How is wildlife filmed in near-total darkness, and can a phone or DSLR do it?
Asked 11/18/2015
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I’ve seen wildlife documentaries and trail-camera footage that look like they were shot in almost complete darkness, with a black-and-white “night vision” look. How is this done for stills or video? Is it possible with an iPhone or a Canon DSLR, or do you need a special type of camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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There are several different methods that can be used for this:
Thermal imaging - Recording radiation in the long-infrared range (9,000-14,000nm), ie heat. Most animals are much warmer than their surroundings, so will show up clearly in an image. Disadvantages are thermal cameras can be very expensive, are usually fairly low resolution. Also it may not show much detail of the surroundings, if it is all a similar temperature.
Near-infrared, with a light source - Usually recording in the range of about 700-1000nm, ie just outside the visible range. They have a light source within this range, used as a camera flash (or steady light for video), this is usually a bank of LEDs. This light is outside the visible range for most animals, so they should not be disturbed by it. The range is limited by the power of this light. But if it is too bright, it can make the foreground overexposed. The second video in the question is from a Bushnell trail camera, which uses this method.
Image intensification - Amplifying the limited light that is available, this could include both visible and near-infrared frequencies. This could be from moonlight, or starlight etc. Night-vision goggles are based on this.
For photography, standard digital camera sensors are actually sensitive to near-infrared light. But this would affect regular images, so they include a filter to block infrared, and only pass visible light. For many cameras, it is possible to dismantle it to remove the filter. Or there are several companies offering a conversion service, and selling ready converted cameras. So after conversion, you could take photos in near-infrared. To actually see wildlife at night, you would need a light source, ie LEDs at the right frequency.
Or simpler and cheaper to buy a ready-made trail camera, eg from Bushnell or Ltl Acorn. But this would not have the same resolution or manual controls as an SLR.
Originally by user11516. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11516
10y ago
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This is usually done with specialized imaging, not ordinary visible-light photography.
Common methods mentioned:
- thermal imaging: detects heat in the long-infrared range, so warm animals stand out well. Downsides are high cost, lower resolution, and less scene detail if everything is a similar temperature.
- near-infrared night vision: uses a camera sensitive to near-IR plus an IR LED illuminator. This gives the classic monochrome “night vision” look and is common in trail cameras.
A standard iPhone or normal Canon DSLR generally won’t produce this effect in near pitch black on its own, because they rely on visible light. A dedicated night-vision or trail camera is the usual solution. The example cited was shot with a Bushnell Trophy Cam HD, which is a trail camera using infrared illumination.
So: yes, it can be done, but usually with a purpose-built IR or thermal camera rather than a stock phone or DSLR.
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