Night Color Technology

Conventional IR Camera

Night Color technology works differently than Starlight technology. Unlike Starlight technology, Night Color Technology does not use an IR Cut filter that switches images from color to black and white depending on lighting conditions.

Cameras with Night Color technology use smart ISP, a high-performance sensor, and an achromatic large aperture lens to produce crisp, clear color images in very low-light environments.

Smart ISP converts images into digital form while performing operations that enhance the image or extract useful information. ISP identifies and corrects imperfections caused by the lens, color filter, or sensor.

Night Color Camera

The high-performance STARVIS™ sensor uses back-illuminated CMOS technology to balance light throughout a scene. A back-illuminated structure increases the amount of light that enters each pixel and moves the sensor’s photosensitive surface closer to the light. This results in clear images in dark environments.

The achromatic lens is a combination of concave and convex pieces of glass that focus the different color wavelengths of light into a single plane. This type of lens eliminates chromatic aberrations (CA) and is the most cost-efficient means for good polychromatic imaging.

Dahua offers IP and HDCVI Night Color cameras with white-light LEDs.

For applications without ambient lighting nearby, a Night Color camera with white-light LEDs adds supplemental lighting without the need to add external lighting.

Recommended Scenarios: Applications where full-color images are required in environments with very low ambient lighting.

Low-light technology provides security even in no-light settings.

About the Technology

Dahua’s Basic Night Color features the VU-MORE Color Lite Camera Series. The VU-MORE Series features dual IR and white-light illuminators that intelligently deploy based on lighting conditions and motion in the scene.The camera will enter IR mode as ambient light decreases. When the camera detects a person entering the monitoring zone, the white-light illuminators activate to light the scene and capture full-color details. The camera automatically switches back to IR illumination after the person is no longer detected but the illuminators can be set to remain on for up to five minutes after a person leaves the monitoring area.

Sample with LED on


Sample with LED off

Dahua’s Enhanced Night Color technology cameras feature white-light LEDs to offer full-color images in total darkness. White-light color technology uses smart illumination to prevent overexposing images. Dahua cameras with this technology automatically activate white-light illuminators at low lux levels and adjust exposure time and LED intensity to best capture the environment.

Like Starlight models, Enhanced Night Color uses smart ISP and a high-performance sensor to produce clear images in dark environments.

Smart ISP converts images into digital form while performing operations that enhance the image or extract useful information. ISP identifies and corrects imperfections caused by the lens, color filter, or sensor.

The high-performance STARVIS™ sensor uses back-illuminated CMOS technology to balance light throughout a scene. A back-illuminated structure increases the amount of light that enters each pixel and moves the sensor’s photosensitive surface closer to the light. This results in clear images in dark environments.

Recommended Scenarios: Applications where full-color images are required in environments with very low ambient lighting.

Cameras Featuring White-light Night Color Technology

Sample with LED on


Sample with LED off

Night Color+ Fusion technology is ideal for dark, low-light scenarios where unobtrusive security and full-color images are required. This technology captures video using two 4MP sensors. The first sensor extracts the details of the visible spectrum while the second sensor extracts the brightness of the black and white spectrum. The two images are then fused together to produce a detailed image without the use of a white-light illuminator.​ Cameras with Night Color+ have the ability to capture full-color images at longer distances compared to a standard IR camera.

Recommended Scenarios: Applications that require color images in a dark or low ambient scene while maintaining the ambience and mood of the environment

4MP Night Color (left) vs 4MP Fusion (right)

Learn More about Dahua’s Low-light Technology

Night Color 2.0 Virtual Showcase

Night Color 2.0 Promotional Overview Video

Dahua’s 2MP Night Color Technology Comparison

Dahua’s 4MP Night Color Technology Comparison

Low-Light Technology White Paper

Night Color 2.0 Product Quick Guide