Univivi IR Illuminator 90 Degree Wide Angle 8-LEDs IR Infrared Light 850nm Infrared Illuminator for Night Vision IP67 Waterproof Outdoor for Security Cameras

For over a year now I have been experimenting with inexpensive 850nm near-infrared illuminators for use as NIR therapy devices. The results have been surprisingly positive. These devices have actually helped everyone who has tried them – in some cases quite impressively. Over time I became increasingly dissatisfied with my lack of knowledge of what these devices were actually doing, so I purchased a TES 1333 Solar Power Meter to measure irradiance (W/m^2 of infrared energy output) and a high quality multimeter to measure current draw. Due to the “granularity” caused by the spacing between LEDs it is not possible to get accurate measurements of irradiance directly agains the glass face plate of these devices, and the UNIVIVI U8R is especially chunky in this regard. So I took irradiance measurements starting 2” from the glass where the light beams have spread and blended together and at 2” intervals out to 12” and entered the resulting data points into a graphing calculator. Because irradiance diminishes with the square of the distance from the source, I assumed a quadratric regression curve could be closely fitted to this set of points. An R^2 of 0.984 for the resulting equation confirmed my fondest hopes. All this mathematical jiggery-pokery makes it possible to calculate an accurate irradiance value at zero distance from the glass. This is useful, because this value represents the true power density of the device. By popping the back cover off an inline rocker switch I was able to expose contacts for my multimeter to measure current flow. Set the switch in the OFF position, set up the multimeter, touch the exposed leads with the probes. The light comes on and the the current in amps gets measured. The transformer supplies 12DC current, so volts x amps = Watts. I am going to the trouble of spelling out how I did all this because ignorance, speculation, and seller misinformation abound in relation to all of the products in this class. So how does the little UNIVIVI U8R do? IT DOES FANTASTIC! The calculated irradiance at zero distance was right at 1000W/m^2 or 100mW/cm^2. 100mW/cm^2 is a seriously therapeutic dose rate, and you will get it if you put the glass screen directly against a body part. The unit is nominally rated at 8W, but mine drew 0.88 amps which works out to an actual 10.56W power draw which is impressive. So much for nominal ratings. (But I did not check to see if the transformer was actually delivering a full 12V DC. Another day for that.) So, I was pleasantly surprised by this little guy. It comes with a 1 amp power supply, and its light sensitive “eye” is external so you can put a piece of tape over it without having to disassemble anything so you can use it in daylight. It is light and easy to handle and sized just about right for treating hands, knees, neck or other localized areas. It also represents an excellent value on a total NIR energy delivered per dollar cost basis for whatever purpose you might want to use it for. It’s good gear in my book!

It works well. I put a wattmeter on it (I needed the measurement to run it out of a 16-port electrical box) and it pulled approximately 12.3w with the LEDs lit up at night. It is advertised as having a 12v/1a adapter, which would put the device as being powered near the very end of the transformer's power range, however I have had absolutely no problems with it. The transformer and device do run a little warm but not hot. Again, no harm or problem with that. It is smaller than it looks but puts out a nice flood of IR at night. I mounted it under the soffit. The picture on the left shows the patio camera which has a weak IR (only 2 LEDs), so most of the lighting is coming from the IR illuminator, mounted about 6 feet away. I connected with a 16.5 ft cable extender sold by WildHD, although you can also get those extensions in 33 ft lengths that can be daisy-chained. During the day, you will not see much on the IR even with the photo-sensor fully covered -- I had to look very closely with my hand cupped around the edge to see that they were glowing. But it is a whole 'nother story at night -- very obvious that the IR is on (there is no switch, just comes on and off by the photo-sensor). I recently added a second Univivi illuminator to light up the cars in the driveway; as you can see from the pictures on the right, the IR illumination makes a big difference. Be careful about turning off your camera's IR; apparently there is a mechanical switch inside most cameras that blocks IR from *any* source if you turn off the IR on the camera. Think of the Univivi as augmentation, not replacement. Edit 3/19/19. Bought my third one of these recently and it works as expected, even with extender cables. I'm not sure about the range, but where I have this one aimed, I would estimate to be about 50 feet. The other two are still going strong. Edit 12/04/20. The oldest one (approx. 2 1/2 years old) finally had a transformer fail. Illuminator still works great. I swapped in an extra transformer (same 12v/1a output) I had from a camera that now runs out of a power panel and the illuminator is working again. These are definitely outlasting the IR in my cameras, which seem to flame out after a year or so.

