Night Vision Equipment

Little about myself: 30yrs old, male, Caucasian. I have had the monocular diplopia to some degree for the past 2years or so.. give or take. It seems fairly stable, with any ‘change’ probably being merely my paying attention to it rather than a progression ( at least that is what I am going to believe for now ).

What I mean by this is what I described,.. Double vision in each eye , alone. — If I cover one eye, I see ‘vertical’ double vision — more adequately described as a ghost image.. as the ghost image doesn’t 100% separate from the real/original source image. But it is your typical diplopia.

Very noticeable from LED’s, lights, lamps, digital clocks,.. but also appears on non ‘light sources’. It *is* more pronounced the darker it is (ie: the larger the pupil) — but most aberrations are I would have to guess.. in general.

Not much to say about what I see here, except you could probably reproduce some form of this if you went outside at night and looked at a street light and squinted your eyes until the light started to blur and distort. The rays coming out are what I see with my eyes normally. Very obviously, and prominently ghost images.

Just to add to this, if it might be of relevance,.. is I see halo’s around light sources, and starbursts on car headlights, computer power/hd leds (or any led) for that matter.

Thing that just a few years ago were very clear, and sharp.. are now a blur (light sources). IE: I used to love LED’s for their look, brightness, clarity, low heat and so on .. now I cannot stand them because they (for I suspect by design) , really bring out this problem in my vision. They are piercingly bright now.. where even on the newer cars that have LED’s as their primary source for things such as brake lights make me look in another direction as they are too bright (when they used to just look ‘nice’ a few years ago).

I am 30,.. as I mentioned, this started in my late 20’s.. so it isn’t exactly a huge ‘age’ factor.

Vision wise: — I have had 2 Optometric exams , dilated fundus, etc.. and visual acuity is 20/16, with no significant astigmatism, or any other low order aberration found that needed correction. *They have found a slight degree of astigmatism, something like .25D - but being so minor I noticed no improvement with correction, so it isn’t prescribed (nor does the correction take away the diplopia) (I did not specifically mention this at my last exam.. but will in the future).

One optometrist mentioned that I seem to have ‘hawk eyes’.. hinting that my eyes ‘over-do’ something.. which gives me my acuity but makes convergence harder (IIRC).

At any rate,.. from all the research I have done monocular diploplia is extremely rare — and nothing seems to really explain it in my case. I do think it is affecting my vision more than just the obvious ghosting I notice on light sources and to some degree on normal objects. As I am having a more difficult time reading, concentrating, focusing, and so on. I know visual problems often are the culprit for problems such as these and people don’t realize how much so until they get the problem treated.

The only piece of possible explanation is that this is created by some HOA (High Order Aberration), which standard testing poorly, or does not, detect. I have contacted a local opthalmologist and have a standing appointment for a thorough exam for this.. and importantly the use of Wavefront technology to map my eyes for such HOA’s. (This is by my request not theirs).

I just wanted to be very thorough with the question and line of thought so maybe you eye experts could give me your thoughts, or if you have anything to add, ideas,.. potential Dx’s, etc.

Don’t worry I don’t take anything online as ‘official’.. but I would appreciate educated (professional or well-read ) opinions on the matter.

Thank you,

You are describing HOA’s. I would be suspicious of something in the cornea and that would be the part of the optical media that I would examine most thoroughly. If the cornea appears normal in slit lamp then I would definitely take a closer look with a topography. What you are describing is most often seen after refractive surgery (LASIK, LASEK, PRK) and as you very well describe get worse when the pupil is dilated and more of the refracted light from the cornea is allowed into the eye. HOA’s after refractive surgery are a result of an irregular corneal surface or the result of the treated area being smaller than the pupil. If you haven’t had refractive surgery before, then I would be interested in corneal dystrophy’s that affect the surface of the cornea - Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy, Reis-Buckler’s, Salzman.

The lens is also not to be forgotten as slightly displaced lenses or misshaped lenses can cause monocular diplopia.

I am sure that your ophthalmologist will be able to shed light on the matter after your planned examination.

take care,

Suppose we woke up tomorrow and found ourselves under an oppressive totalitarian government. Do you think your handguns, shotguns, hunting rifles, etc. will protect you? Keep in mind our professional soldiers have Night Vision Equipment, armored vehicles, airstrike capability, etc.

Some of you claim that gun rights were protected in order for citizens to fight against an oppressive government, but in the 1780’s, it was feasible for a group of farmers with squirrel rifles to defend themselves against a group of part-time soldiers who were also armed with squirrel rifles. These days, we have a standing army of trained soldiers who have weapons far beyond anything citizens can own. In this situation, owning a gun doesn’t make you safe, it makes you a target. Look what happened in Waco and at Ruby Ridge.
Wrath of Kahl, how many people will you take with you when you get hit by a laser-guided JDAM? My point is, there is no real way to defend ourselves against a tyrannical government, but feel free to keep living the fantasy.
sophie, thanks for having the guts to call me a Commie in public. I am so sick of people who are so cowardly they can only call me a Commie in a PM!
simon p, interesting response! The two groups of people I most love to torment are creationists and gun nuts. Coincidence?
bmovies60, nice try, but the VC had Soviet-supplied SAM’s, armored vehicles, etc. Also, the Afghanistan resistance was supplied with weapons such as shoulder-launched Stinger missiles by Ronald Reagan. Those efforts were successful, but they were helped by major superpowers. Who will help us stop Obama from sending us to FEMA camps?
Charles, I’m not saying people shouldn’t have the right to own guns. I’m just saying that if you own a gun because you think it will protect you from the NWO, you are sadly mistaken.
pacl, I was originally going to ask if gun owners thought "Red Dawn" was real, but I did not want to insult anyone’s intelligence. Thank you for doing it for me. By the way, you are right when you say that my theoretical government would have to completely get rid of the US constitution. My entire premise is ridiculous, thanks for noticing.

