They need enough light and enough contrast to create usable images.
Night vision vs thermal camera.
The first crucial difference between them is that night vision focuses solely on ensuring that you can see in the dark.
Night vision devices have the same drawbacks that daylight and lowlight tv cameras do.
Goggles or a helmet mounted monocular allow you to move using night vision.
The more expensive the camera the less light it will give off.
Although they tend to have anywhere from a low to high glow that animals and humans can observe.
Shortly the activity of a thermal camera is passive as they do not project any possible light while on the other hand the infrared night vision camera is considered an active device as it has the ability to detect ambient present light as well as project infrared beams if the ambient light is not currently present.
The chance to see through smoke and fog also gives thermal a leg up on other surveillance techniques.
Nobody can answer the infrared vs thermal night vision question except you.
Thermal is clearly superior in most situations but the industry has yet to come out with a wearable solution like night vision goggles.
Night vision is best used to recognize identify and harvest the game only if facial recognition is required or for deer depredation.
Thermal imagers don t have any of these shortcomings.
At night when the lack of visible light naturally decreases image contrast visible light camera performance suffers even more.
In the case of thermal imaging being able to see in the dark may be a byproduct of the imaging technique but it isn t the objective.
Without a doubt thermal cameras are the best 24 hour imaging option.
Thermal imagers on the other hand see clearly day and night while creating their own contrast.
Thermal imaging cameras are one of the most effective tools for surveillance because they work equally well in the day and night.
But what do you need it for.
What can you afford.
Night vision vs thermal scopes best uses after detecting recognizing and identifying the game it can be harvested as desired.
Thermal is best used to detect the desired game object.
Night vision allows you to do just that thermal does not night vision is also very flexible in that it can work in a lot of different environments indoors and outdoors cityscape.
Everything you see in normal daily life has a heat signature.
Night vision cameras are much cheaper than thermal ones.
First they have nothing to do with reflected light energy.