No Glow is an industry-coined term meaning that light emitted by a trail camera is undetectable when taking a photo.
Before jumping into the details about what No Glow is and why it is a MUST for your trail camera, I want to touch base on the basics of how trail cameras operate in low light (dusk to dawn).
All cameras operate by activating a sensor that exposes itself to the light and captures the reflection of an area. This image is processed and then stored. This process is all well until the light outside dims making the reflection so low, that images become dark and unusable. A normal camera makes use of a flash at this time. This is just like when you take a picture with your cell phone at night and the flash comes on. A light source is needed for low light in order for an image to be captured.
Now imagine walking through the woods at night and then having a bright flash happen. You would freak out! The same goes for deer and wildlife. You would be lucky to see that animal ever again.
What is No Glow
No Glow is the term used for IR light that can not be seen by humans or game animals. All Black Gate Cameras come with 940NM IR transmitters. Be careful not to confuse low glow with no glow. Low Glow flashes when an image is being captured and is visible to animals. In most cases, this is not a good thing and will spook wildlife. It is common for cheaper cameras to use Low Glow IR to cut costs. It is also common for camera companies to label their camera “No Glow” but in reality, they just darken the IR lens which still allows visible light through.
If you are ready to spend your hard-earned money on a camera that spooks all your wildlife, by all means, there are specific cases where it may be applicable but don’t expect that wildlife to return anytime soon especially a mature deer.
The Reality of No Glow Lighting
While no glow lighting is the best option to capture wildlife, it alone is not suitable if you are serious about capturing mature bucks. Low lighting is hard to adjust for as a trail camera company but we have taken it a step further here at Black Gate Hunting.
When a camera that only has one sensor and one lens takes a photo at night, it must add a filter to the lens manually. This is almost always accompanied by an audible clicking sound. Even with the use of No Glow, many cameras still spook wildlife because it “clicks” in low light. This is why Black Gate decided to spend more time and effort designing a dual lens, and dual sensor setup. You can check out my other article on the full breakdown of this by visiting ……..
In a nutshell, our dual lens, and dual sensor setup on all our trail cameras allows for a dedicated camera for day and night. This gives our cameras the ability to capture high-resolution photos and videos with no audible clicking. Accompany this technology with a true No Glow setup and you have a camera that is virtually invisible and non-intrusive to wildlife no matter the time of day or conditions.
Check out our Trail Cameras at Trail Cameras.