The Military Black Market
As a follow up to the post Declan McCullagh made about me on news.com.com.com.com.com I bring you photos from the military black market. First of all, the name is misleading. Tyler and I were joking about this before we left. There is no Military White Market. Second of all, this place was pretty dry. In Baghdad and other cities you can get everything from an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) to a silencer for a handgun (Approximately $3 depending on model). Then when you're outside you can buy a cow to shoot with the RPG. Guess which one is cheaper? This market wasn't quite as full of things like that. It was mostly clothing and optical gear.

Anyway, I got a set of night vision goggles. These aren't 4th generation (Supposedly they're 3rd gen) but they're still pretty sharp. The various stores had Canadian and American brand military night vision gear. Despite my affinity for all things Canadian, I went with the tried and true pair. Tyler already had a pair, so we knew this model is a decent one. The other night a Navy Seal we met at some hotel bar checked out Tyler's NVGs and commented on the seriously good quality of them. He even thought the price was right at approximately $800-900 per pair. If a special ops fellow thinks they're good, I'm not one to argue.

They're really awesome. They included a nice little bag and a head mount. The lenses have independent focus rings if you need to change the focus. As it just so happens, I do because I recently found out my eyes are defective and I require glasses. So thanks to technology, I can see in the dark clearly. These don't have serious ghosting problems on the inside displays either, look out for that when you're shopping for your own set of night vision goggles.

This is an example of what it looks like when you take a photo through one of the viewfinders:


Here are some (notice the Arabian tobacco that I purchased at the same time): and of the market itself.

What a shady place, huh?



Clothing.



Watches, NVGs, lights, knives, gun holsters and other optical stuff.



My new pair of NVGs.



A view of the top down the lens. Note that the cap here has a small pin hole in it. That's the amount of light required to use it during the day (and you don't want to do that anyway). If you take it off, it's the almost the full diameter of that cap.



Here's a bit of detailed information. If this is your pair of NVGs (The serial matches your warranty card), please send me the manual. No, you can't have it back.



This is where you put your eyes.



I look like a total dork with the head mount on. But I'll only be wearing it in the dark where you can't see me unless you're also looking like a dork. In addition you look like a dork in the dark. :-)



A side profile of the device in relation to my hunchback and terrible head in clear view.




If anyone has anything to add about these, such as where to find the manual, how to mount it on a Canon EOS 20D or any of that stuff, please let me know.