Red dot or laser question?

[jek]

Etched reticles are different than holographic or red dots. It comes down to light intensity, the red dot is a point source, the others are not. The more smaller the light source, the more the astigmatism streaks are apparent. The more intense the source, the more the streaks are apparent. The holosight spreads the light over more area rather than a small, intense point source.

An etched reticle is different than either a red dot or holosight in that it's there whether it's illuminated or not. Red dots and holosights have nothing to look at if they're off because the light source is the reticle. Etched sights have marks in the glass that the sight shines a light on to illuminate... think of it like looking at a barn with a utility pole in front of it. Illumination in just shining a flashlight at the pole, it's there whether it's illuminated or not. because of that, it can be illuminated VERY minimally (or not at all) to show up (because it's not just a light overlay, it's occluding the object behind it) without being so intense as to be a problem for astigmatism.

That could make sense. Rather than a point source with radially expanding light, the light reflected off of the reticle is going to be mostly parallel, so it'll impact across a smaller area of the cornea which would mitigate the scattering due to the deformation. That would also help explain holographics, as to your point they're more than just a point light source.

 

[Spike Jones 5 2002]

That's interesting. I wonder why the etching makes a difference, vs why two non etched sights (red dot vs holo) would function differently. Eyes are weird...
In other news, I'm now paranoid about my eyesight, because red dots are fuzzy and I figured that it was just scattering from the optic... Although I did use one a couple weeks ago that was remarkable clear... I wonder if it was etched...

I noticed all my red dot look more like tiny stars.
Then I took of my prescription shooting glasses.
The dot was perfectly round dot.

 

[jek]

I noticed all my red dot look more like tiny stars.
Then I took of my prescription shooting glasses.
The dot was perfectly round dot.

That is quite odd. I wonder if there's a slight distortion or defect in the glasses that acts like an astigmatism. Or worse I suppose, the corrective lense has to be shaped that way to be corrective, which wouldn't be fixable. (If fixing it was worth it)

 

[STFU]

But red dots don't use a laser... They use an LED. A holographic uses a laser (multiple really).
About a third of the way down this page is a diagram of the difference. It may be semantical, but if OP was unsure to begin with I'd hate to leave him with conflicting messages.

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/red-dots-vs-holographic-sights/
View attachment 82080

If I'm wrong I'd like to know, but I'm fairly confident on this.

Excellent graphic. I have not seen this before now. Thank you!