Caution: Fake Qioptiq Lenses on the Market?

Caution: Fake Qioptiq Lenses on the Market?

The Infiray Canada Fraud Reading Caution: Fake Qioptiq Lenses on the Market? 3 minutes

Qioptiq, a branch of Excelitas Technologies in Singapore has been a staple of the nightvision industry for about two decades. They have historically been one of the largest producers of lenses for Mil-Spec nightvision optics in the world until about a year or two ago when they wound down their operations. When they ended their operations there was a major shortage of standard Mil-Spec optics so most of the nightvision industry needed to find a solution in order to continue selling devices. We took advantage of our great relationship with Rochester Precision Optics and didn't miss a beat, while also exploring non Mil-Spec options such as AAPO and Salvo.

During that time, we also came across some unbranded lenses purported to be from Qioptiq/Excelitas, however they did not match the profile we were familiar with, and the optical performance while reasonable, did not meet the same performance standards as the genuine Qioptiq lenses we had used. They produced an image with slightly lower resolution and more distortion than geniuine Qioptiq/Excelitas. 

We had a small number of these lenses pass through our hands in early 2022 that were sold to us as being Excelitas/Qioptiq. If you received a set from us with these lenses, please reach out to us and we will get you squared away with a lens replacement. The particular lens pictured was sold as being Qioptiq by another vendor in Canada.

Real Qioptiq Left, Unidentified Optics Right

  • Coating on the aluminum is not the same
  • Barrel geometry is different, genuine Qioptiq has a shelf machined underneat the knurling above the white markings
  • Unidentified optics are completely unmarked

  • Lens coatings are different
  • Qioptiq locking ring uses a round index for a tool with pins, whereas the unidentified optics use a straight slot

  • Rear profile is completely different
  • Unidentified lens rear element is bonded very poorly, leaving gaps for leaks and a frosted appearance.

In order to confirm these suspicions we got in touch with Excelitas Technologies. We spoke to a former business manager in charge of the Night Optics Division for close to a decade. He asked not to be named.

Here is what he said:

  • He has never seen these unidentified optics before
  • The locking ring and internal profile does not match the drawing he used for producing PVS14 optics
  • Qioptiq/Excelitas does not produce unmarked optics for PVS14 programs
  • He is quite certain these optics are not from Qioptiq/Excelitas

The other dead giveaway is that the specification documents for US Mil-Spec PVS-14 objective and eyepiece lenses outline "Quality Assurance Provisions", which means serials, date markings, etc are actually Mil-Spec requirements.

To reiterate, there is nothing inherently wrong with these lenses, provided they are advertised and sold as what they are and not being falsely advertised as being made by Excelitas/Qioptiq.

This is a PSA, to the best of our knowledge these lenses are not genuine lenses from Qioptiq/Excelitas Technologies. If anyone has any further information to add/correct or you need assistance identifying your lenses, please use our contact form to get in touch.