Is there anyone out there who doesn’t like Holosun optics right now?
Probably not, and I think it’s easy to see why because they make really high quality sights that are packed with useful features, and they do it all while keeping the price at a reasonable level…
And right now, two of their most popular sights are…
- The Holosun 510c (Check The Price On Amazon – Over 3,301 Reviews)
- The Holosun 512c (Check The Price On Amazon – Over 259 Reviews)
So in this Holosun 510c Vs 512c article, we’re going to put these two sights up against each other and see how they compare in the following categories…
- Durability And Toughness
- Lens Clarity And Reticle
- Size Comparison
- Battery Life And Brightness Settings
- Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
- Price Comparison
In the end, I’ll tell you if I prefer the open style 510c or the enclosed 512c, and you should have all the information you need to determine which sight will work better for you…
Let’s start by discussing the durability of these two optics…
Durability And Toughness…
Holosun 510c
The Holosun 510c is a pretty tough little red dot sight. It has a sight housing that is constructed from a high-strength aluminum…
…and it also has an anodized finish which will help protect the optic from the elements. On top of that, the lens has a titanium hood over it, which gives extra protection to one of the sight’s most vulnerable areas…
…and since it’s titanium, it really helps make the optic very robust without adding very much extra weight.
Now the windage and elevation turrets on the 510c are recessed into the sight housing. They can still be easily accessed with the use of a small screwdriver…
But because they sit flush within the body of the sight, they can never be accidentally bumped or snapped off, which I think is an important feature…
The 510c is also a waterproof optic. It’s rated to be waterproof in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes, but truth be told it can probably handle much more than that…
Regardless, it’s a sight that can easily handle rainy, snowy, and wet conditions without giving you any problems at all…
Last, the 510c is also shockproof. It’s designed to be used with an AR 15, and it can easily handle that recoil…
But it can also handle recoil from the much larger AR 10 platform rifles (.308 chambered AR’s), shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines…
The one downside in the category when it comes to the 510c isn’t a problem with its construction…
It’s an issue with all open style reflex sights. You see, because it’s an open design, the emitter which projects your reticle onto the lens is exposed (the open design also has benefits which we’ll discuss later)…
I’ve personally never seen it happen, but theoretically, it’s possible for mud or some other substance or object to get in there and block the emitter, leaving you with no reticle…
Again, I’ve never seen that happen or known anyone that has happened to, but it is possible so it bears mentioning here…
But that being said, the 510c is really built like a tank and is a very durable red dot sight.
Holosun 512c
The Holosun 512c is also a very durable optic, and because it’s built by the same company as the 510c, it’s similar in a lot of ways…
For starters, the sight housing on the 512c is also made from a high-strength aluminum, and it’s also anodized to help protect the sight from the elements…
In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are also recessed into the sight housing, so you’ll never accidentally bump them or snap them off…
And it’s also rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. On top of that, the 512c is also shockproof so it can easily handle the recoil from an AR 15, an AR 10 style rifle, a shotgun, or a pistol caliber carbine…
Last, the 512c is an enclosed optic design, so it’s not possible for something to block the emitter from projecting your reticle…
Overall, the 512c is also built to a very high standard and is a very robust optic.
