Konus is an Italian brand that is known worldwide.
You may have one of their daytime scopes on your rifle right now, so it may be worth knowing that they also have a night vision alternative.
They seem to be keen on expanding their NVD inventory, but for now, the Pro NV 3-8x50 is their best night vision scope currently available.
While Konus is known for their low prices, this NV scope interrupts that norm.
Is the Konus Pro night vision scope worth the money?
Let’s find out.
Update: Unfortunately the KonusPro-NV 3-8x50 digital night vision scope appears to have been discontinued. For more great options, check out our line up and reviews of the top NV scopes here.
Quick Overview...
What We Like: Digital NV
What We Don’t Like: Warranty
Best Uses: Night Shooting, Day Shooting, Tactical Use, Hunting, Scouting, Varmint Control, Digital NV, Close-Range Detection
- Sensor: CMOS
- Magnification: 3-8x
- FOV: 47.3-13.1 ft/100 yds
- Display Resolution: Unknown
- Eye Relief: 35 mm
- Color Modes: Day, Night, Green
- Battery: 1x 18650
- Dimensions: 8.6” (L)/2.4lbs
Our Verdict: The Konus Pro NV 3-8x50 digital scope brings must-have night vision features to the table. No-fuss hunters that want foundational quality from a digital scope will understand that you must pay more for an all-metal body, decent imaging, and a scope that actually holds zero. With quality, simplicity, and performance from the Konus scope, you can have your cake and eat it too.
Who is the Konus Pro NV 3-8X50 Best Suited to?
Who would the Konus Pro NV scope best benefit? With its 30/30 reticle, it’s well-suited to hunters. With its video and photo capability, it’s well-suited to those who want to relive the moment. With its multiple display modes, it’s well-suited to those who want to shoot during day and night hours with the same device.
Simply put – it’s well-suited to anyone who wants a digital scope on their setup.
How Does the Konus Pro NV 3-8X50 Perform?
On paper, first impressions may have you believing the Pro NV 3-8x50 is a Gen 1 IIT night vision scope based on price alone which is high for the brand. However, it is in fact a digital night vision scope with the essential features you would expect from a digital scope.
It’s not a long-range performer, but Konus is upfront about that from the get-go as this is a sub-200-yard night vision scope. However, it’s ready to be mounted to varmint, hog, and coyote hunting rifles as it can handle the recoil.
Although the scope is easy to use, well-built, and ready to perform, it’s not the fastest night vision scope to employ as there are some time delays when it comes to confirming settings, zoom, etc.
The Pro NV scope takes up little mounting room, but it’s bulky and heavy. Unfortunately, there is no extra rail for attaching an additional accessory.
While not one of the cheapest night vision scopes around, it does have foundational quality.
Features & Benefits
Digital NV
Even though the Konus Pro NV is a digital scope, it doesn’t go overboard with digital features. It has the essentials: digital zeroing, video recording and photo, and more than one display mode. Arguably, these are the must-have perks of having a digital NV scope.
For the price, it seems steep for its lack of additional features, but overall quality must be considered. It’s completely watertight and nitrogen-purged for waterproof and fogproof durability. Internal fogging is a legitimate issue for cheap scopes, but you won’t need to worry about that with the Konus.
It holds zero and can handle up to 3500 joules of energy, meaning it’s shockproof enough to handle recoil from popular hunting rounds. Even though it can take more, it would make a great night vision scope for an AR-15.
When you have a NV scope that can be used during day and night, holds zero, and can do a couple of extra things if and when you so desire, it’s worth every cent.
Standalone Scope
The Konus Pro NV is a standalone, dedicated night vision scope. You don’t use it with goggles, you don’t need a red dot or laser – it’s a rifle scope. It has its own reticle, ocular focus lens ring, and objective lens focus ring. Focusing – covered.
To get in the black, the NV scope has what is universally called One Shot Zero. It’s a digital zeroing program. Correct for the difference from the bull’s-eye to the POI by moving the windage and elevation crosshairs to the POI. Coordinates are provided that represent 1/10 mil adjustments. You must wait at least 3 seconds after saving the adjustments to confirm the new zero. Zeroing – covered.
