My DIY Night vision scope cam setup that cost me $38

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romanboneza

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May 29, 2017
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Hi All, 
I just wanted to share with you my night scope cam setup that only cost me $38. It utilized my existing Gopro that I had lying around, and wirelessly tethers to my iphone for use as a screen. 
Here is what I did:-
  1. I purchased a 12mm IR pass lens for my Gopro (the stock lens just unscrews and the new lens screws straight in) for $2.45 - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/F2-0-12mm-CS-Lens-Fixed-IRIS-Surveillance-CCTV-Camera-SH-A3T8-/252869626899?hash=item3ae0344c13:g:bwgAAOSwvihY8or5
  2. I purchased a 40mm flexible plumbing coupling for $6.60 - https://www.bunnings.com.au/deks-industries-40mm-pvc-to-pvc-jenco-connector_p4730099
  3. I purchased an Infrared illuminator for $26 - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/322353086776?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=511271407054&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - I would not recommend buying this particular one as it is not bright enough - definitely not as advertised.
  4. I purchased a Gopro filter adapter ring for centering the Gopro lens - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161499910621?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
  5. I used a 1inch length of 40mm copper pipe to connect the Gopro adapter ring to the flexible coupling.
  6. I assembled the rest as per the photo and tethered the Gopro to my phone that I mounted to the scope using a clamp that I had lying around.
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    This setup works great and was so easy to put together - literally took about 30mins once I had all the parts. I just need to purchase a better IR flashlight and it will be perfect. It is so light and free of wires and external batteries. To my surprise after trawling the web I have not seen anyone else doing this..

    It also records video at 240fps - I haven't yet slowed down the footage to see if you can see the pellet but i hope it will work..
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Hello! Nice work! I've tried to do quite the same and I've found out that it works good in very close distances only up to 7-10 meters or in city night lightning conditions. I could not get good picture at even 30 - 50 meters in the forest... 

At first I had an idea that it is beacause of too much zoom at my scope (10x), than I decided that too small lens (40mm) is the reason and tried 50mm lens at 10x zoom and 60mm lens at 10x zoom, but could not get lighten enough picture... Then I've tried scopes with 1,5 - 5x zoom - no good result...

Could you please show your results at at least 30 - 50 meters in the wood or field where is no any unnatural light?

Thank you in advance!

P.S. The only differense is that my IR flsahlight has 850nm IR light.
 
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"RusBear"Hello! Nice work! I've tried to do quite the same and I've found out that it works good in very close distances only up to 7-10 meters or in city night lightning conditions. I could not get good picture at even 30 - 50 meters in the forest... 

At first I had an idea that it is beacause of too much zoom at my scope (10x), than I decided that too small lens (40mm) is the reason and tried 50mm lens at 10x zoom and 60mm lens at 10x zoom, but could not get lighten enough picture... Then I've tried scopes with 1,5 - 5x zoom - no good result...

Could you please show your results at at least 30 - 50 meters in the wood or field where is no any unnatural light?

Thank you in advance!

P.S. The only differense is that my IR flsahlight has 850nm IR light.

Hi RusBear! I am sure that some of the problem is the IR flashlight is too weak. I too can't get good range but it is because of my crap Chinese IR light - even though it was advertised as 940nm 7W - this is a complete lie. I will be purchasing this one and I will post my results - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Laserware-X70-IR-Illuminator-Infrared-Lamping-Hunting-Torch-940nm-3W-IR-LED/332083657380?_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D262b9e14e2954f98ab4b34353f8ac698%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D161499910621&_trkparms=pageci%253A7b1baa04-4520-11e7-9750-74dbd180b7ea%257Cparentrq%253A58d7a4c615c0a8665a5b69aefff78a2e%257Ciid%253A1
Also, after doing a test today at 25m in total darkness, I found that taking a photo with the camera produces a much better image than the video preview or taking a video. I think I need to do some proper testing with different gopro video exposure settings - as you can see from these two photos, there is quite a difference. The brighter one is a photo, and the darker one is a frame from the video. I definitely noticed that the light faded when using higher magnification on the scope - these images were with 6X zoom. I used my son's toy pig as a subject and I was aiming from my arm in the dark it was difficult to adjust the focus. I will do some more testing and keep you posted - but I feel positive that I can get this setup working well.. These images were from 25m at 6X magnification with the IR flashlight sitting on the ground 1m from the toy pig.
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Click to expand...
 
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apparently there is a way to edit the Gopro's firmware in order to optimize for night vision by setting a higher contrast and changing to grey-scale - I am still trying to find out how to do this. Also there are some suggested camera settings that will achieve a better image: Standard SettingsLow Light Active: Will only be available above 30fps. This function slows down frame rate to increase exposure. We suggest this on.Spot: Off unless you are using a super bright light and need to expose to the center.Advance SettingsProtune: On | Color: Flat  | ISO: 6400 | Sharpness : Low | EV: Adjust for your torch
 
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If you want to make a camera permanently IR, do what I did.

​Buy a cheap, focusing camera. Can't be fixed focus as IR focuses differently than normal light where self focusing will automatically compensate.
​Perform surgery on the camera. the sensors are incredibly sensitive to IR, so they put IR blocker filters on most cameras. Open the camera, and find the glass filter in front of the sensor. Remove the glass. Put the camera back together.

​Now you have a full color/ IR camera. If you want to make it only IR, buy a 850nM filter and glue it on with super glue.

​When shooting in full sunlight, under-expose by 2 stops, and put the camera in Black and White mode.

​Pictures will be in the Red zone, so take the images into a photo program, convert to grey scale.

​You won't need ISO 6400, in fact ISO 100 is super sensitive in daylight. Totally dedicates the camera for one function, but heck it was CHEAP at about $15 per camera.

​Few years ago, I picked up a couple beater 12mpxl Kodak's and did this to them. Works like a charm. Extremely sensitive to IR light after dark as well.

​
 
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