How useful are night vision cameras

[Bulawayo]

We rely on a couple of forward looking LED flood/spot lights, meant for offroading on a 4x4, mounted on the spreaders, a super powerful 50watt HID made by Light Force Australia (LED's dont have the same range) hand held spot light and radar. We do have stabilzed binoculars (Fujinon) and have not felt the need for yet another significant expense. I have heard that spectacular results are available from some versions but the expense is disproportionate.
Our LED flood/spot combo lights are also connected into our intruder alarm system. We also have a single LED 4x4 flood light mounted on the underside of the transoms goal post, connected to a movement sensor with a manual over-ride as sometimes you need to go backwards.

[theerwagen]

FLIR and Seek both now make an IR camera for $250 that connects to your iPhone or Android. Not sure how useful would be a sea, but worth a try. You can see various other options on Amazon.

[PeterLIA]

We have run the FLIR pan and tilt model T450 thermal camera since 2011.
Together with the Raymarine E140W display.
It's indispensable for night crossings and late returns or early departures to & from a marina or tight anchorage.
We bought it primarily to avoid the Philippine and Malaysian fishermen in their little timber bunkas which do not come up well on radar. So far we have avoided half a dozen or so in the last 4 years
The only issue is how expensive it was, but now we have it we would not be without it.
Regards PB

[timbenner]

I've had a generation 2 infra red monocular on my sail boat for years, mostly used for anchoring. I highly recommend it. However, buy it with Am Ex, so you double the warranty. Mine had to be replaced in a year.

[mausgras]

Originally Posted by theerwagen

FLIR and Seek both now make an IR camera for $250 that connects to your iPhone or Android. Not sure how useful would be a sea, but worth a try. You can see various other options on Amazon.

Yes I came across these last night while googling FLIR after reading some of the above.
There is a nice little video on YouTube where they watch some walk into the distance. He disappeared into the background after about 80m. The resolution was not as great as the police video above but i guess that is to be expected if it only costs $250.
see https://youtu.be/DIYYsuTsNRU

[mausgras]

I also discovered FLIR are not the only manufacturer of night vision cameras.
TASCO, the binocular company, also make a range that have wifi that can send the image to a smartphone or tablet and I assume a wifi enabled multifunction chart plotter.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[trifan]

Having been in the business of selling cameras for a dozen years I had to add my thoughts... Flir is great for some things but very low lux cameras are really great also. Skyglow, the average light on a moonless night at sea, is about 100 microlux (.0001 ). I can get cameras that are .00001 lux, or about 1/10 skyglow sensitivity. At that point, the slightest white light provides color images. Most harbors then look like it is afternoon. That AND flir combined gives more data that you thought you would ever want.

And remember, 700 line analog cameras are really cheap now. Today I had a vendor trying to sell me waterproof (IP66) bullet cam for $20, postage paid. The same cam was going for over $100 a year ago. High resolution (1080p, 3MP or more) camera pricing has dropped, too but their light sensitivity hasn't quite matched the cmos cams. Y'all get ready to buy, I'll try to help find a deal for you.

[CarlF]

I think the Night Owl units are the best proce/performance for boats. It uses CCD technology so,you can use it to find things that aren't warm - like a buoy. Also not limited to the range of an IR illiminator. You can see to the horizon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...hps_bw_g200_i4

Or forget night vision by making it day with this flashlight from Marinebeam. Simply astonishing

https://store.marinebeam.com/marineb...t-illuminator/