Night Vision Binoculars

How to choose binoculars

Be it night vision or day use, binoculars consist of two telescopes mounted together that make images appear closer. It is wrong to say that they increase images: binoculars and telescopes shorten distances. Let me give you one example: if you see the moon through binoculars, do you think the moon appears bigger than it really is? No way, the moon is huge. You see it bigger than with your bare eyes only because the distance between you and the moon is reduced by the binoculars.

Binoculars come in two primary sizes: compact and standard. Some companies also offer monoculars. Popular options include  BUSHNELL  Binoculars, Rigel Optics Binoculars, NIGHT OWL Binoculars and many more brands.

Compact binoculars

Compact binoculars are easy to put into your pocket, purse, or backpack, and they don’t incommodate you too much, because they have a reduced weight. So, if you want convenience, then compact binoculars are for you.

Standard-size binoculars

Standard binoculars provide a crisp, clear image for birding, hunting, or viewing animals at a distance. They range from midsize to large, and  they can weigh between 20 and 35 ounces.

Unfortunately, heavier models cannot be hold in hand, so you’ll need a tripod to keep the viewed image as steady as possible.

Monoculars

Monoculars consist of a single eyepiece and work well for stationary viewing. They can be used together with your camera and work particularly well for birding, hunting, and nature photography.

How Night Vision Binoculars Work

Did you imagine that night vision binoculars or scopes are just devices through which you see the night images? Well, you were wrong. Night vision devices capture the light, then project it on a phosphorus screen which has the effect of amplifying it.

This is actually what we really see when we look through such devices: the amplfied projection of the real image, magnified by the eye piece. Night vision binoculars turn the images to green. Why green and not pink or yellow? Just because the human eye can perceive more shades of green than of any other color.

Another factor to be taken into consideration is the magnifying factor. Depending on it, we can see more or less details of an image (and we can pay a bigger or a lower price for the night vision binoculars).

Possible uses for night vision binoculars

What you can do with a pair of night vision binoculars? Don’t tell me you can see at night. This is obvious. But what and why would somebody want to see in the dark? Let’s see:

1. Night birds watching. If you are going for this, then you won’t need the possibility to zoom, so a fixed focus choice like this BUSHNELL 26 0400 Night Vision Binoculars 26 0400 would be best for you.

2. Looking for thieves who might be tresspassing your property. In this case, the above binoculars are suitable, but you can also try NIGHT OWL EXPLORER PRO SCOPE W/IR ILLUMINATOR

3. Watch your neighbors. I don;t do this, but I suppose any kind of night vision binoculars would do.

4. See your way out in the mountains if you’re caught by night on the path (it happened to me, and I can tell you it’s an awful feeling to travel through a forest at night, when you barely see the path, and when curious pairs of colored eyes seem to be wathing you from behind every tree). For this, think to get long range night vision binoculars, such as Rigel Optics Night Vision Generation 1 Rigel 2500 High Magnification Night Vision Binoculars. These are also suitable for hunters or security personnel who need to see clear details from beyond 200 yards.

Night vision binoculars and bird watching

Night vision binoculars are a must have in the arsenal of a serious bird watcher. I always liked to watch two kinds of birds: the ones with strong color feathers and the night birds. I’m fascinated by owls, I like their yellow eyes and their way of moving their heads. Unfortunately, my night vision is not great (I’m human, you know), so many times it was very hard to focus the sight on my favorite birds at night.

Until I discovered there are night vision binoculars which base their functioning on infrared light. When I was a child, I was living with my parents in a small village nearby a forest. In the neighborhood, there was this military unit, with soldiers guarding it at night. Many times, as I went to watch the owls, I bumped into the guard. Some of those guards were really nice people. One night, one of them gave me his night vision binoculars to seek for birds. I was astounded by what I saw. From that moment, I stronlgy wished that Santa Claus brings me a pair of night vision binoculars. Luckily, my parents wanted to encourage my interest in night birds, so at the age of 9, I got my first night vision binoculars, which I still remember to this day. This is what I got from Santa that year: Night Owl NOXB-3 Night Vision Binoculars with Extended I/R Operation. It’s useless to say that all my friends were so jealous! But I have a big heart and I let them use my binoculars. It felt so good to have night vision!