We always wish we can take footage of the night ops in airsoft games and milsim events with our action camera. Whilst action cameras nowadays, regardless of price and brand, already provide really good high definition footage of the airsoft gameplay, they are still poor in lowlight conditions, especially in really dark conditions.

If everything goes according to plan, we might soon have one in the form of the Aurora from SiOnyx LLC.

What we are especially excited about with Aurora as an action cam is its true night vision capability. With its sensor, it can produce colour night vision which is what we prefer rather than just be satisfied with the green glow of existing night vision devices.

The sensor is a 1” 720p/60fps with patented Ultra Light Low Light CMOS technology (thought it did not mention the ISO capabilities). This the resolution is a bit of a letdown when what we are looking for in action camera these days is already 4K capabilities which many mainstream action cameras already provide. But some are willing to settle down with the 720p if they can get the true night vision, especially airsofters and outdoors people who would be happy to see in the dark with such an equipment.

In night vision you can either have monochrome or colour night vision depending on how you prefer it to be.

Instead of an LCD backscreen just like in today’s action cameras, Aurora has a viewfinder which means that you can use it like a night vision monocular. It is just a matter of finding an NVG mount for it to wear on helmets or a headstrap so you can mount it to your head gear.

Already sold on with the Night Vision features? There are more features such as GPS, Compass AR Info Overlay, and Accelerometer, Still Image Capture, Stereo Mic, and Timelapse.  It has an IP67 Waterproof rating which means it can be submerged in water up to 3ft deep for 30 minutes. It weighs 8 ounces which is light enough. With its rechargeable 3.6v lithium battery, it can provide continuous capture of up to 2 hours. It has Wifi connectivity so you can connect it your Android or iOS device.

What we found to be missing in the features is image stabilization which is a must in action cameras these days so smoother video can be achieved.

Aurora has immediately achieved its funding goals on Kickstarter, having received £115,653 in pledges out of its £35,848 funding goal. So if there are no hiccups in the production timetable, it will soon start shipping to its backers which is estimated to be in July 2018. You can still back the project, which starts at US$479 to be one of the first owners of Aurora, as long as you are in a country prohibited by US ITAR restrictions.

So if you want one of these, you can pledge funding on Kickstarter, which will allow you to own one at a discounted price. Hopefully, this really becomes an actual consumer product that we can use in airsoft if it does what it claims to do.