Lets see... having to get close enough to use one's eyes directly (and thus vastly increasing the probability of getting blown out of the sky by an RPG or machine gun), along with having to go to each spot you want to check out, and carrying a small weapons load that can only deal with one or two of what you find.
Or, tooling along at a respectable distance/altitude, using FLIR (with image-enhancement/enlargement modes) and other sensors to see in detail day or night, etc . Being able to look at more spots in a short time because you are able to see details from further off, thus not having to actually go to each spot. Having a significant load of more effective and numerous weapons to deal with trouble "right now" vs having to call in someone else who might not be able to acquire the target you want to hit (if it hasn't moved off by then).
Of course, those are just "electronic gizmos", and therefore useless, right?
They are BETTER than unaided human vision, and they give more info to the human mind, thus giving BETTER knowledge of the ground!
Please come forward from the 1960s (you said "30 years ago", but even then military professionals were embracing more advanced tech than "sticking one's head out the door"), and inform yourself about just what those "electronic gizmos" really do, and what they add to the capabilities of the modern recon helo and the crews flying them!