same regardless on every repeat exam. Then I went to Lense Crafters at the Westgate Mall with the same complaint. They ran another test I had never seen and voila! Apparently I have the beginnings of cataracts. He described it as looking through broken glass.

The good: shooting helped diagnose my vision problem early.

The bad: only solution is surgery.

Think I'll try the Spitfire for now.
Click to expand...
I'm hoping with all the new technology available today, maybe I can get lenses (implants, IOL's) with Transitions and MIL-dot reticles.
 
bigfutz said:
I kept going back to my optometrist complaining my eyeglass prescription was bad due to the inability to get rid of the starburst in all my red dot sights. Even took one with me to test prescriptions. Rx kept coming up the same regardless on every repeat exam. Then I went to Lense Crafters at the Westgate Mall with the same complaint. They ran another test I had never seen and voila! Apparently I have the beginnings of cataracts. He described it as looking through broken glass.

The good: shooting helped diagnose my vision problem early.

The bad: only solution is surgery.

Think I'll try the Spitfire for now.
Click to expand...
Maybe they will create something like black mirror and you will be able to rewind your memories lol

Technology has come a long way; my friends eyes are from s dead guy. (Not the actual eye, I think it's the retina or something not sure honestly)
 
Alright so I'm going to try to return the red dot & try the spitfire. Once I get it I'll update my results, i am hopeful! I saw a photo on Amazon of the "etched" which seems like it would work in most normal light situations.
 
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Have the same issue with EVERY illuminated optic I run, thats the curse of the astigmatism, my Doc says that outside of LASIK, the blob wont go away, or in my case, the Dot with a lighted shadow......
 
Somewhere up thread, OP asked about co-witness mount. Just FYI, a prismatic sight will not be able to do-witness with irons reliably. The optic is actually doing something internally that causes some shift in perspective. I don't pretend to know all the voodoo, I just know that irons don't work.
 
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Tim;n46677 said:
Somewhere up thread, OP asked about co-witness mount. Just FYI, a prismatic sight will not be able to do-witness with irons reliably. The optic is actually doing something internally that causes some shift in perspective. I don't pretend to know all the voodoo, I just know that irons don't work.
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Thanks Tim, I have a fixed iron. Is the vortex still a viable option or would the fixed sight interfere with the new sight?
 
USMC6094;n46672 said:
Have the same issue with EVERY illuminated optic I run, thats the curse of the astigmatism, my Doc says that outside of LASIK, the blob wont go away, or in my case, the Dot with a lighted shadow......
Click to expand...

If the vortex doesn't work I guess I'll have to look into non red dot optics. It seems, it varies person to person some people have luck with the vortex some have none.

the only thing I have found that helps is turning the brightness until it's barely visible which doesn't help much because then I can't see it lol
 
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