Did you ever build a pinhole camera in grade school? That’s pretty much how I got my start in photography. Even a kid can make one because there’s no lens. Just a, er, pin-size hole in the front of a box that focuses a beam of light on a piece of photo paper in the back. And because the pinhole is so small, you get huge depth of field. Translation: virtually everything in front of the camera in focus. And that’s the principle behind the EyePal Peep Sight system. If you’re of a certain age and shoot with iron sights, chances are you have trouble keeping both your target and your sights in focus. And that’s the problem the EyePal is designed to remedy. For only $29.95. Press release after the jump . . .

ACTON, MA (December 2013) – The EyePal® Peep Sighting System, developed for the open-sight shooter, was designed and patented by Charles Summers, a retired MIT optical specialist and avid firearms enthusiast. Frustrated with his inability to properly see his sights and target without suffering from “fuzzy sight syndrome”, Summers came up with a solution that brings into focus the sights and the target simultaneously. Whether a shooter or archer suffers from vision difficulties or aging eyes or is new to the sport, the EyePal’s unique aperture system provides an immediate sense of eye relief as the image of the target and all of the elements come clearly into focus.

The EyePal® is applied easily onto any protective eyewear. The small aperture provides the maximum depth of field. It does this by producing a very small image which travels, undistorted, through both the lens of the eyewear and the pupil of the eye. The result is a perfectly focused sight picture of both sights and the target. One of the reasons this is possible is that the EyePal’s large black area surrounding the target or game blocks the unnecessary peripheral visual information allowing the eye to get only the necessary information to make a clear shot. 

The EyePal® is available in three versions: Rifle or Handgun Kits include two identically sized apertures matching their kit application and the Master Kit includes one rifle and one handgun aperture. The EyePal® apertures come in a handy storage case. Simply open the top of a well and place your EyePal® on the glasses. The EyePal® can be easily removed and relocated until the perfect sight line is achieved. The EyePal® is approved at the NRA CMP National Matches and is available online or ask your favorite retailer. MSRP $29.95.

EyePal® Peep Sighting System
Resident Artist Studio, LLC
241 Arlington Street   #773
Acton, MA 01720
P: 978-635-9162

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27 COMMENTS

  1. When are you guys gonna announce the winner of the 2nd contest pistol? With all the quality entries, I’m anxious to see who won!

  2. I thought that you weren’t supposed to keep both target and sights in focus (mainly due to the eye not being able to focus on two things at once)? I was always thought to keep the sight blurry while keeping the target clear (this is with diopter and globe sights.

    • I was taught that the only thing that is in focus is the front sight. The rear dots, aperture, notch, etc. is blurred, and the target is blurred. Your eye can naturally line everything up. With practice, I have been able to put 10 shots in the 9 ring or better on a 200 yds CMP target with iron sights from the prone position.

    • That’s the whole point of the small aperture. The depth of field in so large that, to the human eye, the sights and target are essentially in focus. Basically increases the distance through which the focus is better than your eye is able to resolve.

    • Images gathered through a small aperture will have a near infinite depth of field. It has to do with the paths of light rays. It makes a darker image but you don’t have to use your eye to focus with something like this.

      EDIT: what Dan said

    • You simpleton, clearly you do not understand the high level of engineering and advanced manufacturing technics that go into a product such as this.

      I mean they have to poke the hole and apply the adhesive, you think that shit comes cheap?

    • I can’t believe I had to read through so many posts to find someone with the cajones to say something. It was like the emperors new clothes! I’m going to find someone to make something similar and sell a pack of 2 for $30. yeah… that’s the ticket!

      • I remember several years ago there was an ad on TV (before the hoplophobic madness) for plastic “aviator” type glasses with black opaque lenses that were covered in tiny holes (or perhaps translucent spots). They would be much better than these $30 stickers with holes punched in.

        What joker thought up the price for these?

