BASICS: What does a night vision device with WFOV bring?

ACTinBlack explains it to us. First of all, WFOV stands for "Wide Field of View" and has been a topic in the field of night vision devices for some time now. Manufacturers offer 47.5°, 50°, 51°, 60°, and even 80° FOV optics for different systems. The degree of distortion, fisheye effect, and resolution loss compared to normal 40° FOV lenses varies with the different optics.

If you go beyond 50° FOV, you will unfortunately reach the limits of the current tubes, especially the 18mm photocathode diameter. Physics has its limits, and you simply cannot squeeze an infinite number of photons that a photocathode can focus through. So, if you go beyond 50° FOV, it will affect the performance of the overall system.

Will you notice this? Probably not, but if the system's resolution drops, observation at long distances becomes a problem. As the aperture decreases, poor light conditions become a problem. When distortions or other unwanted optical effects degrade image quality, viewing through the optic becomes distracting.

So, what are the advantages of WFOV lenses? In the image you see a section of 50° compared to 40°. The objects in the image are the same size, but you see almost 40% more of the surroundings with the 50° optics.
In practice, this means that the user has to move their head much less during scanning, and situational awareness noticeably improves.

ACTinBlack online: www.actinblack.com