I don't have extensive experience with it yet. I have a sightmark photon 4.5xt also. It is very comparable to the performance of the photon. In 2 or 3 previous experiences, I've felt like the photon has a slight edge to this setup for range and picture clarity. Where I was shooting here was a narrow window through some trees. The IR light was really bright on the close trees. With the photon my bait pile was just a dark shadow in the background, but with this setup i could see the bait pile clearly.
With the IR light that is on it, 50-80 yds is about max. With a $40 T-50 IR light, 150+ yds is very doable in good conditions.