📸 Night Vision Cameras for Bats

The Ultimate Guide for Ecologists & Chiropterologists

📝 Introduction

Bat inventory surveys are evolving: The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) now requires night vision cameras NVA for professional studies in the UK. In France, ecology firms and nature conservancies are also adopting these tools for greater accuracy… but how do you choose the right model among hundreds of options?

At TrackBats, we developed this guide to understand the key criteria to know without getting lost in technical specifications.

🔍 The 5 Essential Criteria

1Sampling Frequency (Frame Rate): above 20 Hz

Why?
  • Bats exit their roosts very quickly during emergence (20 - 50 km/h).
  • A camera with less than 20 Hz (e.g., 15 fps) misses frames → risk of missing rapid movements.
  • TrackBats Recommendation: ≥ 25 Hz (ideal: 30 Hz).

2Thermal Sensitivity (NETD): < 30 mK

Why?
  • NETD (Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference) measures the ability to distinguish small temperature variations.
  • A bat has a body temperature of ~35–40°C, but its environment (e.g., stone wall) may be 15–20°C.
  • If NETD > 80 mK: The bat will blend into thermal noise (e.g., with 50 mK NETD, a bat at 10m becomes invisible).

3Field of View (FOV): Adapted to Distance

Why?
  • Too wide FOV (e.g., 90°) → bats appear too small to detect.
  • Too narrow FOV (e.g., 20°) → risk of missing entrances if camera not perfectly aligned.

Example: With a 5 cm bat at 10 m distance, 30° FOV, and 1024×768 px resolution → 9 pixels/bat (sufficient for TrackBats).

Camera θ FOV Pixels resolution Scene Distance D (e.g., 10m) Bat Camera Field of View Geometry Camera position (left) • FOV cone (green area) • Scene distance (right)

4Resolution: Enough Pixels Per Bat

Why?
  • TrackBats needs at least 8 pixels on the length of a bat for reliable detection.
  • Too low resolution (e.g., 240 × 120 px) → a bat at 16m is too small to appear on even a single pixel, making it impossible to detect.

Cost Note: Unfortunately, resolution is usually the most expensive component in a thermal camera…

🏆 Cameras Used by Ecologists (Effective with TrackBats)

We don't have any commercial partnership with camera manufacturers, but here are some models that have been tested by our users and shown good performance for bat surveys:

Model Type Resolution FOV NETD Frame Rate Price (€) TrackBats Rating
Pixfra Arc A613 Thermal 640×512 H: 32.3°; V: 25.8° < 30 mK 50 Hz ~1,300 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best performance/price
HIKMICRO M60 Infrared 640x480 H: 41.9°; V: 33.3° 35 Hz 30 Hz ~3-4K ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ideal for buildings
Pulsar Telos XP50 Thermal 640×480 H: 12.4°; V: 9.3° < 18 mK 50 Hz ~2,500 ⭐⭐⭐ High sensitivity, Narrow FOV...

🔗 Useful Resources

TrackBats Calculator

Verify if your camera has enough pixels per bat
BCT NVA Technical Guide

Bat Emergence Surveys with Night Vision Aids
Bat Conservation Trust

Official guidance and resources

Still have questions?

Our team is here to help you choose the right camera for your survey. Contact us if you need guidance on camera selection or any other aspect of your bat emergence survey.

Contact us