Im buying a camcorder and one of the features says Low Lux / Night Mode what does that mean?

Question

Its so confusing

Answer 1

Lux is a unit of measurement for light.  A camera with "Low lux" capability means it can capture an image with very little light.

Night mode or night shot usually means the camera is sensitive not only to visible light, but a short way into the infa-red as well.  It has an infa-red light, so you can actually videotape things in complete darkness, as long as they are within a few feet of the camera.

But (there are always buts)

Low lux performance is usually accomplished by electronic wizardry.  That same wizardry adds "snow" or static to the image.  Anything taped in Low lux mode will look pretty low quality.

Night mode, being based on infa-red light, does not capture colors the way we see them.  Usually it comes out as green-and-white.  If you've ever seen a movie where someone was using night vision gear, that's what it'll look like.