Night Vision Devices

LED lighting is popular among both photographers and videographers. While it is particularly favored by those who work in the studio, LED lighting can also be useful when shooting on location – after all, you never know when you might need a little bit of extra illumination.

The term LED stands for “light-emitting diode”, referring to an electronic semiconductor device that emits light when a voltage runs through it. It’s one of the two most popular forms of photographic light, the other being flashguns. The main difference between the two is that while flashguns fire an extremely short burst of light in sync with the shutter release, LEDs emit light continuously.

Night Vision

Some night vision devices also use infrared light, which the human eye can’t see, and convert it to a visible signal to enhance the image even further. Anything that produces heat will give off infrared radiation, and it’s fairly simple to rig a sensor to detect it. This is called thermal imaging, and is useful in situations where there’s absolutely no light – conventional night vision amplifies available light, so it doesn’t work in absolute pitch-darkness where there’s no light to amplify.

There are a number of different types of devices with night vision, so it’s worth thinking about exactly what you need. Binoculars with night vision provide many of the same advantages as regular binoculars – the ability to see subjects from a considerable distance. Top-end night vision binoculars will have objective lenses with a larger diameter, improving light-gathering ability and the overall clarity of the image.

Alternatively, you may want to consider a night vision monocular. As it sounds, a monocular provides a view for only one eye, as opposed to the two-eye view you get from a pair of binoculars. This makes them smaller, lighter and more portable, which can be an advantage if you want a device that can slip into a pocket.

Many night vision binoculars and monoculars have some video and stills recording capability. You also may want to consider a night vision camera designed expressly for this purpose. While you don’t get the kind of quality you’d get from a mirrorless camera or DSLR, this functionality can be useful for recceing potential shooting locations and keeping a record of what you’re seeing.

With regards to storing or sharing your images and videos, many night vision devices offer smartphone connectivity that lets you relay what you’re seeing directly to your device. Alternatively, some also offer SD card slots for direct storage of your content.

Night vision devices are electronic, and require battery power in order to work. Some run on standard batteries such as AAs, which are easy to buy, while others have their own built-in rechargeable battery that charges via a USB connection or similar. If you have the latter, it can be a good idea to pick up a power bank for emergency charging – the last thing you want is for your night-time excursions to be curtailed by a flat battery.

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