ActiveOutdoorsAKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles review: unparalleled clarity for nighttime adventuresAKASO’s new NVD unlocks the night with cutting-edge colour vision technologyWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictDespite some very annoying anomalies regarding the user interface and app, the new crowd-funded AKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles are a worthwhile investment for anyone after a consumer-spec night vision device that cuts the mustard. Aside from its ability to produce impressive colour imagery in ultra low light, the Seemor 200 is also equipped with a 16x zoom, seven levels of infrared brightness and a 4K camera and microphone to make the most of your nighttime escapades.Reasons to buy+Great performance in all light conditions+Revolutionary AI-generated colour reproduction+Plenty of zoom if required+Shoots video and still imagesReasons to avoid-Clunky user interface-Narrow field of view-Irritating app experienceWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
ActiveOutdoorsAKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles review: unparalleled clarity for nighttime adventuresAKASO’s new NVD unlocks the night with cutting-edge colour vision technologyWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictDespite some very annoying anomalies regarding the user interface and app, the new crowd-funded AKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles are a worthwhile investment for anyone after a consumer-spec night vision device that cuts the mustard. Aside from its ability to produce impressive colour imagery in ultra low light, the Seemor 200 is also equipped with a 16x zoom, seven levels of infrared brightness and a 4K camera and microphone to make the most of your nighttime escapades.Reasons to buy+Great performance in all light conditions+Revolutionary AI-generated colour reproduction+Plenty of zoom if required+Shoots video and still imagesReasons to avoid-Clunky user interface-Narrow field of view-Irritating app experienceWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
AKASO’s new NVD unlocks the night with cutting-edge colour vision technology
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictDespite some very annoying anomalies regarding the user interface and app, the new crowd-funded AKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles are a worthwhile investment for anyone after a consumer-spec night vision device that cuts the mustard. Aside from its ability to produce impressive colour imagery in ultra low light, the Seemor 200 is also equipped with a 16x zoom, seven levels of infrared brightness and a 4K camera and microphone to make the most of your nighttime escapades.Reasons to buy+Great performance in all light conditions+Revolutionary AI-generated colour reproduction+Plenty of zoom if required+Shoots video and still imagesReasons to avoid-Clunky user interface-Narrow field of view-Irritating app experience
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 VerdictDespite some very annoying anomalies regarding the user interface and app, the new crowd-funded AKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles are a worthwhile investment for anyone after a consumer-spec night vision device that cuts the mustard. Aside from its ability to produce impressive colour imagery in ultra low light, the Seemor 200 is also equipped with a 16x zoom, seven levels of infrared brightness and a 4K camera and microphone to make the most of your nighttime escapades.Reasons to buy+Great performance in all light conditions+Revolutionary AI-generated colour reproduction+Plenty of zoom if required+Shoots video and still imagesReasons to avoid-Clunky user interface-Narrow field of view-Irritating app experience
T3 VerdictDespite some very annoying anomalies regarding the user interface and app, the new crowd-funded AKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles are a worthwhile investment for anyone after a consumer-spec night vision device that cuts the mustard. Aside from its ability to produce impressive colour imagery in ultra low light, the Seemor 200 is also equipped with a 16x zoom, seven levels of infrared brightness and a 4K camera and microphone to make the most of your nighttime escapades.
T3 Verdict
Despite some very annoying anomalies regarding the user interface and app, the new crowd-funded AKASO Seemor 200 night vision goggles are a worthwhile investment for anyone after a consumer-spec night vision device that cuts the mustard. Aside from its ability to produce impressive colour imagery in ultra low light, the Seemor 200 is also equipped with a 16x zoom, seven levels of infrared brightness and a 4K camera and microphone to make the most of your nighttime escapades.
