Brite Star's Day/ Night cameras & Digital Video recorders providing unequalled reliability & performance for over 20 years. Producing results time & time again, our monitoring systems have become the preferred choice of many wildlife professionals. Designed & made tough for Australia our systems handle extremes from the searing heat of the West Australian outback to the snow covered mountains of Victoria.

Compact dual purpose Day/ Night cameras record in full colour during daytime switching to enhanced black & white imaging under low light or night time. Built in light emitting diodes illuminate the target area. Suitable for operating underground observing nesting chambers in burrows or caves. Robust construction they have a heavy duty combination power/ video cable with military grade weatherproof connectors. Fully automated they  require no field adjustment, simply point & record, IP66 rated and available with various mount options. Compact size 50 x 70mm.

View the Leadbeater's Possum Video

Auto Gating Technology

Conventional infra red illuminators have a single power setting full ON. Objects that are close to the camera are more brightly  illuminated than those further away.  Extremely close targets may reflect illumination directly back into the camera lens creating an overexposed and seriously degraded image at night.

Auto gating employs through the lens sensors to detect reflected illumination from the target and a microprocessor to automatically compensate back light adjustment optimizing the night image.

Day/ Night IR 95 Camera captures Gilbert's Potoroo at night

Suits wildlife applications for targets within 50 meters daylight and 10 meters at night.  Ideal for small nocturnal species that are impossible to detect with other systems. Typical uses include monitoring nests, nesting boxes, hollows, burrows, game trails, watering holes, feed stations & wildlife enclosures.

 

Full range of coloured illuminators

Day/ Night mini cameras are available with illuminators across the entire light spectrum including:-

infra red - red - orange - yellow - green - aqua - blue - white & ultra violet

 

Night Video Photography

Three technologies are available for recording video at night time or in darkened environments.

.............. Infra Red ...................... Intensified Night Vision ..............Thermal Imaging

Infra red

Brite Star Infra Red Day/ Night Cameras are specifically designed for wildlife applications. During daylight they produce high contrast full color video, at night they switch automatically to enhanced low light mode. Day/ Night cameras have inbuilt infra red leds (light emitting diodes) which illuminate the target area, allowing the camera to produce high quality black & white video at night or in total darkness underground in caves or burrows. Day/ Night cameras are recommended for close to medium range wildlife monitoring. Of the three technologies infra red Day/ Night Cameras produce the highest picture quality at night time and are recommended for most applications.

Image intensified night vision

Brite Star image intensified night vision cameras employ military technology & produce a "green" night time image. They incorporate an image intensifier, a light amplifying device which has the ability to "see in the dark". Cost of night vision is approximately ten times that of Day/ Night infra red cameras. Night vision can only be used at night. Night vision pictures are around 75% the quality of infra red however they do provide images with greater depth, allowing you to see further into the background. See the above images. Night vision cameras rely on star & moonlight to illuminate the target area, their performance is degraded on overcast dark nights. They are best suited for use in manned systems filming from hides, blinds or stands.

Thermal Imaging

Thermal cameras detect radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum between 900–14,000 nanometers. All objects emit radiation based on their temperature and thermal cameras make it possible to "see" one's environment with or without visible illumination. Thermal images are often electronically colored to display areas of differing temperature. Thermal images lack clear definition, the technology is very expensive with high quality cameras costing up to $20,000.

What is Infra Red Light?

Light is measured in wavelength & expressed in nanometers (nm.) just as sound is measured in frequency & expressed in hertz (Hz.). The visible light spectrum covers the range from 468 to 700 nanometers & includes colors blue, green, yellow, orange & red. The human eye is less sensitive at high wavelengths; light above 880 nanometers is barely visible. By contrast nocturnal animals have evolved eyes with a different structure of light receptors, they have an enhanced ability to "see" at night in extremely low light levels.

Direct sun light is the main source of daytime illumination. This includes light across the entire visible light spectrum as well as both ultraviolet & infra red light.

Light intensity is measured in lux, the light intensity on a typical bright sunny day is normally around 100,000 lux.

Moonlight is the main source of night sky illumination with additional light from stars & to a lesser extent artificial light sources from towns & street lights reflected off low cloud & airborne pollution. On a night of full moon clear sky the light intensity would be 1 lux & on a moonless night .001 lux.

Nocturnal species are less active on nights of high night sky illumination particularly around a full moon. At such times they often take advantage of the dark period between sunset & moonrise to feed safely. Feeding is often suspended as the moon rises & resumed only after the moon has set or during brief periods of dense cloud cover. At night, animals possess a unique ability to blend in with their surroundings; a natural night time camouflage. During the day a threatened animal will generally run for cover, at night the same animal is more likely to "freeze on the spot" & hug the ground reducing its visibility to avoid detection.

