Because our eyes are used to seeing with reflected light, a night vision image is more natural and produces better object identification and spatial awareness (depth perception and  movement etc).

Another fundamental characteristic of a night vision optic is its ability to amplify light. This depends on the technology and quality of the device. This is usually reflected in the price of the unit, but not always. We have seen devices from a variety of manufacturers that make claims that are unsupported in practice.

Night vision can see through glass, important for navigation and security applications and an image formed by reflected light produces an image that can be used for person identification and studying wildlife such as endangered species when individual animals are tracked and studied.

Pest controllers and hunters often use a thermal imager for spotting and a night vision riflescope for shooting because the target is easier to identify and grass and foliage can be seen in front of the target that may deflect the shot. A clear line-of-sight must be maintained for night vision to be effective.

Recreational users visit one of our stockists for a demonstration:

Visit our dealer page for more information.

For more information visit the Pulsar Global website

NIR optimised monochrome sensors

All digital sensors amplify light, though some do so more than others.

The best type of digital night vision uses a large format monochrome (black and white) sensor. This type of sensor is widely used for astronomy, defence and high-end security applications.

A monochrome sensor has pixels with a larger surface than a colour sensor, because the colour sensor has to split the light into red, green and blue to create a colour image.

Another advantage of using a monochrome sensor is the ability to choose a sensor that is optimised for the red to near-infrared (NIR) spectrum, approximately 600nm – 1200nm. This allows the device to work without the need to use an IR illuminator for around and hour after sunset / before dawn, when the earth is bathed in infrared light that is invisible to our eyes. Another advantage of a NIR sensor is its high sensitivity to an IR illuminator. Pulsar illuminators output a fraction of the infrared that is required for a non-NIR night vision device.

Pulsar night vision optics are fitted with NIR optimised monochrome sensors, as well as Pulsar’s propriety SumLight light amplification that enhances low light operation through adaptive frame rate.

Colour Day / Night sensors

A colour sensor must be optimised for the visible spectrum in order to produce an image that is natural and free of colour biases. These sensors are also sensitive to infrared up to  around 940nm, though depending on the devices quality and configuration, may need a relatively bright IR illuminator to operate in total darkness.

Optics with colour sensors have an infrared cut-off filter that filters out infrared during daylight use. This filter is removed for night time use and the optic displays a monochrome image. However, this monochrome image is not the same as a true monochrome sensor, which is vastly more sensitive.

What determines the low light performance of a colour day / night optic is the size and quality of the sensor, as well as the optical characteristics of the device and its image processing capability.

The decision to purchase a monochrome or colour digital optic largely depends on the users requirements. A day / night optic favours daylight hunting with little night use, while a monochrome sensor is better for night use.

Finally, digital night vision can withstand bright light without damage and is more affordable than thermal. A thermal hand-held monocular and a night vision riflescope is a very effective combination for clear line-of-sight shooting. 

Developed before and used in WW2, tubed night vision optics have been around for a while.

Consumer night vision includes generation 1, CF-Supertube and Generation 2+. Pulsar discontinued their Gen2+ range once that their digital optics reached parity in terms of performance. Our own comparative testing has confirmed this.

Generation 3 night vision

Gen 3 night vision is a huge improvement over previous Gen2+ models. However, Gen 3 is more Costley and is a dual-use controlled item.

Our ANV Gen3+ night vision in demand with professional users who require the very best lowlight performance.

The + in Gen3+ refers to high sensitivity thin-film, autogated tubes. Autogating was developed to prevent bright light blindness in battlefield conditions, caused by flares, explosions, lights and fires. Autogating is a huge advantage during boat navigation in and out of harbours.