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Night Vision in Dash Cams - Why is it Important?

What is the Night Vision feature in a Dash Cam?

Night vision is a term used to describe the feature of some dash cams’ recording capabilities under low light conditions. Thinkware was the company who coined this term first, branding their Thinkware F800 Pro model as their first “Super Night Vision” dash cam.

Fast forward to 2023, almost all the dash cams we carry at BlackboxMyCar are now equipped with Night Vision, thanks to Sony STARVIS and Omnivision image sensors.

Night vision has been introduced to a variety of different dash cams but the feature remains the same - increasing exposure so that more details can be recorded.

What does Super Night Vision do?

Night Vision is a software or firmware-based processing effect on the video to boost exposure in lower exposed areas.

At night time, with the reflection of headlights and the increase exposure, license plates would be whited-out in recording. Thus, we only recommend to turn night vision on during parking-mode recording.

Do note that there have been cases of overexposure when this feature is turned on during regular recording.

What doesn't it do?

Super Night Vision is not a true infrared night vision, so if you park in a pitch black area like a closed garage with no lighting, it will not be able to pick anything up.

Note that Infrared is not a great solution for dash cams as it just creates distracting reflections on the glass. It would need to be an exterior mounted waterproof camera for traditional infrared night vision to work properly.

Similarly, if you park in a very bright area, you will not notice a difference with Super Night Vision on or off.

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