Night Vision Optics
Optics designed for night vision are specially designed tubes that catch and enhance what little light may be in a dim area and enhance it. They do this by grabbing the light available, converting it to energy, multiplying it, and then converting it back into greatly enhanced light. With a little care and knowledge, the right night vision device will be useful in a variety of situations.
What types of night vision optics are there?
These optics come in a variety of forms to suit your needs, such as night vision scopes, binoculars, night vision monocular devices, and goggles. While each of them provides some measure of improvement to your vision at night, you'll want to choose a type that works for your intended purposes. ATN, Armasight, and Sightmark are all providers of scopes, monocular, thermal equipment, and more.
- Night vision goggles are one of the more ubiquitous forms of night vision technology is the night vision goggles apparatus. Goggles are separate from a similar device called a night vision monocular, in that they allow for night vision through both eyes simultaneously. Night vision goggles are also notable for having no magnification, usually, and you can mount them on your head for ease of use.
- Night vision binoculars are distinctive for having two eyepieces and built-in magnification features. Because magnification levels for these devices are high, they are also too heavy for you to attach them to another apparatus. While night vision binoculars typically have intense magnification, you should be aware that the images you see may be dim. However, binoculars work great if you have stationary, long-range night vision duties.
- Night vision rifle scopes come in two varieties. One is designed to mount onto on existing rifle scope for your hunting needs while the other is a stand-alone scope that is larger, heavier, and replaces a normal scope.
- Monocular night vision devices are single-eye units that make low-light enhancements at night but without magnification properties. They are usually both compact and lightweight. These features make them portable. They can also be mounted and used on a variety of equipment. These are a great option if you need vision while you are multi-tasking at night.
- You can also get variations of these, particularly night vision scopes that include thermal optics. Thermal optics are ideal for when you need to distinguish between various heat signatures during a hunting expedition.
How do you care for night vision equipment?
One of the most important things to remember that is often overlooked when it comes to these vision devices is the power. You should always deactivate your optics when you are in a well-lit area and turn them on only in the dark or at night. Bright lights can damage the aspects of your equipment that relate to vision and thus shorten their overall lifespans. And while you might be using night vision goggles in environments that are quite humid or damp, prolonged exposure to heavy rain or thick fog can also cause problems for these devices.