CIGMAN - CNVPRO Night Vision Device

With digital night vision devices, we have a significant bias, as they simply cannot yet compete with analog image intensifier tubes, even though they are continuously improving. CIGMAN provided us with their latest award-winning night vision device, the CNVPRO, for testing, and we had no particularly high expectations for it. These were met and simultaneously not met. Here is our detailed review.

To start, it is unsuitable for tactical use, and throughout the review, it should become clear why. However, it was never intended for the tactical market. For hunters and/or nature observers, it is not a bad choice for static observation.

Included Accessories

The package really includes everything you need. In addition to the CNVPRO, there is also a micro SD card, a charging cable, a carrying strap, a microfiber cloth, and a small compass included.

It all comes in a custom-fitted, sturdy foam-like case that measures about 26 x 25 x 12 cm, and it protects the CNVPRO quite well. Unfortunately, the device doesn't fit well in the box anymore once a tripod adapter plate is attached.

Impressions

When you take the CNVPRO in your hand, you immediately notice that it is not designed for tactical use. The plastic housing is not super sturdy, and the control buttons are raised.

This does make it easier for accidental activation of the built-in flashlight.

The device is relatively heavy at 840 grams, but it includes large glass lenses and a 5,100 mAh battery.

On the bottom, you will find a temperature display, which we find quite amusing, and the tripod thread. Unfortunately, this is somewhat poorly designed, as it is too shallow and sticks out from the housing. All screws on all tripods and adapter plates we tried were too long. So we printed a spacer to provide extra contact area and stability.

Under a massive rubber cover is the USB-C port and the SD card slot. Quite well designed.

At the eye side, you look at a large screen for which there is no diopter adjustment.

Usage

The usage is simple. The buttons are self-explanatory, as is the menu navigation. One thing that stands out is that the control buttons always start with the backlight turned on, which can be quickly deactivated. We don't think this is very good, as they shine quite brightly in the dark, which is not ideal in a tactical context.

What surprised us very positively is the picture quality on the screen and the very low latency. The CNVPRO comes standard with a 2x zoom and can be digitally zoomed up to 8x.

In daylight, the CNVPRO works very well and videos can be recorded with sound in 4k. Images can be captured at a maximum resolution of 9600x5400 px.

Night Vision

Now to the core competence of the CNVPRO, the night vision. In principle, it is very good as long as there is a lot of ambient light. However, the CMOS sensor does not have any amplification function, so the image quickly goes black when you head into the woods with it, just like other digital night vision devices.

Therefore, the CNVPRO also has an infrared illuminator that automatically turns on when you switch to night mode. You can use it in 4 intensity levels, but you cannot turn it off. 

This means it is an active night vision device that continuously emits IR light. This is, of course, very visible to other users of night vision devices. Therefore, the CNVPRO is not suitable for tactical or passive use.

We made a cover for the large IR illuminator. It works quite well, but the picture quality then becomes extremely dependent on the ambient light. A trip into the woods always ends up being dark.

A house entrance about 50 m away at night with artificial lighting. Relatively bright, but for the naked eye, it is still quite dark. In the colorful screenshot above, you can see how the same entrance looks through the CNVPRO in day mode.

The same entrance in IR mode with the IR illuminator covered. Suddenly, the IR target laser becomes visible. The image is only available in black and white here.

A benefit of the CNVPRO is that you can easily see IR lasers and other IR light with it. 

Conclusion

The CNVPRO does what it is supposed to do and as expected. To be honest, it is really good for a digital night vision device, but it is no comparison to analog devices with image intensifier tubes. It is well-suited for static observation of animals at night. We strongly advise against using it in the field. We find the price-performance ratio quite okay.

We want to use it in the future to record night shooting; let's see how that works out.

It is available CNVPRO directly from CIGMAN for €199.95