Red Dot Sights

[BoilerWes]

INGO! Help me clear this up once and for all. In a proper functioning red dot, is this how the dot should/will appear to someone who DOES NOT have an astigmatism? Essentially, a pristine complete circle with well defined edges.

 

[Patched]

Exactly. I recently had this discussion with my son. Looking at the same RDS, he saw a crisp circle whereas I saw a smeared one. Took a picture on my phone and I had a better idea of what he was seeing.

On a related note, different brands present differently. My green Holosun does not look as good as my red Aimpoint to my eyes.

 

[Dean C.]

Correct

 

[mausermadness]

I have noticed different quality of glass will give me a more pronounced "schmeared" look. ROMEOS aren't the best but around the beginning of acceptable for my eyes.
Eye doctor says I don't have an astigmatism but cheap dots had me thinking otherwise for a bit

 

[jcj54]

Beginning cataracts can result in fuzzy dots according to my opthamologist.
Wondered why mine wasn't crisp anymore...

 

[mausermadness]

I will say some of the more expensive glass $500+ reputable name makes me want to be less stingy with my money. Super crisp dots for me.
Oddly enough some Belarusian AK optics have been super crisp. My PK-01VS I have zero complaints about

 

[BoilerWes]

So I’ve been seeing the “smeared” version of the dot for years. I had previously asked my optometrist if I had an astigmatism and was told “no.” I have previously had LASIK surgery and see 20/20. I had also showed my wife the dot and she confirmed…it looked like how I was seeing it. She has great vision, doesn’t wear corrective lenses or glasses. I was having lunch with a buddy who told me he could see a pristine dot, like you see in the picture, every time he looks at a dot. I was baffled.

I also tested my 4 kids…none of which have any vision problems. They see the smeared dot. It is also not dot or sight dependent …tested a Leupold, Trijicon, and Holosun dot. Same results.

 

[92FSTech]

I have astigmatism. Dots appear blurred or like a "starburst" to my eyes. Some are more defined than others, and reducing the brightness helps a bit, but I've never had one appear as clean and crisp to me as the photo in the OP.

I'll submit that it doesn't matter. With handguns in particular, if you're focusing on the dot, you're doing it wrong. Focus should be on the target. For fast shooting all I'm getting from the dot is a quick glance of confirmation that my gun is on target before breaking the shot. For precision, the blown out or blurry "dot" is still small and precise enough for me to center it over my intended point of impact and score accurate hits.

 

[shootersix]

I love my cmores I can adjust the dot to where there’s no fuzz! (I’ve got 4 railways) but they all have dials if it was the click version it’d probably fuzz up like my other dots do! (Holosun and delta point pros)

Honestly I can’t answer your question because I have a nasty astigmatism