  6. I’m going to look into this or a similar device.

    For those who say “you’re supposed to have only the front sight in focus:” those of us who have (or in my case, had, past tense) 20/15 or 20/10 vision, we are sometimes able to keep all three in focus – the rear sight, front sight and target, all at once.

    People who have only 20/20 vision have always told me “You can’t.” I heard that all my life – until I met another shooter who used iron sights who had 20/10 vision – and is now getting prebyopia as well. We both lamented now having to experience iron sighs they way most people do.

      • Regardless of the actual mechanism, I could do what 20/20 shooters claimed I couldn’t, and I’ve now met other shooters who can do the same, or used to be able to do the same. In all cases, the common factor is that we all enjoyed substantially better vision than 20/20 – like 20/10, and in one case, 20/8 (!), which I believe is the theoretical limit for human visual acuity.

        My eyes are now only a bit better than 20/20 and quite frankly, if they degenerate to 20/20, I’m going to be really disappointed.

        Now that I can’t do what I used to do with iron sights, it pisses me off. I see scopes as a crutch, and I don’t like using them for competitive shooting, especially pistol shooting. However, I might be eventually left with no choice.

    • I hadn’t even realized this was a thing. With one eye closed rear, front, and target are all in focus for me. With both eyes open I get a sort of weird parallax thing but then I just focus through whichever eye is the same side as gun hand. I wear glasses though that correct me to 20/15. Everything is just a blur without them. My eye doctor did tell me about the pinhole thing before I went off to LTC though. If my glasses broke he told me I could poke a hole in a leaf or paper to see clearly. Also the the trick where you curl up your pointer finger and look through the tiny hole between the pad and first joint.

  7. I’d be interested in a clip-on version for my normal glasses that I can just swing down to use, up to get it out of the way. Maybe I should invest in clip-on shades and a sticker.

  8. so, it changes the focal point upon your retina..and reduces light transmission plus increases mental focus by removing most of picture (clutter).

    in bright sunlight you can do the same with your fingers (if you left your glasses behind), make a pinhole and adjust for 20/20

    remind you of anyone:
    http://networkedblogs.com/RYiFm

  9. Concur with you guys about the, ummm – price vs goodness issue. There’s a pretty cheap way to try it with just a piece of tape. Get into your shooting position, and without moving the gun or your face, reach up with a non-permanent ink Sharpie and put a tiny dot of ink on your shooting glasses in line with the sights. Poke a hole around 1/16th inch in diameter in a piece of blue masking tape and put it on the glasses on the side of the lens next to your eye, centering the hole over the dot. Wipe off the dot on the outside and go try it.
    If you decide you like it, pick up a pair of clip-on sun shades that fit your shooting glasses, paint or tape the lens over your shooting eye and drill a hole through the lens aligned with the hole in the tape. Used one of those for many years. An outfit named Merit something used to make a clip-on device with an adjustable aperture that also worked well if you can find one.

    Not too useful in poor light, but in broad daylight it’s quite a revelation. The advice about focusing on the front sight is simply the best option you have once you can’t focus on both sights and the target anymore.

    Note that using such a device might tend to mislead you about your capabilities in a real-life situation when you won’t be wearing it.

    Pat

  10. I use a pair of clip-on reading glasses in +1.00 I got off ebay for $6. Works great for pistol sights. I can see the front and rear sight clearly but the target is blurry.

  11. There is another device that’s been around for at least 30+ years that does the same thing, but is much more versatile and refined — the Merit Optical Attachment. A bullseye target shooter that I knew back in the 80’s introduced me to the Merit. It can be seen here:

    http://www.meritcorporation.com/products.html (Ignore the other items at the link, listed below the Merit Optical Attachment; they are screw-in apertures for peep sights)

    I have no connection to the company, but I know many happy shooters that have used the Merit Optical Attachment to extend their shooting careers after age-related vision problems had lowered their scores or sidelined them completely.

    • Okay, those are cool, thanks for the link.

      Adjustable aperture? Yeah, that actually seems worth what they’re asking.

      Two stickers for $30? Not so much.

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