Durability And Toughness Conclusions…
When it comes to durability, both of these optics are made by Holosun, so they’re actually pretty similar…
They both have a high strength aluminum housing. They both have windage and elevation adjustments that can’t be snapped off…
And they’re both waterproof and shockproof. Now the 510c does have the extra titanium hood protecting its lens, but it’s also an open style reflex sight, which means that it’s theoretically possible that something could block the emitter from projecting your reticle…
I don’t think that’s very likely to happen (again, I’ve never seen it happen), but the 512c is an enclosed design in which something like that is pretty much impossible…
So even though I actually think these two are neck and neck in this category, I’m going to give the slight win here to the Holosun 512c…
Winner: Holosun 512c
Lens Clarity And Reticle…
Holosun 510c
The lens on the Holosun 510c is very clear. When you look through the optic, you don’t notice much of a blue tint the way you do with a lot of other red dot sights (like the Trijicon MRO)…
It’s actually very clear, and that allows you to get a very clean sight picture. In addition to that, because the 510c is an open style reflex sight, you’re able to get a very large field of view…
The sight window itself is HUGE, and you can see a lot through it, but the benefit of having that open design also starts to reveal itself…
Everything just seems wide open, and you don’t get any of that tube effect, which is common with scopes and other red dots (especially micro red dot sights)…
So the large sight window and open design are a big benefit to the 510c in this category because you can really see more of your target and what’s around it (and keep your situational awareness)…
Now when it comes to the reticle on the 510c, Holosun includes a feature called the Multiple Reticle System or MRS…
Basically, this feature means that you get 3 different reticles that you can choose from included in your sight. The 3 reticles are…
- A 2 MOA dot with a 65 MOA ring surrounding it (the Holosun Circle Dot Reticle)
- A 2 MOA dot
- A 65 MOA ring with no dot in the center
Let’s start by talking about the 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot with a 65 MOA ring surrounding it, which is also called the Circle Dot Reticle (and is similar to the reticle found on Eotechs)…
I really like it… In fact, it’s my favorite style of reticle on a red dot sight because the large 65 MOA ring really catches your eye quickly, which then allows you to shoot faster…
But at the same time, you still have that little 2 MOA dot in the center which allows you to aim very precisely at small targets or targets that are off in the distance…
It gives you the best of both worlds, and for that reason, it’s my favorite reticle on a red dot. That being said, you also get the 2 MOA dot reticle option…
This is also a great option especially if you like to keep your reticle extremely simple. A 2 MOA dot is big enough for your eye to pick it up relatively quickly, but still small enough to give you that precision I talked about earlier…
Last, you have the 65 MOA ring reticle which is my least favorite option. Some people like the big 65 MOA ring, because they feel like their reticle is too cluttered with the dot in the center…
And the major benefit you get from it is that you can see all of your target in the center of the ring (it’s also very fast when you’re shooting at large targets)…
The obvious drawback is that you really can’t aim too precisely, but if you’re just shooting large targets up close, that’s not really a problem…
So all 3 reticle options have their strengths and weaknesses, but like I mentioned earlier, the Circle Dot reticle is my favorite because it gives you a lot of speed and precision in the same sight picture…
The last thing I want to mention in this category is that you can get the 510c with either a red reticle or a green reticle (the green dot model is the HE510C-GR)…
Personally, I prefer the red model because I feel like it attracts my eye just a tiny bit quicker, but there are many experienced shooters who love the green…
Like many things, your personal preference plays a big part in which one you’ll prefer, but it’s cool that Holosun gives you a couple of color options.
Holosun 512c
Just as with the 510c, the Holosun 512c has a very clear lens which allows you to get a clean sight picture…
And because the lens is large, you also get a big field of view in which you can see a lot of your target…
That being said, because the 512c is an enclosed optic, it just doesn’t feel as open as the 510c. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a very good field of view (much larger than a micro red dot like the Aimpoint T2)…
But it’s just not quite as wide open as an open style reflex sight…
Now when it comes to the reticle on the 512c, you also get the Multiple Reticle System with the same 3 reticle choices as the 510c…
Again, my favorite is the Circle Dot Reticle because it’s a very fast and precise reticle all in one, but the 2 MOA dot reticle and the 65 MOA ring reticle have their strengths as well…
All in all though, the MRS is an awesome feature that you get with the 512c…
Last, with the 512c you can choose between the red dot reticle version and a gold dot reticle version. Again, I like red for pretty much all of my sights and optics…
…but having a gold reticle is kind of cool and certainly unique in the world of optics.
Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…
Ok, so in this category, we have a few similarities and a few key differences between these two optics. First of all, both of these sights have a very clear lens…
And both of them have the Multiple Reticle System, which is awesome. But the biggest difference between them is the open style of the 510c as opposed to the enclosed design of the 512c…
The 512c got the slight edge in the durability category because of its enclosed design. However, I think the open design of the 510c gives it the edge in this category…
So the slight winner here is the Holosun 510c…
Winner: Holosun 510c
Size Comparison…
Holosun 510c
Like I mentioned earlier, the Holosun 510c is an open style reflex sight. So it’s much larger than something like a micro red dot such as the Holosun 503c or the Sig Romeo5…
But even though it’s larger, I still think it’s a great size for an optic on an AR-15. It has a height that measures in at 2.31 inches…
The length measures in at 3.30 inches, and the width measures in at 1.80 inches. In addition to all that, the weight on the 510c is around 4.94 ounces.
Holosun 512c
The Holosun 512c is a similar size to the 510c, but there are differences when we break down the numbers…
The height on the 512c measures in at 2.27 inches. The length measures in at 3.35 inches, and the width measures in at 1.66 inches…
Additionally, the weight on the 512c comes in at around 8.1 ounces.
Size Comparison Conclusions…
When we compare the dimensions on these two sights, they’re actually a very similar size, in terms of their height, length, and width…
That being said there is a major difference in the weight of these two optics. The 510c comes in at around 4.94 ounces whereas the 512c comes in at around 8.1…
That’s a difference of a little over 3 ounces which may not seem like much, but the ounces can really add up quickly when you start accessorizing an AR 15…
I think the weight of your optic is definitely something to take note of. So in this category, I’m going to give the win to the Holosun 510c…
Winner: Holosun 510c
Battery Life And Brightness Settings…
Holosun 510c
The Holosun 510c uses 1 CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight for up to 50,000 hours (when on setting 6)…
These days, I’m always looking to get super long battery life on red dot sights, and with 50,000 hours worth, the 510c definitely fits that criteria…
The reason why this is such an important feature to me is because you don’t want your optic dying on you at the wrong time. I’ve had red dots die on me at the range before, which gets pretty annoying…
But much more importantly, you don’t want your sight to run out of batteries if you ever need to use it in a defensive situation…
With the 50,000 hours you get on the 510c, that won’t be a problem especially if you swap out your battery once a year (which is what most people recommend)…
Another cool feature that you get with the 510c is the Shake Awake technology…
Basically, this feature means that your sight will automatically turn off after a period of non use, and it will automatically turn on as soon as it senses motion…
This will save your battery life (which is already very long) even more, but at the same time, it’ll keep your optic ready to go because it will turn on as soon as you touch your gun…
On top of that, the 510c is equipped with a Solar Panel. The Solar Panel is kind of a trademark of Holosun optics at this point, and I think it’s awesome…
It actually allows you to run your optic without a battery, which is important for two reasons…
First of all, it’s another feature that saves your optic’s battery life, and second it allows you to run your optic even if the battery dies (as long as you have sunlight to power it)…
So it’s a very useful feature, and I’m happy that they’ve included it…
Now with the 510c you get 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings get extremely bright on the high end, and you won’t have any issues with your reticle washing out in the sun, even on a sunny day…
As for the 2 NV settings, most people won’t ever use them, but some shooters who like to run NV equipment will take advantage of them. And since they don’t cost you any extra in terms of price, I think it’s cool that they are included.
All in all, the 510c is packed with a ton of useful features.
Holosun 512c
The Holosun 512c has the same features as the 510c in this category (they’re both Holosun optics after all)…
It uses 1 CR2032 battery which has a long lifespan of 50,000 hours when the optic is on setting 6…
Again, I love long battery life like this in my optics because it will help minimize the possibility of your optic dying on you, especially in a life or death situation…
The 512c also has the Shake Awake feature which helps save your battery life but at the same time keeps your optic ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…
And it also has Solar Panels on top which will back up your battery if it dies and can also help save your battery life if you choose to run the optic on that setting…
In addition to that, the 512c has 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. And they all work exactly the same as the settings on the 510c, which means that they get very bright on the higher end.
So in the end, just as with the 510c, the 512c is a sight that’s packed with features that you’ll find useful.
Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…
There really isn’t much that separates these two sights in this category because, like I said earlier, these are both optics from Holosun…
They both give you great battery life. They both have the Shake Awake feature and a Solar Panel. And they both have 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night visions settings…
So in this category, it’s clearly a draw.
