FN has just announced the PUREVIEW, a pistol red dot that uses holographic technology.
The fact that the FN PUREVIEW is enclosed isn’t the most exciting part about the company’s new pistol optic, it’s the fact that it’s holographic. Traditional red dots use an LED emitter to bounce light off a reflective, curved lens back into the shooter’s eye, creating the reticle. Conversely, holographic sights use a laser diode and a holographic grating to project a 3D image of the reticle towards the target on a flat lens. While there are pros and cons to each type, holographic sights generally offer a crisper reticle, a sharper image and a clearer, less distorted sight picture.
While holographic sights for carbines are typically heavier than their simpler red dot counterparts, FN says that the PUREVIEW is about 25 percent lighter than similar enclosed pistol optics. Despite the low weight, the sight is built to be durable, and like all holo sights, the reticle will still be visible and fully usable even if the lens is damaged. Limited battery life has also historically been a downside of holographic sights, but FN says that theirs will be capable of 800 hours of continuous use or up to one year of intermittent use in battery saving mode.
Other features of the FN PUREVIEW include its 14 levels of automatic brightness adjustment (including three for night vision use and three ultra-bright settings) for its 3-MOA reticle, motion-sense technology to preserve battery life and a top-loading battery compartment that can be accessed without removing the optic from the gun. For mounting, FN says that the PUREVIEW “is compatible with FN pistol models designed for optics, including the FN 509, FN 510, FN 545, and FN Five-seveN.” That’s a little vague, but it likely means that it features a modified DeltaPoint Pro footprint. For mounting on pistols that don’t have the FN Low Profile Optics Mounting System, an adaptor plate may be required.
Chris Johnson, Senior Product Manager for Pistols at FN America, said this about the new optic:
Holographic projection is highly complex to develop, but we’ve successfully adapted it for use on a pistol … The result is a clearer sight picture and improved accuracy, especially at longer distances, giving users real-world performance benefits.
The FN PUREVIEW is expected to become available later this year in black and FDE, and it will have an MSRP of $750.
For more information, visit fnamerica.com.
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