What is the difference between red dot and green dot

Make Police1 your homepage. Police Products Police Sights and Scopes. Email Print. Why are there red and green optics? About the author Ron LaPedis has been a business continuity and security professional for over 25 years and frequently writes and speaks on business continuity, cybersecurity, physical security and public safety topics.

Contact Ron LaPedis. Brought to you by. What's this? This editorial content is produced with the support of our sponsors. Police1 Top 5 Houston police chief personally warned Travis Scott about crowd before deadly concert Ga. Police1 Exclusives. A red dot is clearly the better choice under this environment. Some may flip this advantage, arguing that a red dot may get lost in certain urban environments; amongst vehicle lights and street lamps etc, but I have never had any issues in this department.

So I am giving the red dot the advantage in defeating complex backdrops. The most established advantage of the green dot over red is that it puts less strain on the eye. This often produces a more pleasant shooting experience amongst older shooters with weaker vision, and when used for extended periods of time.

The operation of the eye is largely muscular, and any excessive activity will tire it out. The shorter wavelength and higher frequency of green light is therefore less strenuous on the eye. The human eye is far more receptive to green light than red. This is because green light stimulates two of the three kinds of cones in the human eye almost equally. This means that lower power levels can be used for green, saving battery power.

Astigmatism is a type of refractive error in which the eye does not focus light evenly on the retina. In simpler terms, it can be referred to as blurred vision. A shooter who is astigmatic will most likely notice a distorted or blurred reticle when looking through a reflex sight.

Green dots are known to be the better choice for older shooters or for those with blurred vision. So if you suffer with Astigmatism, it is recommended to use a green dot over a red. Even though reflex and holographic sights come with many other colors besides red, they are all collectively referred to as red dots. That said, if you have astigmatism or some color-blindness, then a red dot may not be crisp, clean, or easy to see at all.

Red contrasts really well with blues and blacks, so the red will be highly visible at night and in other low-light conditions. The color red is theoretically compatible with night vision devices, but you have to be careful when combining a red dot and an NVD. Make sure to only use red dot sights that are advertised as night vision compatible and have at least two night vision settings on their illumination.

Having a red dot that is too bright can actually ruin your night vision device. Red dots are great for visibility when you are shooting in low-light conditions. In most cases, they will be better than green dots. Reds can also work just fine during the daytime if the brightness can go high enough on your sight.

For shooters without any eye issues or problems, red works great in the vast majority of situations. Red and green are the workhorses and will be best for most situations, but there is always a place for other colors as well. In terms of selection, both have their appeal, but with distinct advantages of their own.

It has both an outward objective lens and an eyepiece, just like long range rifle scopes , only with a shorter form factor. There might be a red coating inside the objective lens, mostly with an adjustable MOA and brightness to it.

A green dot sight is almost the same as the red dot sight in terms of build, only with a few differences. Instead of a red dot, a green dot sight will have a green dot, and a coating of green colors inside. You can adjust the green light brightness of the dot in some cases and get a clearer aim at your target.

Green or red dots are available in holographic sights, alongside short cylindrical ones. Although red and green dot sights have similarities in the body, there are major differences in the technology they use. Since they are colors, and you have a target as the background for the sight, here is how they differ:.

Red dot sights have a richer color acquisition power compared to green reflex dot sights. While red is more vibrant on a greener background, a green dot sight does a greater job in other backgrounds. Takeaway: Unless you often hunt birds and shoot at green backgrounds, go for a red dot sight.