Night vision camera tested in outdoor smartphone - how good is it really?
At first glance, it sounds like a crazy idea: a night vision camera in a mobile phone - do you really need something like that? Well, rugged smartphones in particular are increasingly offering this feature, and it can certainly make sense: These phones are designed for use outdoors, on long hikes, during strenuous, dirty or even dangerous work.
We recently tested the Cubot KingKong 11 (soon to be available on amazon.com), which didn't completely win us over, but is inexpensive and does feature a night vision camera. This requires infrared light, which is generated by two LEDs integrated into the flash module of the rear camera. This way you can shoot black-and-white images even in complete darkness.
The camera is actually useful for observing animals at night: most animals (like humans) cannot see infrared light. This means you can observe and photograph them undisturbed.
Test shots and assessment
The camera does not get blinded even in bright surroundings and takes decent black and white pictures even in normal light. We try out the camera in completely darkened rooms where we can't see anything with the naked eye.
But when we look at the cell phone display, we can see all the details in the room. We take a photo of our doll's head and realize that the autofocus often takes a while to produce a sharp image. The image also quickly appears overexposed if an object is too close to the infrared LEDs. But in the end we do get a good picture.
We are still interested in the range of the night vision, so we go into a dark basement corridor that is about 10 meters long. Will the night vision be able to reach the end of the corridor? In fact, it does without any problems. However, the image is again not quite sharp.
Restrictions and conclusion
It is not possible to shoot videos or create serial photos with the infrared camera, at least on the Cubot KingKong 11. This is a shame, as it would have been possible to save moving images of wild animals. Another disadvantage compared to a real wildlife camera is the lack of a motion detector for triggering, so you always have to be behind the camera yourself.
Overall, the night vision camera in the Cubot KingKong 11 and in other outdoor cell phones is a nice gimmick. You can also use the cell phone as a night vision device, and the range is actually considerable. Of course, you could also simply activate the cell phone flashlight at night if you want to see something. The main advantage is that you attract less attention, for example from animals.
The autofocus often takes a little longer to really focus and the range of functions is limited.
If you opt for an outdoor cell phone like the Cubot KingKong 11 with a night vision camera, we recommend our detailed test report which lists all the strengths and weaknesses.
Source(s)
Review of the Cubot KingKong 11 - own testing