i know! it would be pointless. im going to shoot my .223 at your aegis destroyer

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Security Camera Night Vision High Resolution Item#: SV-CM35IR48         Toll Free 1-866-779-8455  Email Security Camera Night Vision High Resolution. This Outdoor night vision security camera will give you a sharp color picture during the day and a black and white night vision picture in total darkness. Its automatic light sensor makes it maintenance free and allows the built in 48 night vision leds to turn on and off automatically depending on the lighting conditions. This security camera will allow for night vision up to 70 feet away. The best operating range is between 30 and 40 feet to achieve the best picture. Specifications 1/3 CCD Color Night Vision Camera 420 TVL 0.01 Lux 6 mm View Lens DC 12 Volt +/- 10% 350 Ma Current Draw  +/- 10% Black Aluminum Housing 48 IR Leds 880~940Nm Video Wavelength Operating Temperature (-10 C) ~ (50C) Includes AC adapter Power and Video Cable Pigtail Universal Mount Sun Shield Size 3″ x 2 3/8″ x 1″

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Night Vision Monocular (NODS3)” />

The Night Owl Discovery 3x is a versatile night vision monocular incorporating integrated IR illuminator and a tripod adapter within a lightweight and small body frame. This Night Owl night vision monocular features soft-touch control buttons, power and IR indicators and a compact ergonomic design that comfortably fits in one hand. ##EXTERNALCONTENT[/Shared/OpticsBestBuy/HTML-Files/Night-Owl/NODS3-Description.html]##

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stalker.

No. If you’re good you can get close enough not to need binoculars.

Is there a camera that takes really good night pictures in very dark conditions?

How about a camera that actual has GEN 1 night vision built in?

You have several options:
1. Buy a separate nightvision device and take a picture through it with a regular camera. I’ve done that. It was tricky to get them to line up since neither was designed for this, but I was able to get some decent results.
2. Just get a digital camera that will take a picture of a long (more than five seconds) period of time. I’ve done this with excellent results.
3. Get a digital camera with a really high (1600) ISO setting. I’ve done this in places like circuses where they don’t allow flash photography and gotten tolerable results.
4. The Fujifilm S3 Pro UVIR sees visible light, infrared light, and ultraviolet light. I can’t afford one, but if I could I sure as heck would get one. It sees twice the bandwidth of light, so everything should look twice as bright. The color won’t be right in shots like that though.
5. What the other guy said.

I’m a 26 year old male in the northeastern USA. For the past 10 months I have had the following symptoms, most of which have gradually been getting worse:

(1) flickering / spotty / pulsating vision - i.e. looking at a white wall gives me mild moving flickering dark spots, looking at a dark wall gives me the same except the spots are light. these are not floaters - their edges are very indistinct and i can see through them very easily. this is more aggravating when i am trying to read text, but it is always there.
(2) a more constant dark spot in the very right side of my left eye’s field of vision
(3) occasional ghosted text in both eyes (intermittent bilateral monocular diplopia??
(4) occasional blurry vision
(5) frequent general out-of-it feeling: i feel tired all the time, have constant mild cold symptoms, occasionally feel disoriented, lightheaded, nauseous, or have an upset stomach.
(6) frequent hives

here’s what i’ve done so far to check:
(1) GP has standard bloodwork done and resting EKG done. everything is fine.
(2) Ophthalmologist examines eyes, says everything is fine, implies that maybe something is wrong with my brain.
(3) Neurologist does exam and MRI of brain, says everything is fine.
(4) Neuro-ophthalmologist does eye exam, says everything is fine. Tells me I should see a psychiatrist.
(5) Allergist cannot explain hives - allergy skin test is negative

My questions and insights:
(1) Could this really all be stress / hypochondria? If so, what can I do about it?
(2) Over the past five years I have had unprotected oral sex with about 4 different people. Could this somehow be HIV or some other STD?
(3) I’ve gotten sick this year more than normal. Six months ago I had the worst diarrhea of my life, and three months ago I had a week of shivering and night sweats, which I’ve also never had before. I assume this was just a nasty flu - but could this all come down to some disease like Lyme Disease, Diabetes, or Encephalitis? Would my normal blood work have indicated any of this?
(4) Should I go back to the neurologist and insist on getting an EEG to rule out other brain-related things? Should I repeat my MRI?
(5) I’ve also had a sore neck for the past 5 years and occasional unexplained chest pains (doctor says it’s just stress). Could all of the vision issues somehow be related to disrupted blood flow to the brain or pinched nerves in the neck?

Thanks for the help!
-Ryan

You’ve certainly done your homework, and have taken constructive steps to solve the problem from a medical perspective. Now it’s time to check out the efficacy of stress reduction and psychology. Get a referral to a psychologist to start with, one who specializes in stress reduction, and give it an honest try. Your symptoms certainly sound as though they could be stress-related, although don’t completely rule out genuine physical problems until you’ve given the stress reduction a thorough try. Before you start the S-R program, set up a diary so that you can properly monitor the intensity and frequency of the symptoms you have mentioned, to see if indeed they gradually diminish over time. If one or more of them don’t, then it’s time to go back to the regular doctors to have them investigated further.