Guide to Buying a Camera for Day or Night

A Lux rating of .0002 is equivalent to a moonless clear night with airglow, which is basically the natural light from the sky from stars. A .01 Lux is equivalent to a quarter moon on a clear night, where 1 Lux is a clear night with a full moon. A 3.4 Lux is twilight conditions, while 50 Lux is lighting in an average family living room, and lastly 320-500 Lux is common office lighting.

Most camera specifications will list the Lux of a camera, so when a customer asks me how a camera performs in a variety of lighting conditions, I am able to give them the camera’s Lux rating, and give them the appropriate analogy to explain to them on how the camera is going to perform in their specific application.

For example, some of our most popular cameras have low light capabilities with a Lux rating of .003, which I explain can capture video in light as low as that on a moonless clear night. So under average conditions with some light coming in from a window at night, the camera will be able to see with relative clarity.