The Konus Pro does not come with a quick release mount, so it’s intended to be mounted to the rifle indefinitely – you don’t need to take it off during the day. The mount fits both Weaver and Picatinny rails and requires 3.26” of mounting length. Mounting – covered.
Even though digital night vision is safe to use for daylight operation, maximum clarity is only guaranteed to approximately 300 yards during the day. While no sensor or display information is provided, it’s likely low since image degradation probably occurs beyond those distances. At night, Konus states that you can acquire up to 165-yard performance. As a digital model and with a 50 mm objective lens, you will need to use the included 850 nm IR illuminator. Range – clarified.
Three Display Modes
Unlike many digital scopes with only one or two display modes, the Konus provides three: Day, Night, and Green. This indicates the scope has a color sensor that allows the user to have these multiple display modes.
Day mode is obviously in color and effective for natural target acquisition without overexposure in bright light conditions.
Green is the iconic night vision display mode that is produced by the phosphor screen in IIT night vision scopes. Although the digital scope does not have a phosphor screen, it does have a color CMOS sensor, so it provides a green-colored display that is an imitation of the real thing.
Night mode is black/white which is more like a grayscale monotone. It allows for high-contrast images and fast identification for pig hunting and other pests like coyotes, foxes, squirrels, etc.
Konus 30/30 Reticle
The Konus 30/30 reticle is excellent for hunters as it’s akin to the oft-named duplex reticle in day scopes. The center section of crosshairs can be used as a rudimentary stadiametric rangefinder if magnification is set to 4x. The entire mil-space of the fine crosshairs across windage is 30” at 100 yards. This is the size of an average buck’s torso at 100 yards.
The reticle is easy to employ in the field, especially for sub-150-yard night hunting. If you’re a seasoned varminter, you can sneak right on up to coyotes while keeping a decent distance from hogs.
Limitations
Warranty
The Konus Pro NV scope is warrantied by the manufacturer for a period of two years to the original owner from date of purchase. While this meets the standard expectation for night vision scopes, it’s disappointing for familiar buyers of the brand.
Konus has one of the best optic warranties in the market. They offer free replacements, not repairs, with every Konus product that proves to have a manufacturing defect for the lifetime of ownership. It’s too bad that this type of warranty product doesn’t carry over to their expensive NVD.
There is debate that warranties like this are only offered on products that aren’t worth repairing. So, maybe the higher price and limited 2-year warranty are indicators that their night vision scope has better-than-average quality behind it.
Popular Questions
The Konus Pro NV 3-8x50 is recoil rated to 3500 joules. Simply put, the digital scope is rated to handle recoil from calibers up to .308 Win. This is above average for a digital scope since many digital models are only intended for mounting to 5.56/.223 rifles.
Konus does not provide this info for the Konus Pro NV scope. However, as a digital scope, it is within the standard to acquire approximately 4-10 hours of operation. Using low and medium brightness display settings and reducing video and photo use will help to conserve battery life.
The scope comes with a rechargeable 18650 battery for the scope and a rechargeable 14500 battery for the IR illuminator.
Yes, the Konus Pro NV scope can connect to a computer. All video and photos are saved to the 8G memory card but can be transferred to a computer via the USB cable. While connected, it will simultaneously charge the battery.
The Konus night vision scope does not have WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity. It can be connected to a TV monitor via the AV cable.
Along with the Konus Pro NV 3-8x50 scope and 850 nm IR illuminator, an objective lens cap, rechargeable batteries, AV cable, USB cable, memory card, and soft storage case are included. A 12-language instructional booklet is said to be included.
Conclusion
The Konus Pro NV 3-8x50 scope is not the most teched-out digital scope around. For the price, this may seem surprising.
However, this works in its favor because sometimes less is more. Not everyone needs the additional digital perks that can either complicate and overwhelm use or distract from poor quality and poor scope performance.
The Konus delivers the essentials and performs. Quality, not the illusion of quality – that’s what you’re paying for.
Update: Unfortunately the KonusPro-NV 3-8x50 digital night vision scope appears to have been discontinued. For more great options, check out our line up and reviews of the top NV scopes here.
Further Reading
