Nightowl heat vision6/26/2023 ![]() While using Near IR does enhance night vision to some degree, it is probably not nearly as useful as the product advertises. Night vision cameras typically image in the LWIR, which is ~8-12 microns (although there are SWIR and VIS-NIR cameras like the EMCCDs which bill themselves as night vision systems as well). CCDs and CMOS sensors can only ‘see’ out to 1.1 microns at best (typically less than 1 micron), which means they can detect visible and near IR wavelengths. “My web search would suggest, however, that this is in fact a cheap camera with possibly a low-end Sony CCD sensor with a custom CMOS backend made in China for readout. “I first thought this was an EMCCD (electron-multiplying CCD, which is common for low light imaging), which would be fairly useful for night vision,” said my friend Scott. If you don’t like jargon and acronyms, skip the next two paragraphs. ![]() Usually they work on satellites and tanks and things. I happen to know some guys who are PhDs in image sensing. The disadvantage of this Lanmodo unit is that, unlike the Cadillacs and BMWs, there is no separate software that detects and alerts you to pedestrians and “large animals.” If you happen to be looking at the screen just before Bigfoot leaps onto your hood, then you’ll be able to stop. It may be inky darkness outside, but on the screen it’s brilliant daytime. And while those infrared cameras see only in black and white, the Lanmodo broadcast in beautiful color. Amazing! I’d look out with just my eyeballs and see almost nothing but blackness, then look at the Lanmodo screen and it was like daytime at high noon. It was like looking at full-color daylight. I found a street with no streetlights-no easy feat in LA-and had a gander. It takes whatever light is left out there once the sun goes down and sort of multiplies it on the little screen. Unlike night vision on Cadillacs and BMWs, the Lanmodo unit is not infrared. I stuck mine on the dashboard and headed out into darkest night to see what I could see. A button on the unit allows you to switch from front- to rearview. For an added price you can get a rear-view camera, too. You can mount it either on your dash on top of a sticky rubber mat or suction-cup it to your windshield. Plug it into a cigarette lighter and-voila!-you have Superman-like powers. ![]() It’s a screen about the size of a big rearview mirror with a night vision camera on the other side pointing out your windshield. A company called Lanmodo recently sent me one of its Night Vision cameras to check out. If you want night vision but can’t afford a Cadillac, there are options available from the aftermarket, some pretty affordable. These systems are usually packaged with high-end options on high-end cars, and they’re pretty thoroughly integrated into your dashboard and very easy to use. Most of the systems have a way of alerting you so you’ll slow down and avoid one of those expensive deer-to-car collisions. The best thing about them is they can detect deer before the deer commit suicide on your front bumper. These things can “see” in total darkness. These all operate on the infrared part of the spectrum that is, they use sensors that detect differences in heat instead of differences in light. Or were they … night squirrels? Anyway, it was really fun.Īs you no doubt already know, many luxury carmakers offer versions of night vision in their cars, many built by supplier Autoliv. I had no idea there were so many possums in my neighborhood. I got one of those battery jumper power units, put it in a backpack, plugged the camera into a portable screen and went for a nighttime walk. The unit they sent me was a small camera about the size of a Rubik’s Cube that ran on 12-volt DC power. For automotive applications, FLIR offers PathFindIR II Driver Vision Enhancement System. FLIR can configure infrared vision units for all kinds of applications and has several products you can buy off the shelf. From iGen®, the industry’s most innovative and high performance product, to the industry’s most refined line of night vision binoculars, our products push the edge of quality, ergonomics, design and performance.Mostly, these night vision things are all just really cool gadgets, and who doesn’t love really cool gadgets? Several years ago a Santa Barbara tech company called FLIR sent me one of its portable infrared cameras. Night Owl Optics represents the result of that investment and innovation in all of our products shown on these pages. Investment + Innovation = The Best Products Years of research, product development, field testing and quality engineering further convinced us that only one formula could meet these challenges. Through it all, we have developed a clear understanding of two very important aspects:Įxpectations. Here at Night Owl Optics we have decades of experience and technological expertise in the night vision industry.
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