Reasons to buy+Great performance in all light conditions+Revolutionary AI-generated colour reproduction+Plenty of zoom if required+Shoots video and still imagesReasons to avoid-Clunky user interface-Narrow field of view-Irritating app experience
Reasons to buy+Great performance in all light conditions+Revolutionary AI-generated colour reproduction+Plenty of zoom if required+Shoots video and still images
Great performance in all light conditions
Revolutionary AI-generated colour reproduction
Plenty of zoom if required
Shoots video and still images
Reasons to avoid-Clunky user interface-Narrow field of view-Irritating app experience
Clunky user interface
Narrow field of view
Irritating app experience
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Jump to category:Price and availabilityDesignFeaturesPerformanceAKASO AppVerdict
Jump to category:Price and availabilityDesignFeaturesPerformanceAKASO AppVerdict
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As the moniker suggests, you really can see more with these night bins which makes them a fair bet for wildlife spotters, security officers, warmongers and indeed anyone who just wants to see what’s going on once the sun has set and darkness has descended. And what’s more, when you do spot a subject of interest you have a choice of videoing it in 3840x2160 resolution 4K or snapping a four megapixel photo.
Are these Indiegogo-funded night vision goggles worthy of a lofty position in our guide to thebest night vision binoculars and gogglesof 2024? I would say a resounding yes, but not without some major reservations surrounding its clunky user interface and troublesome Akaso app. Read on for the lowdown.
AKASO Seemor 200 Night Vision Goggles review
Price and availability
As of writing, the Seemor 200 is only available direct fromAKASO, priced at $296.28 (around £250). AKASO ships worldwide and shipping fees vary between free for Europe and the US and around $18 to the UK. Hopefully other major online stores will start selling the Seemor 200 in the not too distant future.
Design
(Image credit: Akaso)
(Image credit: Akaso)
The Seemor 200 is equipped with two rows of water-resistant silicone buttons that feel clicky and responsive though not especially pleasing to use. One of my biggest bugbears with products that come with black operational buttons is when manufacturers insist on labelling them in a colour that doesn’t stand out and, worse, in an illegible font size. That’s the case with this product which uses a very faint text that is impossible to read in anything but bright sunlight, even when wearing reading glasses. Mind, I should add that a bright green backlight kicks in as soon as you power up the device and this makes the button text much easier to read in both daylight and, of course, complete darkness. Confusingly, the backlight only stays on indefinitely when you tap the on/off button but turns off after five seconds if you tap any other button.
Going through the button configurations, you get one each for on/off, zoom in, zoom out, mode, menu and shot. However, some of these buttons have a dual function depending on whether you press once or press and hold. For instance, when you press the Mode button it switches from still-shot camera to video. Simple enough. But when you press and hold the same button it switches between the Seemor’s revolutionary colour mode and standard black-and-white infrared.
Likewise, the two Zoom buttons on the other side of the top fascia command four levels of zoom (up to 16x) but, when held in, also activate the signal strength of the infrared mode in five increments. Finally, there’s the Menu mode which needs to be used in conjunction with both the Zoom buttons for scrolling and the Shot button for selection.
This is so confusing that I can guarantee you’ll spend ages stabbing at buttons in frustration as it lurches from one screen to the next but, strangely, never the screen you actually want. Put another way, you can forget anyone technologically challenged ever getting a handle on it, no matter how many times they’ve referred to the manual.
Completing the package are a MicroSD slot for recording to and a pair of female 1/4-20 tripod mounts, one on the bottom as you might expect and one on the top, presumably for mounting an LED light or torch. The unit also comes with two batteries and a neck strap with over-sized metal clasps that can also be attached to the included case. I would advise leaving the case at home when using this device because it’s difficult to get a grip on the slippery unit when it’s in the case unless your fingers are covered in Evo-Stik.
Features
View through the Seemor 200 goggles(Image credit: Future)
View through the Seemor 200 goggles
View through the Seemor 200 goggles
(Image credit: Future)
After a bit of a disappointing start, you’ll be relieved to know that when it comes down to doing what it was designed for – seeing well in the dark – the Seemor 200 really does excel.
Being of the goggle variety, the Seemor 200 comes with a 3 x 1.5 inch LCD monitor which can be viewed while wearing glasses, a front lens with focus adjustment barrel and an infrared unit with illuminator for brightening up the image. According to the stats, the Seemor 200 uses a bright F1.2 lens, a 1/1.79" CMOS sensor and a combination of AI (artificial intelligence) and ISP (image signal processing) technology to produce colour images in very dark environments.
