Carson NiteMax Digital Night Vision provide good night vision of objects up to about 45 feet away. It's lens is focusable and can be set for near or far objects. It is not true night vision however. The NiteMax is completely dependant apon its InfraRed illuminator for lighting, without these 15 IR diodes turned on the NiteMax provides no better vision than with the naked eye (in general.) Because of this limitation, the NiteMax does not help with the seeing of distant objects. The display of the NiteMax is an LCD screen which has adjustable brightness (although it's backlight does not appear to be adjustable.) This screen both illuminates the face of the user and spoils ones own night vision to some extent the same way looking into a flashlight makes it difficult to see in the dark for a minute. The unit also has
2 gain buttons both of which seem to do the same
thing, increasing the contrast of the display which is helpful in some situations. There are 2 buttons to adjust the the brightness of the IR. This Device is like an invisible flashlight with a veiwer to make the beam visible. It might help to have the IR beam focusable as well so that more distant things can be seen. I paid about $130 for my basic NiteMax.