#SiOnyxAurora

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.

TFB’s Photo Of The Day is where you can discover the world of firearms through a camera lens. Every day we run a new theme with selected pictures and a short story. Today it’s back to the future with a KRISS Vector, a Vortex UH1 and the SiOnyx Digital Night Vision.

When the SiOnyx Aurora came out late 2018, Lucian of Romania started making some of the first accessories for the Aurora camera. Right away people saw a need to mount the Aurora camera to a helmet and use it like night vision goggles. His Hyperion bridge was a simple design. It was a fixed bridge and you had to tell him what your pupillary distance is so he could 3D print the Hyperion to match the spacing between your pupils. Well, he has since moved on and for a while now he has been making and successfully selling his MACHOS (Mission Adaptive Combat Helmet Optics System). It is a much better bridge design and it is modular for use with other devices, not just the SiOnyx Aurora.

If you recall, I reviewed the SiOnyx Aurora last year. Then last Summer, SiOnyx released their Aurora Sport, a simpler version of the Aurora for a lower introductory price of $399. Well at SHOT Show 2020, We got to see the Augmented Reality SiOnyx Aurora Pro.

If you recall earlier this year I reviewed the SiOnyx Aurora night vision camera. The Aurora is a handheld digital camera that has a rather sensitive CCD sensor to low light. In the right lighting conditions, it is arguably better than night vision. The regular Aurora retails for $799. Well, on July 9 they launched their new Aurora Sport and it retails for only $399.

For this week’s Friday Night Lights spotlight we will take a closer look at the SiOnyx Aurora. Last November I wrote an article about the validity of digital night vision technology. Click here to refresh your memory. I mentioned two strong candidates that can help one see in the dark without using a flashlight. Those examples were the Sony A7S and SiOnyx Aurora. After writing that article, some new test videos were posted online and the Aurora further piqued my interest. So I ordered the Aurora when it went on sale around Thanksgiving. You may be interested in what I discovered in my testing of the Aurora as a digital night vision camera and its potential to be used as a Night Optical/Observation Device (NOD).