Optics and Astigmatism

[Doheny]

I want to get an optic for my AR. I have a pretty severe astigmatism and I understand it can affect how you see the dot. Rather than the dot being crisp, it can be fuzzy, blurred, etc. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it only occur with magnified optics or does it happen with any optic? Does the problem go away if wearing glasses (I can see fine to shoot, drive, whatever without them if need be.)

Thanks.

.

[Merc1138]

Depends on your eyes. Some optics will be worse than others, and corrective lenses should at least minimize it. Non magnified red dots are usually the worst, but we can't predict what you end up seeing. You might see an oval instead of a dot, a fuzzy blob, a giant star pattern, etc.

edit: I forgot to mention something. The reason I said that it seems to be primarily non-magnified red dots, is because those are pretty much what comes up 99% of the time when threads go like this:

"Hey, my new <insert brand here> red dot is broken"
"Look at the dot through your cellphone camera"
"ok, now it looks right"
"Congratulations, you've got an astigmatism"
" "

[GiddyHitch]

Yeah, I have the same condition and instead of a single dot, you'll see a cluster of dots or a blob. Doesn't matter if I'm wearing glasses or contacts (unless those lenses specifically correct your astigmatism). In practice, I don't even notice it in a CQB/carbine course environment but you have to be conscious of it when shooting for accuracy/zero-ing (turn down brightness, use a corner of the dot for better repeatability, etc.). I actually like the range of brightness settings on my PA clone better than my Aimpoint because of that.

[JMP]

Safest bet is to get a magnified optic that has BOTH diopter and parallax adjustment. Especially on long range scopes with a shallow depth of field, almost every person will adjust both parallax and diopter differently for optimal focus in his own eye.

The best way is to look behind them. Just go to the local range and there will be various AR sights. Just ask the folks to look through the common ones you see like EOTechs, Aimpoints, RSAs, ACOGs, etc., and you'll see what looks best. Don't even bother with stuff like the "FACOG"s, as that will look like crap with anyone's eyes.

[firemanjoe]

I have a really bad astigmatism that stems from cataract surgery when I was a kid. I have an eotech on my ARs and I have to shoot with my glasses on. I have prescription sunglasses so it's not that bad.

When it comes to magnified optics, it usually helps to keep my glasses on unless I get into the higher magnifications like around 20X.

[laurelpark]

This is one reason why I am not a big fan of red dot holo sights. Adding a magnifier (like the 3x side-flip one EOtech makes) can help a lot, but you're probably going to need to go with prescription shooting glasses. It kind of sucks, but it is what it is.

I'm thinking about doing the laser eye surgery to try and correct it, but haven't really done enough research to know whether that's a possible fix or not.

One interesting thing you can do is press gently on the edges of your eye while looking through the red dot. At some point as you go around your eye, you'll eventually find a spot where you can gently deform the lens and watch your astigmatism magically go away. An old ophthalmologist I knew taught me that one - it is kind of cool.

[skyblue]

Safest bet is to get a magnified optic that has BOTH diopter and parallax adjustment. Especially on long range scopes with a shallow depth of field, almost every person will adjust both parallax and diopter differently for optimal focus in his own eye.

The best way is to look behind them. Just go to the local range and there will be various AR sights. Just ask the folks to look through the common ones you see like EOTechs, Aimpoints, RSAs, ACOGs, etc., and you'll see what looks best. Don't even bother with stuff like the "FACOG"s, as that will look like crap with anyone's eyes.

Any suggestions in the 14-24x magnification range?

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

[stilly]

I want to get an optic for my AR. I have a pretty severe astigmatism and I understand it can affect how you see the dot. Rather than the dot being crisp, it can be fuzzy, blurred, etc. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it only occur with magnified optics or does it happen with any optic? Does the problem go away if wearing glasses (I can see fine to shoot, drive, whatever without them if need be.)

Thanks.

.

It happens with EVERYTHING. I hate my eyes because I have an astigmatism PITA thing and I can not squint to make thigns clear like I did 15 years ago...

BUT, when I put on my glasses I see a nice crisp red dot, but take off the glasses and I see a tripple dot touching and looking like a nice group. IT really makes life such so get glasses or contacts and that is how you correct it. OR I guess you can get Lasik...

[Joe Blowitup]

An eotech that i had was really bad (looked like a cluster of grapes) and i ended up trading it to my roomate when it was brand new. It was better with the magnifier but i didnt buy it for over 100 yards so it wasnt interested in keeping it. I did put a Primary Arms micro on my ar pistol and the dot looks nice and crisp. Best bet is to figure out a way to look through a few before you buy one of your own.

[Merc1138]

Any suggestions in the 14-24x magnification range?

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

Most of the magnified scopes that are worth a crap have a parallax adjustment(side focus, or adjustable objective) and a diopter adjustment. Problem is, that a diopter adjustment alone doesn't eliminate a problem with a reticle being screwed up looking from an astigmatism. If you simply needed a "normal" vision correction, then yes but an astigmatism doesn't work that way.

[Deceased Puppy]

I have astigmatism, depending on how tired I am, how fresh my contacts are, and how bright the setting is sometimes I see a second faint reticle. It's always moved up and the left, and it's pretty easy to ignore. During the day it usually washes out, and at night I can just turn the brightness down till it goes away and still have a very visible reticle. Sometimes it's simply not there at all. I normally wear 2-week disposable contacts, and by fresh I mean beginning of the day, so that could also just be my eyes not being tired. I've noticed that even later at night I can have a pair that is only a few days old and still get the "ghost" reticle. It's really not a problem, and I really like my eotech. I have noticed some cheaper red dots tend to become more stars than dots and also get the ghost reticle. I've also used some red dots that don't have it all and have a perfect reticle always. I have no experience with Aimpoint. As far as high end goes, I got my Eotech without actually trying one, and I don't regret the fact that at times I may see a ghost.

[stilly]

I just wear glasses when I need to. It gives me that Chris Kyle feeling. I even start talking to an imaginary HQ before I take the shot and drop the rodent...

[baekacaek]

I have astigmatism and when I looked thru my newly bought EOtech, I was so disappointed because the reticle was a huge fuzz ball. But when I put my glasses on, BOOM, the reticle became crystal clear with NO fuzziness.

[Sliik]

I can honestly say I can give you a professional opinion...

I have astigmatism... I have tried/owned/own damn near every big name optic out there so i'll make your life a little easier.

- Stay away from EOTech's... unless you have glasses on (perfect reticle), the optic is unusable and will show you a blasted "star pattern".

- Aimpoints and similar optics are pretty much the same deal. When you have your glasses/contacts on they are A1 and perfect... but if you take your glasses off the dot will appear very messy and these red dot's will also give you a real hard time with astigmatism.

If you want the best optic for astigmatism your going to either need a prisim 1x optic, or you can make your life simple by picking up one of the Trijicon fiber optic amber reflex sights. I've had the triangle reflex's and right now my main optic is the RX34....

The Trijicon reflex sights are the perfect choice for astigmatism. The 1X (or higher magnified) prism scopes (many people make them) will also be great for your astigmatism. Stay away from Aimpoints , and EoTech's... trust me.

[Deceased Puppy]

My astigmatism must not be that bad, because my eotech still looks crisp, just with a faint ghost. Which I can get rid of in broad daylight or lower brightness setting.