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Using An Infrared Illuminator For Low Or No Light Video Recording

It is often thought that night vision camcorder technology is only accessible to the military or through the purchase of the latest high tech night vision equipment. Currently, however, the situation is rapidly changing and many cameras and camcorders have truly exceptional built in low light and infrared vision capacity.

The most common and least expensive method of capturing video or images in no or low light is by using infrared illuminators. One current example is the Sony Night Shot video camera that first introduced this method over ten years ago.

The recording surface used inside the video cameras can record IR light. This enables the unit to capture high quality video in low light situations. And on a number of units, an internal near infrared light source is built into the camcorder to increase the quality of images taken in low light.

When shooting indoors where there is some visible light, these added IR light sources perform fairly well. Some find, however, that the camcorders don't do as well in very low light situations, such as filming wildlife in the dark. There is a lack of a strong IR source to light an outdoor scene using only the low powered built in unit. But, by adding an additional external near infrared light source, very good low or no light footage can be taken.

Add on illuminators range from accessory units you can get from the company who manufactured your camera to extremely powerful add-ons from other suppliers. The standard add on lights are fairly inexpensive, and more powerful battery powered external light kits that allow illumination up to 30 or 40 yards can be found in the two to three hundred dollar price range.

By using an external IR light source that is powerful enough, it's possible to set up a useful night vision video camera without a huge cost outlay. The extra IR invisible light that you use is invisible to the naked eye, but you can see through the LCD viewfinder on your camera and view in the scene in what will look like near daylight conditions. The use of additional IR light greatly reduces or eliminates the 'graininess' you often see with no light video capture.

Try some experimenting in in the dark where only the camera can see. It will be surprising to find that the camcorder you use has more built in features than you thought.

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