8 Best Night Vision Goggles 2024

There are two main ways to achieve night vision by amplifying ambient light and infrared light to create a clear image: optoelectronic and digital. Optoelectronic devices are usually much more expensive than digital night vision devices, but both are available to consumers. In addition, both usually produce only two-color images—green and black or black and white.

Optoelectronic Night Vision

The first wave of night vision devices operated through optoelectronic image enhancement. These devices used a lens to collect available light reflecting off an object and passed that light through a series of mechanisms, including an image-intensifying vacuum tube, to produce a brighter, clearer image for the user.

There are three generations of this technology and several new developments. Most consumer devices are Gen 1 or Gen 2, but some are Gen 3. Each successive generation provides images with greater clarity. Gen 3 technology is still used by special forces, soldiers, and law enforcement. These devices can cost thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars. Some of the technology in these models is so advanced that you may need special licenses to take them outside the United States.

Digital Night Vision

Digital night vision has evolved rapidly, making night vision devices cheaper and more consumer-friendly. These devices are more power-hungry, but they are also lighter and come with consumer-friendly tools, such as the ability to record night vision video and audio or take photos.

These devices capture an image on a sensor and use digital processing to enhance it and deliver it to the user on one or two screens—very similar to how a digital camera works. Most digital night vision devices still produce a two-color image, but some high-end devices produce color night vision images.

Older versions of digital night vision did not offer the clarity of optoelectronic night vision devices because the image sensors and screens could not provide sufficient pixel density. However, newer and higher-end models offer much better clarity

Green and black? Or black and white?

When you see a depiction of night vision on a TV show or movie, it is often green and black. Traditional night vision devices passed the image through a green phosphorescent screen because humans can distinguish more shades of green than other colors. This makes it ideal for use in military and surveillance operations, as well as hunting. However, the green and black images cause more eye fatigue than other options, making long-term use difficult.

Black and white, and even amber and black, have gained popularity in the night vision space because they don’t cause as much eye strain. This makes it easier for hunters and night photographers to use their devices for longer periods of time without having to look away. Additionally, a digital night vision device can more easily offer these multiple viewing options than an optoelectronic device.