SiOnyx has made a name for themselves with their Aurora action camera. It is sensitive in low light and has been called digital night vision. However the Aurora was never designed to be a helmet mounted system. It is camera first and foremost. Well now SiOnyx has a new digital night vision monocular called the OPSIN.

SiOnyx @TFB

• Friday Night Lights: SiOnyx Aurora Pro Digital NVG
• Friday Night Lights: DIY Modified Aurora – Digital Thermal Fusion
• FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Review SiOnyx Aurora – Digital Night Vision That Works

I have been under NDA since last April when SiOnyx sent me their prototype OPSIN called NEXT.

OPSIN prototype

It looks like not much has changed other than some refinements to the OPSIN. The housing is now machined aluminum over 3D printed. SiOnyx moved away from MUM-14 rail for their own mounting system seen below. You can see a dovetail channel just in front of the power cable port.

The slot on the side is for a micro SD card for image and video capture.

The OPSIN does not have onboard power and is powered by a remote battery pack. The prototype used really small connectors but now they are using more roust Fischer connectors. Also they relocated the power port to the top of the housing rather than in the back under the housing like the NEXT prototype.

The three buttons are for adjusting the frame rate from 30hz, 60hz, 90hz. Switching the frame rate will improve low light sensitivity by sacrificing motion blur. Up it to 90hz and there is very little lag but it is less sensitive to lower light.

The battery pack is more streamlined. Before it was just a simple box with screws and an off the shelf switch. I do not see any switches and the battery pack appears to be self contained. It houses 4x 18650 for a run time of 8 hours.    

In the SiOnyx booth, they have a room where you can test the OPSIN.

Here is the test room with the lights on and photographed with my iPhone

I used my iPhone to photograph through the eyepiece of the OPSIN.

Then the SiOnyx representatives turned off the lights. There were two small LEDs behind me near the ceiling in the rear corners of the room. They told me they are 1mW of light to simulate moon lit conditions.

Take a look at the image above. It is set at 90hz. Now look at the photo below set at 30hz. You can see the color chart a little bit better. The colors are brighter and a little bit more vibrant.

SiOnyx is looking into making a binocular system in the future but for now the OPSIN will be available soon for $2599. I will try to borrow one, when they are available, for a future Friday Night Lights review.