Night Vision goggles for developing

Hi,

Did someone on the list use these infrared night vision goggles for

inspection development of sheet film? The prices on these gadgets are

going down and I thought I could use one of these to help me see the

development process in course.

Thanks,

Jacques

You need an infra-red "light" source, but if you have one, using

infra-red viewing goggles or scope is like developing in full

daylight. You can see every nuance.

Its been 15 years since I used night vision goggles, but with the technology of that era, they didn't really do anything in a totally darkened room with no light penetration at all. Outside, even with an overcast sky, there was enough light from the sky to do something. I doubt that the inexpensive ones on the market would be much better. Course, like I said, its been 15 years.

A lot of the night vision stuff is intended for more distant viewing, so be sure to check the closest focusing distance before you buy. You would need an infrared light source as mentioned above. Be sure to test the light source like you would a safelight- the commercially available filters might still fog the film.

I have a pair of Gen-I goggles (generation-1, the oldest technology) and they work well if you use the little light that is mounted on them that provides enough light and IR for them to function in total darkness. They are useless in a totally darkened darkroom. They will focus down to about 1.5 feet and, when using the aid light, I can see the whole darkroom clearly. Unfortunately, the little aid light also produces a small amount of light in the visible spectrum, i.e., it shows up to the naked eye as a very, very faint red glow. So I was afraid it might "fog" color film and never used them in the darkroom. (I intended using them to aid in loading filmholders, etc., but I decided against it when I discovered the above. I also got better at loading in total darkness.) I've never done a fog test to see if they emit enough red to fog B&W film over a 20-30 minute period. I'll do the test if anyone is really interested. I've got a feeling they might be OK for B&W film. I originally bought them as an aid to night-fishing, so I wasn't really out the money. They work well on the lake.

There are two technologies here that often get confused. The so called night vision systems are basically light amplification systems - the starlight rifle scope is one such. If there is no light to amplify, they can't do anything for you. Note that these typically just amplify - no frequency shifting, so they depend on there being some visible light available to amplify. I would think this is not what you want in a darkroom.

 

The other is infra-red, which converts infra-red frequencies to visual frequencies so you can see them. Often used with infra-red light sources, like infra-red flashlights. This is probably what you are looking for for darkroom work.

My Russian Night vision "binos" are light amplifing; they require some small anout of light to work; star light; etc......<b>They are VERY sensitive to infrared.....</b>An ordinary TV remote control works like bright pulsed flashlight; in a totally dark room...One can use a string of infrared LEDS as a flashlight; to illuminate objects. Ordinary street lighting is usually WAY too bright; my goggles are made for moonlight; & starlight..........The infrared LED's can be mounted in an old polished flashbulb bowl to make a nice illuminator........<BR><BR>Ones film can be sensitive to infrared; so use some caution when experimenting,,,Also many night vision surplus equipment is made for far away usage; many will not focus real close. You may have to add a close up diopter lens; for close focusing......Also; many ssensors have alot of persistance; a moving object will appear as a streaked image; like coma.

A small lab I used to work for used a really old set of infra-red goggles. It sounds similar to the ones described above, they had a small ring of infra-red emmitters surrounding the lens. Now that I am thinking about it, I am not sure whether they used them only in the B&W Dip&Dunk machine or if they used it in the C-41 room also. They would use it primarily for trouble shooting purposes, like if a piece of film fell off the rack or if they needed to investigate a noise that popped up. They didn't use it all the time though and still did all the load ing of film in the dark. So, I would check it to see the possibilty of fogging the film or not. Good luck.

Mine emits red light, so I'm going to pur a sheet of Velvia, developed, not exposed, in front of the light. I also have to use +1, +2 or +3 to see close up.

 

The main problem for me is to hold it close to my eyes, so the green light from the screen do not get anywhere near the film, so this would only be for troubleshooting, using it duck-taped to my head.

 

It's a monocular, Famous Trails FD300 wiht Piezo energizer, battery for the light, only.

 

Øyvind:D