Image taken at 8.19pm, 9 September(Image credit: Future)
Image taken at 8.19pm, 9 September
Image taken at 8.19pm, 9 September
(Image credit: Future)
For instance, where other models produce grainy black & white imagery even during late dusk when you can just about see your hand, this model produces a colourful 4K-resolution image with great definition and astonishing brightness that’s akin to a normal NVD being used during daylight hours.
However, there is a cut off period where there isn’t enough light to produce a processed colour image or indeed any image at all. It’s at this point that you should select the infrared option which brings back the image, only this time in sharply contrasting black and white.
And if you want to get up close and personal with your subject, simply tap the 16x digital zoom button up to four times and the subject will gradually fill the frame. Rather usefully, this model also comes with a built-in microphone so you can capture all the sounds of the forest along with the video you’ve just taken.
Performance
Comparison to show light levels as seen with the naked eye and through the Seemor 200 in colour mode(Image credit: Future)
Comparison to show light levels as seen with the naked eye and through the Seemor 200 in colour mode
Comparison to show light levels as seen with the naked eye and through the Seemor 200 in colour mode
(Image credit: Future)
In the pantheon of consumer-level night vision devices, the Seemor 200 punches well above its weight when it comes to night-time visibility. The unique colour feature is clearly this model’s main USP since it genuinely improves the experience of night viewing.
Although my eyes couldn’t focus perfectly on the three-inch screen with my face covering the soft rubber surround even when using the front focus barrel, I was able to get things much more in focus when I moved my face back a couple of inches, as if I was watching a phone screen.
Nevertheless, it should be known that the quality of the AKASO Seemor 200’s screen monitor isn’t anything like as sharp as a phone screen – I don’t believe any consumer models are – but it’s easily good enough for its main purpose.
That said, the Seemor 200’s field of view is pretty narrow since the default setting is already zoomed in a considerable distance when compared to looking at the same scene on a phone screen. I would have much preferred a wider angle of view nearer to what myiPhone15 Pro provides when it’s set to its default 24mm (1x) focal length.
I tested the Seemor 200 in very low light conditions when the sun had already set and was amazed that the colour feature worked really well even when it was basically dark but still with an element of very dark blue in the sky above.
Although the field of view seemed restricted, at this level of darkness, green tree foliage, the terracotta colour of a chimney stack, and our local castle’s brick-coloured battlements were clearly visible. However, as soon as the sky turned black and it was too dark to see my hand in front of my face, the screen in ‘colour’ mode turned completely fuzzy. That’s when I switched it to infrared.
The AKASO Seemore 200 has four levels of zoom up to 16x. Here’s an example of three of them, with the first being the unit’s default focal range.(Image credit: Future)
The AKASO Seemore 200 has four levels of zoom up to 16x. Here’s an example of three of them, with the first being the unit’s default focal range.
The AKASO Seemore 200 has four levels of zoom up to 16x. Here’s an example of three of them, with the first being the unit’s default focal range.
(Image credit: Future)
The Seemor 200 comes with two removable 3,250mAh Li-Ion batteries that need to be charged in the device though you can purchase this model along with a separate charger. I’d say I got about 30 minutes of use out of each battery, but some of that time was spent faffing about with the clunky interface buttons.
AKASO App
After umpteen attempts, I have still not managed to get the phone’s app screen to relay the image from the Seemor. All I get is a black screen with a spinning wheel. I did manage to perform one update that I was hoping would fix the problem but to no avail. On the plus side, once the files have been downloaded off the Micro SD card I can at least view images and videos taken with the goggles on my MacBook Air and easily send them to my Apple Photo library.
To be honest, the app doesn’t really add anything to the package since all it provides is the wherewithal to view what the goggles see (when it works), access to photos and video taken with the goggles, and activation of any software updates (when it works). Personally, I would suggest avoiding the app until AKASO hopefully fixes the issues and if you want to view your images and video, simply remove the Micro SD card and download them to your computer.
Verdict
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
If you’re in the market for a night vision device that produces bright, clear imagery in all levels of darkness – including, uniquely, the ability to reproduce subjects in full colour – the AKASO Seemor 200 is a top choice. Were it not for the terribly awkward interface and poorly integrated app I might have been persuaded to give it a healthy four stars. As it stands, it wins a commendable but could-do-better three stars.
AKASO Seemor 200: Price Comparison
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