Winner: Draw
Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…
Holosun 510c
The Holosun 510c comes with some pretty cool accessories. With the sight, you get the usual items like a lens cloth and a battery…
But the really exciting accessory that comes with your sight is the QD (Quick Detach) mount…
This mount sets you up for an absolute co witness with BUIS (Back Up Iron Sights) on an AR variant rifle or any other rifle that requires the use of a high mount…
By including this mount, I think Holosun gives you a lot of extra value when you pick up a 510c because it means that your sight is ready to go right out of the box…
You won’t have to go searching around for a mount that fits your optic, and then end up spending more money just to mount your new sight on your rifle…
That’s pretty cool, and it’s also pretty cool that the mount is a QD mount because that’s usually a pretty high end feature when it comes to optics mounts.
Holosun 512c
The Holosun 512c also comes with some pretty cool accessories. Again, you get the usual battery and lens cloth…
And just as with the 510c, you get an included mount with the 512c as well. The 512c’s included mount is also set up for an absolute cowitness with back up iron sights on an AR 15, AR 10, or any other rifle that requires the use of a high mount…
However, it differs from the 510c mount because it is not a QD mount. That being said, it still means that you’re not going to have to hunt around for a mount that will fit your optic and then end up spending extra money on it…
So I think you are getting some pretty good extra value there.
Extra Accessories Conclusions…
The two sights are similar in this category, but there is one key difference that separates them. First of all, they both come with a battery and a lens cloth…
And they also both come with a mount that sets you up for an absolute co witness on an AR 15, but the main difference is that the 510c has a QD mount and the 512c has a standard mount…
That small difference means the 510c is the slight winner in this category…
Winner: Holosun 510c
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this section because as the market changes, the prices of these sights change as well…
With that being said, you’ll usually find that the Holosun 510c is around 50 to 60 bucks less expensive than the Holosun 512c…
That’s not a huge difference in my opinion, but if you’re on a budget and trying to keep the price down on your optic…
The Holosun 510c is going to be the less expensive option for you.
Winner: Holosun 510c
Holosun 510c Vs 512c – Final Thoughts…
So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category, both sights are built to be very robust…
However, because the 512c is an enclosed design and the 510c is an open style reflex sight, I gave the 512c the slight win here…
In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, both sights have very clear glass that allows you to get a clean sight picture…
…but the 510c gives you more visibility because it’s an open style reflex sight. So in this category, it came out on top by a little bit.
In the Size Comparison, both of these sights have a similar height, length, and width. However, the 510c is much lighter weight than the 512c. So the 510c came out on top in this category…
In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights give you super long battery life, the Shake Awake feature, a Solar Panel, and 12 brightness settings. So in this category it was a clear draw…
In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with an absolute cowitness mount, but because the 510c’s mount is Quick Detach, it came away as the winner here…
And last in the Price Comparison, the 510c is usually around 50 to 60 dollars less expensive than the 512c…
So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holosun 510c…
I prefer the Holosun 510c for a few reasons. First of all, even though the 512c came out on top in the durability category, I still feel that the 510c is a very durable optic…
It’ll end up handling any tough use you put it through as a civilian, and if it ever does stop working for some reason…
…the included mount is a Quick Detach mount that will allow you to remove it immediately and start using your back up iron sights.
In addition to that, I like the huge, open sight window because it allows you to see a lot of your target…
…and helps give you a bit more situational awareness because it’s not as easy to get tunnel vision while looking through it.
On top of that, the 510c is a much lighter weight optic than the 512c, and I’m always working to keep the weight as low as possible on my rifles because it makes them easier to carry around and alot more handy…
And last but not least, the 510c is a less expensive optic than the 512c. So it’ll end up saving you some money.
Now if you don’t mind paying a little more money and you want an enclosed optic that still has a pretty big sight window, then feel free to go with the 512c because it’s still a great red dot…
Either way, I hope I was able to help you make a decision in terms of which of these fantastic Holosun optics will work best for you!