By contrast predators appear to be extremely active on nights of high night sky illumination as prey is more visible & easier to catch. Wolves, foxes, owls & wild dogs all exhibit greater activity on nights of high night sky illumination.

Camera requirements for species subject to night predation

Commonly available so called "infra red" surveillance cameras incorporate light emitting diodes (leds) which operate at 850 nanometers. These produce a visible dull red light which effectively spotlights the species to predators increasing the risk of predation. Viewed in a dark room the red light from these cameras is clearly visible with the naked eye.

THESE CAMERAS SHOULD NOT BE USED ON SPECIES SUBJECT TO NIGHT PREDATION   

Brite Star's Day/ Night IR100 & IR 95 cameras employ true far infra red leds 

Our infra red cameras incorporate 625 line Sony® Ex-View HAD® image chipsets which provide extended sensitivity well into the infra red spectrum. They produce a sharper colour image in daylight & a clearer black & white image at night.

Day/ Night IR 100 & IR 95 Mini CAMERAS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES SUBJECT TO NIGHT PREDATION

Image Intensified Night Vision Camera/DVR Recorder

• Ultra fast 100mm T 1.6 Catadioptric Objective lens
• High resolution image intensifier
• Built in video/ still image digital video recorder
• 5 mega pixel image/ full motion video 25 fps
• Compact size 220mm x 85mm (LD)

This unique product is a compact fully integrated high resolution image intensified night vision camera with built in SD card digital video/ 5 mega pixel still image recorder.

The four element catadioptric objective lens is purpose built for night vision applications. Built to military specification the lens is light weight, fully sealed and nitrogen purged.

Positive focal adjustment is by means of a large focus ring, focal range is 6 meters to infinity, aperture is full open.

Internal lens elements are ground from a specially formulated poly carbonate which offers up to 80% light transmittance well into the infra red light spectrum.

Conventional glass camera lenses are coated to block light above 750 nm which seriously degrades their night time low light performance. Such lenses often have less than 10% transmittance in the infra red light spectrum where natural night sky illumination is highest.

The built in SD card digital video recorder captures full motion video and can be configured for either PAL (at 25 images per second) or NTSC (at 30 images per second). Alternatively the recorder can function as a 5 mega pixel still image camera. Video files are stored in avi format, still images are high resolution 2592 x 1944 JPEGs, each image file is approximately 1.1 MB.

Fully portable and ideal for applications in remote areas, the system is battery powered and boasts very low power consumption 200Ma @ 12 volts.

Intensifier Options:

The system is available in the three models: Ultra - Super & Standard

I.R. Ultra - Day Night Camera

 

• Auto gating Day Night Camera
• Daylight range up to 600m night time 30m
• Complete with 5 meter long video/power cable
• Weather resistant IP66 robust alloy housing
• Rigid adjustable mount base
• Compact size 90 x 220mm (LD)

Infra Red Ultra Cameras  are designed to provide long range observation of distant targets under low light or no light conditions. Featuring a high power near infra red illuminator the 25mm objective lens provides greater detail of distant targets. Controlled by a photocell, the fully automated near infra red illuminator operating at 850nm. floodlights an area up to 30 meters in front of the camera with a soft  light with no "hot spots".

Daytime image

During daylight the camera can virtually see to the horizon, the multi coated objective lens and  high resolution image sensor combine to provide clear crisp colour daytime images allowing detection of human sized targets to a range of about 600 meters.

The camera is ideal for monitoring close and distant areas. It is particularly useful for conducting wildlife surveys, establishing animal movements & numbers within a specific area. Daylight imaging is in colour, in this scene the gate is 100 meters from the camera and the green shed visible in the top right hand corner is 800 meters distant.

 

Low light capability

This is the same scene as above viewed at night with the illuminator operating. The camera's field of view is limited to the area being lit by the illuminator.

As can be seen from the photograph the area of illumination is widest at between 5 -30 meters from the camera. Targets passing through the field of view would be clearly visible up to 60 meters.   Night time imaging is in black & white.

Optimum operating range during low light operations is up to 30 meters       

WARNING ON NIGHT FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY:

Some manufacturers use a standard white xenon photographic flashes to provide illumination of the night time wildlife scene. A xenon camera flash burst outputs up to 20 joules of energy (similar power to an air rifle) in a 1/1000th second blinding white flash. We consider that repeated exposure to this level of concentrated photon energy is potentially injurious to the sensitive rods (photoreceptors) in the eyes of nocturnal animals.   

Brite Star do not use white flash for target illumination