;)
Already all the rage with the military, nocturnal animal watchers and celebrity stalkers, "night vision" equipment is more readily availably to the average consumer than those counter-espionage, tactical-combat and serial-killer movies would lead you to believe. Might as well get in on the fun.
Offering appropriate function at a decent price point are Bushnell's Night Vision Monocular(s) with Built-In IR. Simply stated, these one-eyed, two-AA-battery-powered gizmos allow avid outdoorsman, tech-happy insomniacs, security personal and everyday gadget freaks to see in the dark by "intensifying" available light and translating it all to a monochrome monocular display screen where it's also enlarged by a factor of 2 (at least) or more (depending on the model).
The technology involved is very cool: Any available ambient light -- even that cast down by the stars outside or an exit sign inside -- is collected by the unit's objective lens and focused on an "image intensifier." Inside the intensifier, a "photocathode" is "excited" by the light and converts the energy into electrons. The electrons accelerate across an electrostatic field inside the intensifier and strike a phosphor, monochrome screen, which then displays an image.
If there is no light at all - as in a cave or Buffalo Bill's basement in Silence of the Lambs - these units also come with an infrared illuminator, the effect of which cannot be seen by the naked eye but will light up Jodi Foster quite nicely nevertheless.
Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2002
Type: RecTech
From: Bushnell
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