What are True Night Binoculars
By Carlo Bland on June 3, 2009
Binoculars are a popular recreational item now. They have their uses in almost any outdoor pursuit. They can add to the pleasure of camping, hiking, hunting and boating as well as being a necessity for bird watching.
You can do most of these activities, in poor light or even in darkness. This makes night vision binoculars an attractive proposition. But they vary widely in price and function and you could easily make a costly mistake.
There is a difference between binoculars that make best use of low light conditions and a true night binocular. For use at dusk or dawn, low light binoculars could be suitable. Let’s look at the concept of Exit Pupil.
This is the diameter of the light beam leaving the eyepieces. Hold the binoculars at a short distance and on each eyepiece, you will see a small circle of light, the exit pupil. On binoculars that are 12×50, you divide 50 by 12 to get just over 4mm diameter for these. A higher figure equals more light, but that is not the only factor.
For true nighttime performance, you need an infrared light source to be able to see when there is no natural light. The effective range of these varies, so buy what you need. For hunting, a range of 10 yards is useless.
There are different optical devices for different uses. A monocular looks like a telescope and is sometimes called a spotting scope. This is a clue to its use. It is OK for a quick sweep of the terrain to find your friends or a path.
A compromise is a bi-ocular, with two eyepieces but only one front lens. A true night binocular, with two lenses, allows your eyes to be adjusted equally to the night vision viewfinder. This is preferable for extended periods of use.
So, before setting out to purchase night vision binoculars, consider in what light conditions you will be using them and whether you will be using them for sustained periods. A true night vision binocular can set you back several hundred dollars and may be a waste of your money if they are more than you really need.
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