UPDATE: The IR Illuminator works very well, however the 1 amp power supply is undersized and likely to fail. When this happens the LEDs will become power starved and begin to blink or fail to light. I have four of these and two began to blink the same week. I have upgraded to a 2 amp adapter of slightly larger dimensions. It is a 12-volt 2-amp SANSUN UNIVERSAL AC ADAPTER that runs about $7 here on Amazon. It runs cooler and seems to light a tad brighter at 12.2 volts under load. Will update if there are further issues but the illumination provided is a big boost to the quality of security camera images. ORIGINALLY: I have a Swann 4K Camera system and added this to an area that needed additional night illumination. It's important to note that although the directions state that the Illuminator should be mounted close to the camera and aimed in the same direction, this is not a requirement. It can be mounted closer to an area needing supplemental lighting further away or from the side. It is illuminating a wider area than expected and a 2nd camera on another side of the house is picking up some of the additional light. It is a solidly built product, easy to mount and connect.

I was on the fence as to purchase this model, reviews were split on it. I purchased it and installed it, providing more than ample amount of visibility for my ring cameras. It lit well over 50 feet behind my house covering the shed, green house and area where my wife has her mini farm . The directions said not to keep it exposed to direct rain. So I had it under the section where rain gutters were attached, behind the cameras. I ordered a spare one not expecting it to last, well that was 2 years ago. It worked 2years almost to the day. I haven’t confirmed if it’s the power supply or light that went bad . It just flashes on/off. This light far surpassed what I expected for its price and ease of setting up. I just installed the spare and am ordering a spare this week. When it got dark it lit my back yard very well. Able to see all sorts of creatures passing through down to mice size . It worked well in the NY freezing temps too. I usually don’t do reviews but this product deserves a review. The amount of area it lights far surpasses the ring light which I don’t bother to use anymore . Based on this performance I highly recommend this unit . Price is good and apparently it lasts a long time.

I've had two of these, both burned out/failed after 12 months. The 2nd one replaced the 1st one; the purchases were a year apart. I won't buy a 3rd one. Unreliable for long term usage

I bought two of those for extra redundancy just to run my PSVR2 without having to turn on every light like its full daylight. Now I can just drive at night in the dark like a regular person. I set these lights ups more or less at a 45° from the front of my sim racing rig. The faint red glow is barely noticeable. My PSVR2 goggles work perfectly as if the room is lit up bright.

Feels sturdy and well built. All steel. Good illumination for compact size. Bad: power supply is weak and died with only sporadic use over a couple years. Fortunately for me, I already had another power supply with higher amp rating (2.5 amps) and the light itself still works. Power supplies are relatively inexpensive, so this light should have been supplied with a better quality power supply. If you still choose to buy this light, I'd recommend getting a higher amperage rated standard tip 12V power supply. (or using one you already have) At least 2 amps.

I needed some assistance for my Security cameras over my driveway, but I have no electricity source for an IR light there. I mounted this light at my nearest source which is about 50 feet, about 12 feet up a tree. This light throws very good light into my driveway in addition to the rest of my yard. from reading another review, I also caulked the seams to hopefully prevent water incursion, along with taping up the power plug at the extension chord. Assembly is plugged into a dusk to dawn yard stake with my flag pole light, which does not interfere with the light sensor. Edited to add: Now 1.5 years later, I needed to temporarily take down my light for some tree trimming work. I discovered that the Mounting bracket has developed corrosion around the mounting holes and the protective coating is flaking off. I would speculate that by next summer a good breeze or a slight limb strike would have knocked it down. I will need to sand it down, drill some new holes and put some type of coating on it, if I am able to use the same bracket. I may have to resort to metal strapping mount. I would now suggest that any new purchaser apply Plastic dip or something similar on the bracket. The light is working like a champ, but bracket needs additional protection.

I bought this to use with my camera at the shop to light up the area at night. It worked perfectly, and we were able to see what was coming around at night on our cameras. It was however stolen by my son who realized it was the perfect addition to his PSVR2 setup, and now can play in complete darkness with just this light sitting out front of him. He loves it, I'm not getting back, we've had it for nearly a year, no issues. Good Quality, and looks like it should last a long time. It came well packaged, and arrived quickly.

Using it for VR. Helps improve tracking in low light areas.

It helped my outdoor camera see further at night, it really added a large area that I couldn't see before

works ok. as advertised

Very weak and not able to light 8-10 feet away