25/10/2026
BLACK & WHITE OR FULL COLOUR?
NIGHT VISION EXPLAINED
Someone walks past your camera at 2amโฆ
๐ถ You can see a person. But can you tell what colour shirt theyโre wearing?
Hereโs how different night-vision technologies work! ๐
โซโช 1. INFRARED (IR): SEE IN THE DARK
The camera uses infrared light to capture a black-and-white imageโeven in complete darkness within its illumination range.
โ
Useful where visible lighting would be disturbing.
โ ๏ธ Clothing and vehicle colours cannot be reliably determined from the black-and-white footage.
๐จ 2. COLOUR NIGHT VISION: KEEP THE COLOUR CLUES
Colour footage can help you distinguish a red shirt, blue bag or white car.
โ
Useful when colour details matter during an investigation.
โ ๏ธ Colour cameras still need light! They use available lighting or supplementary visible light when the scene is too dark.
๐ก 3. HYBRID LIGHT: SWITCH WHEN NEEDED
Compatible cameras can use IR for normal night monitoring, then switch on visible light when a person or vehicle is detected.
โ
Captures colour details during an event while reducing continuous visible lighting.
โ ๏ธ Switching behaviour depends on the model, detection settings and selected lighting mode.
๐ WHAT DOES โ30m NIGHT VISIONโ REALLY MEAN?
It describes the claimed illumination rangeโnot a guarantee that you can identify a face or read a number plate 30 metres away!
Actual detail also depends on:
๐ Lens and resolution
๐ก Lighting and surroundings
๐ Subject movement and shutter speed
๐ Camera position and angle
๐ฌ Before choosing a camera, ask:
โDo I need to see that someone is thereโor capture enough detail to identify them?โ
๐ฉ Message AAC Distribution for help matching night vision to your location.
๐ Save this guide for your next CCTV upgrade!
