australia:nearir_night_vision
near IR night vision devices for seeing wildlife
see also:
IR cameras detect reflected IR light in wavelengths shorter than 1µm (eg. 850 or 940nm IR lamps)
on nights with a full moon, their benefit is largely restricted to the viewing shadow areas as naked eye sight will do pretty well on full moon lit subjects
thermal imaging devices detect subject radiated heat with IR wavelengths of 7-14µm which is VERY DIFFERENT technology and these have MUCH lower resolution but can measure temperature
Introduction to near IR night vision cameras (not thermal imaging cameras)
these require a near IR light source illuminating the subject which may be either:
near IR night vision devices may use one of the two different technologies:
most have an IR illuminator which can be turned on to vastly improve the image quality up to a reasonable distance - usually several hundred metres - depending upon IR wavelength which will also determine how discrete and invisible this illuminator is to the wildlife with the 940nm ones being the most discrete but least powerful in terms of distance and generally need a sensor with high sensitivity in the range of 900-950nm
some have a Picatinny Rail Mount to mount other devices such as an additional IR illuminator
these IR night vision devices are NOT designed as photographic tools - they generally have limited manual photographic controls and have relatively poor focus supports, no image stabilisation and relatively low level of image detail
they are designed to visualise an animal in the dark and if it is close enough ascertain what type of animal it is and how it is behaving
at further distances, you may only see the animal's eyes
they are also very useful for detecting IR light sources
for the paranoid community, users will NOT be able to see into a dark room through a window from a distance even with a reasonably powerful IR lamp but they could do from a close distance of less than 10-20m
digital near IR devices
Colour monocular image devices
Monochrome binocular goggles with IR illuminators
Monochrome binocular cameras with IR illuminators
Monochrome monocular cameras with IR illuminators
Bushnell Equinox Z2 6×50 Night Vision Monocular
Bushnell Equinox Z 6×50 Night Vision Monocular
Bushnell 4.5×40 Equinox Z2 Digital Night Vision Monocular
Bushnell Equinox Z2 3×30 Night Vision Monocular
Hawke Nite-Eye 2000 5×40 Night Vision Monocular
Yukon NVMT Spartan 4×50 Night Vision Monocular
MINOX NVD 650 6X Optical Digital Night Vision Scope
Konus KONUSPY-10 1x-5x Zoom Digital Night Vision Monocular
18mm lens no opt.zoom;
$AU845
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5W dual 850nm and 940nm IR illuminators (intensity adjusted each time you press IR button plus zoom by pulling out the front element) plus red laser pointer
1-8x optical zoom 30mm lens; WiFi, USB charging high capacity removable 3.7V 21700A/18650 lithium battery giving 8-10hrs use; 353g w/o eyepiece and diopter lens; 430g; 1080 30P MP4; 214x103x58mm; can attach lens to rear optic of 35-48mm rifle scope; MF wheel; microHDMI out; up to 128Gb microSD; $AU496 excl. battery/SD card/rifle mount/adapter;
YUKON SIGNAL N340RT NIGHT VISION MONOCULAR
Monochrome monocular rifle scopes
Monochrome monocular rifle scopes with video
Yukon Photon RT 6×50 Digital Night Vision Rifle Scope with WiFi and Recording
PARD NV008P LRF Night Vision Scope
Pulsar Forward FN455 Digital NV Scope Attachment
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IR illuminators
as with all light, the intensity of these lights decrease by a quarter (2 ISO stops in other words your will need an ISO 4 times higher) every time you double the distance from the lamp - the inverse square law
animals will easily see 850nm lamps and will generally be scared off
humans can still see 940nm lamps especially if they are zoomed in and aimed at the human
humans and animals cannot see the light on the scene from these IR lamps
IR torches
NB. green lights are used mainly for hunting hogs
Flir Armasight MSI8000 Long Range Infra-red Torch
Sniper Hog light Coyote Cannon kit
AGM Sioux XLR850 Infra-red torch
Z-Vision - NV-303 - IR Illuminator (rotating pill Red, 850nm IR, 940nm IR)
red XP-E LED by Cree USA pill range is 500-600m (eye shine to 1000m)
850nm OSRAM-LED pill gives up to 520m
940nm OSRAM-LED pill gives up to 390m
dimmable and zoomable (flood to narrow beam); just rotate knob to switch LEDs on the fly;
450g; websites don't mention output of LEDs but at 2.5hrs battery life on full, that puts them at around 4W?
$AU339 premium hard carry case with foam inserts and kit weighs 2kg including quick rifle mount, car charger, AC charger, 2 x 2900 Z-VISION 18650 Batteries, coil cord end cap on/off with intensity dial control;
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Z-Vision DN-303
Predlight Trident 65mm Tri-LED Infrared, Red and Green Night Vision Illuminator Hunting Kit
Nitecore CI7 Dual 2500 lumen White and IR LED torch
Brinyte T28-IR zoomable 650 lumen white and infrared hunting torch
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Unique Fire IR Illuminator
$AU100 excl. 18650 battery; 3 power levels; 40mm x 150mm; 174g excl. battery; 50-200m zoom range;
optional user-interchangeable LEDs - white, red, 850nm, 940nm (need special pliers to unscrew the front lens to change the LEDs)
IR driving lights
IR 12V "security" illuminators for CCTVs
these generally have a female 2.1mm x 5.5mm 12V DC plug
most have ambient light sensors to automatically turn off in daylight
high output commercial
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Not 12V! most are 24V, POE or AC panels with interchangable beams up to 500m range (10deg beam) with integrated Hot-Spot Reduction Technology (HRT) and optional remote controller, some have IP network remote controllers; 730nm, 850nm and 940nm versions; POE versions;
https://www.rayteccctv.com/products-c1/infra-red-c2
Securview 36 pc 1.6W LEDs 5A 60W Infrared Illuminator 2.9kg $AU310 excl. 12V 5A power supply
RC-VSIR60W120D 120 degree beam angle model; 75m range;
RC-VSIR60W60D 60 degree beam angle model; 170m range;
RC-VSIR60W30D 30 degree beam angle model; 280m range;
SecureView 12 pc 2.3W LEDs 28W 2.5A Infrared Illuminator 1.7kg $AU156 excl. 12V 5A power supply
SecureView 6 pc LEDs 11W 1A Infrared Illuminator 1.2kg $AU94 excl. 12V 1-2A power supply
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850nm consumer residential models
range in price $AU30-50
4 LED Dome lights; 2A; up to 30m range; optional beam angle lens cups;
96 x 5mm 0.16W LEDs - 15W; 45deg beam angle; “80m range”;
larger 1.8W 1800-2000 lumen LEDs:
8 LED = 15W 1.2A; central 15deg beam gives 50m; central 45deg beam reaches 30m;
15 LED = 27W “30W” 2.25A; central 15deg beam gives 100m; central 45deg beam reaches 70m;
20 LED = 36W 3A; central 15deg beam gives 120m; central 45deg beam reaches 90m;
IR blocking safety glasses
in case you are using IR or red (usually 635-660nm) lasers you may want protective glasses (most are around $AU230-270) such as:
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Thorlabs LG8 blocks narrow spectrum of red mainly 660-680nm as well as blocking 850/940nm IR and blue/UV
Thorlabs LG9 very high block of all IR plus blue/UV but only minimal block of red
NB. these safety glasses will generally reduce your night naked eye vision as they have lower visual transmissions and of course they will stop you seeing the laser beam!
australia/nearir_night_vision.txt · Last modified: 2021/09/10 18:30 by gary1