Review | Night vision systems for cars: Lanmodo Vast an asset for unlit roads in unfamiliar places
- Mounted on your car dashboard or windscreen, this camera system lights up the road ahead – and behind, if desired
- System can be fitted in most vehicles, and gives driver a colour display; fewer controls and a recording function would make it even better
Are you planning to take a road trip in rural parts of Asia that might stretch into the night? Driving along poorly lit or unlit roads in unfamiliar places can be a nerve-wrecking experience. That’s where night vision equipment, such as the Lanmodo Vast Night Vision System, comes in: a gadget for your vehicle that improves road safety by helping you see better in dark or gloomy conditions.
The Lanmodo Vast is essentially a camera system that either sits on top of the dashboard or is mounted on a vehicle windscreen. The device incorporates a large, 8.2-inch, 1080-pixel-resolution display screen that operates at 30 frames per second. A 28mm optical lens in the back of the unit delivers the night vision magic and has an advertised sensitivity of 0.0001 lux (meaning the device can “see” in darkness equivalent to an overcast night sky).
There are buttons along the top of the left-hand side of the device, which are used to turn the device on and off, switch between front and rear camera views – if the optional rear camera is installed – manage display settings such as brightness and contrast, toggle between colour and black-and-white views, and flip or rotate the video display.
Lanmodo says that, unlike the expensive, built-in night vision systems offered by some luxury-car manufacturers, its aftermarket gadget, which offers a 36-degree view at full HD resolution, can be installed in practically every vehicle. The device’s highly sensitive camera relies on intelligent algorithms, gain amplification and image optimisation to capture the road ahead in colour at night, a step up from the black-and-white images of competing products.
The Lanmodo Vast arrives in a box with all the requisite accessories for installation, including power cable, car charger adapter, suction cup and non-slip mat.
