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Originally Posted by Cobb
Wonder how this works in relation to night vision for low light situations? Ive always wanted a good NVG but seems its hard to tell the knock offs from the good ones as you got some that use an IR illuminator and others that use just light amplification.
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Thermal and IR vision don't require any visible light. Traditional visible light image-intensifiers utilise illumination from stars/moon to provide light.
Some IR cameras will utilise IR illumination, and in most civilian cases this isn't an issue as detection isn't a concern. Military systems are nearly always passive.
Thermal imagining cameras are traditionally cooled. This used to mean carrying large amounts of compressed gas. Modern systems in the high-performance fields often utilise a small compressor instead, whilst less sensitive/compact systems will make do without cooling.
Thernal and IR systems are also great for finding your local provider of illegal herbs. Or perhaps some people prefer to live in a small flat so they can justify the sub-tropical heating bill.