1. Low-light-level night vision devices

Passive imaging: Use image intensifiers to enhance the weak natural light reflected by the target. They do not require active light sources. They have good concealment and are not easy to be discovered. They are suitable for scenes with high concealment requirements such as night battles of troops.

Good imaging quality: In an environment with a certain amount of natural light, such as moonlight and starlight, it can provide clear and detailed images, and can present natural colors and contrast, which are similar to daily visual perception.

Small size: With the development of technology, the size of low-light-level night vision devices has gradually decreased, and the weight is light, which is easy to carry and operate. They can be equipped on binocular or monocular night vision glasses, helmet sights, etc. carried by individual soldiers.

Poor adaptability to strong light: Saturation is easy to occur when encountering strong light, resulting in a decrease in image quality or even inability to observe normally. For example, in a strong light environment at night in a city, it may affect its use effect.

Common low-light night vision devices include: GPNVG, PVS-31, PVS-14, PVS-7.

2. Infrared night vision devices

Active and passive types: Active infrared night vision devices emit infrared rays and receive reflected light to form images. They can also work in a completely dark environment, but they are easy to expose themselves; passive infrared night vision devices (thermal imagers) are based on the thermal radiation imaging of the object itself, without the need for external light sources, and have good concealment.

Less affected by light: Active infrared night vision devices are not affected by natural light from the outside world, and can provide clear images in a completely dark environment; passive infrared night vision devices can penetrate smoke, dust and some thin obstacles, and have better observation effects in severe weather conditions or in obstructed environments.

Detectable heat source targets: Passive infrared night vision devices can clearly display the thermal contours of target objects, which is very helpful for discovering living targets such as people or animals hidden in the dark, and can be identified and tracked based on the thermal characteristics of the target.

Special imaging effect: Active infrared night vision devices usually have black and white or unnatural tones, and the details are relatively weak; the image of passive infrared night vision devices is a pseudo-color display based on temperature differences, and the presentation of the physical details of the target, such as patterns and text on the surface of the object, is relatively weak.

3. Thermal imaging night vision devices

Passive imaging: Similar to passive infrared night vision devices, imaging is based on the target's own thermal radiation, and no external light source is required. It has strong concealment and will not expose its own position.

Can display temperature information: Not only can you see the outline and position of the target, but you can also intuitively display the temperature distribution of each part of the target. Different colors represent different temperature ranges, which helps to find potential fault points, hot spots or cold spots, etc.

Can penetrate obstacles: It can penetrate obstacles such as smoke, dust, and mist, and can still clearly observe the target under severe weather conditions. It is suitable for various complex environments.

Identify camouflaged targets: Since it is based on the thermal characteristics of the target, some targets that are optically camouflaged or hidden in vegetation or buildings may be discovered by thermal imagers due to differences in thermal radiation.

Image quality is affected by ambient temperature: When the ambient temperature is close to the target temperature, the contrast of thermal imaging may decrease, affecting the image quality and target recognition.

High price: Thermal imaging technology is relatively complex and costly, resulting in the price of thermal imaging night vision devices being generally more expensive than low-light night vision devices and ordinary infrared night vision devices.

Common thermal imaging night vision devices include: MH-6100B, MH-675B, MH-650B.