DI Optical “Prismatic Reflex” Sight?

[jkrispies]

Anybody familiar with these sights?  It looks cool—great battery life, hardened case, and very little obstructed view—but statements like “prismatic reflex” make me wonder...  Aren’t those terms mutually exclusive?  https://www.opticsplanet.com/di-optical-eagle-prismatic-circled-red-dot-reflex-sight.html

[jkrispies]

If anyone is interested, I wrote to DI Optical so that they could clarify how their sights are constructed.  Specifically, I asked:  "I'm confused by the advertising. Everywhere (except your actual website)... this is a "Prismatic Reflex" sight. To my knowledge, "prismatic" and "reflex" are mutually exclusive terms with regards to dot construction. Which is it? Or is it both, and I need some education on the matter?"  After four days without an answer, I asked them the same question again, and they replied relatively quickly (and, curiously, to my initial email but not my second  "We do not see any difference of meaning between Prismatic sight and Prismatic reflex sight. All optics reflex its LED to lens and visible to your eyes."

 

Does this sound right?  It's my understanding that "prismatic sights" (e.g., the Leupold Prismatic, Vortex Spitfire, and Burris AR-1X) use a combination of lenses (ie, prisms) with etched reticles to display a very clear but fixed reticle, whereas "reflex sights" project a reflection (ie., reflex) onto a single, coated lens to display a non-fixed reticle.  In other words, the Prism and Reflex sights are two very different types of sights.

 

Am I wrong with my definition--ill-informed due to years marketing speak that's made me falsely believe that these terms are mutually exclusive--and DI Optical just educated me?  If this customer service rep is correct then I have to be impressed with the company for doing something new, or at least educating me on the matter.  But if the reply is just plain wrong, then I'm taking this as fair warning to stay far, far away from DI Optical products, and I don't mind spreading that word to others.

 

Input?

J

 

PS:  I sent a reply to their above response asking if their reticle is fixed or floating.  Business hours have closed, and I've received no reply from them as of yet.  

[sfinney]

Usually in a Prism sight the reticle is etched in glass and shows black even with power off, in a fixed location like a scope and also illuminates with power on. The are great for people with astigmatism who normally see a red dot as a jagged comma shaped blur. I assume the reflex part of the ad refers to you can shoot these with both eyes open, the dominant eye looking through the tube and reticle, other eye looking at target. But, be interested in their response.

 

Have you looked at the Primary Arm Prism scopes? Good values.

[jkrispies]

3 hours ago, sfinney said:

Usually in a Prism sight the reticle is etched in glass and shows black even with power off, in a fixed location like a scope and also illuminates with power on. The are great for people with astigmatism who normally see a red dot as a jagged comma shaped blur. I assume the reflex part of the ad refers to you can shoot these with both eyes open, the dominant eye looking through the tube and reticle, other eye looking at target. But, be interested in their response.

 

Have you looked at the Primary Arm Prism scopes? Good values.

I haven't seen the PA prisms, but I'll glance at them later.  I actually just stumbled across these sights by accident while purchasing something else on Amazon, and I was impressed by how little visual obstruction there was around the frame, especially for it being a "hardened" optic.  From what I'm seeing and my very little experience with DI Optical so far, I will speculate that their engineers have built a really nice optic that's going fail because the company is unknown and it's being marketed by folks who don't know anything about the product itself or their target audience.  For instance, in addition to my questions already stated, it has a built-in mount, but there's no mention of it being absolute or co-witness height... and I bet if I asked they wouldn't write back probably because they wouldn't have the slightest idea what I was asking.  I feel bad for the guys who obviously worked hard to develop this sight if the venture goes down in flames because of lazy marketing.  We'll see, but at a $500ish price point, I'm definitely not going to be the guy to experiment with it.

[jkrispies]

Well, this is VERY interesting!  So I went to the Primary Arms website to check out the Primary Arms reflex sight thanks to sfinney's suggestion.  As it turns out, Primary Arms sells the FC1, and it lists it only as a prism sight.  

 

But what is far more interesting is the image through the viewer that Primary Arms provides.  Comparing the photo from Primary Arms to the one provided on the DI Optical sight, the DI Optical photo has clearly been PhotoShop'ed to show a less obstructed field of view than the real field of view seen in the Primary Arms photo.

 

It's clear to me that this isn't a company I will be doing business with!

 

 

Edited May 19, 2018 by jkrispies

[Nathanb]

I dont think that reticle is centered either. 

[Startingover]

18 minutes ago, Nathanb said:

I dont think that reticle is centered either. 

Bwahahaha 

First thing I seen

[chevrofreak]

For 1/2 the money I would look at a Holosun HS502C instead. 

[jkrispies]

Well, this simple inquiry has now turned farcical.  In an effort to deduce if this is a prism scope or reflex, I put my last question to them in baby terms and asked, in totality:  "So is the reticle stationary in the center of the lens, or can it float in the lens based on cheek weld, etc.?"

 

To which their verbatim reply was:  "Actually, the LED is stationary at the bottom."

 

As much as I appreciate them sharing their proprietary design secrets with me, I don't believe they have yet to competently answer any of my questions.  I'm dropping the mike on DI Optical.  Peace, out!

[jkrispies]

Just when I thought this was put to rest:  MAJOR UPDATE!  I got an unexpected email from them today, as a second response to my email from almost three weeks ago.  It said:  "

Good Morning,  Please see attached"  

 

The attachment was empty... except for the virus...