What do I.R. , night vision binoculars do?

Question

Hi all, I purchased a pair of binoculars last week. They have red coloured lenses and they state that they are I.R. and night vision.
I have tried viewing through them at night but they don’t seem to be any different to any others. Can anybody explain what these terms mean?
Tanx for reading.

Answer 1

if they are nightvision you will know, the image will be green and you will be able to see clearly in very low light, they will also have a power source such as battery or need charging and they will have ofcourse an on/off switch.

nightvision binoculars are very expensive probably around £300 for the cheapest and £2 - 3 grand for decent ones,

so if you bought them cheap youve been had. if you paid a lot then shouldn't you know what you are buying already before you spend this kind of money?

Answer 2

If they don't have a battery then they are not night vision.
IR (Infra Red) is a type of "invisible" light that is closer to heat, so an IR camera can "see" warm things moving in the dark, by detecting the heat (IR) that they emit. Some IR cameras have an IR "light" attached, that shines Infra red light, which your eye can't see, but the camera can.
Night Vision on the other hand, uses a very sensitive camera to amplify the small amount of available light so that you can see a (usually green) image.

Answer 3

I have a monocular with a high transmission coating which has a red sheen it might just be that. But if you were sold them as night vision you might be better to take them back and get a refund.