This is really a pretty impressive piece of equipment for the price and target audience. It's basically what you would get with a night vision camcorder (such as the Discovery Kids model) crammed into a set of cheap plastic binoculars- minus the recording part, of course. Another similar device would be a night-vision-enabled baby video monitor, minus the wireless link.In any case, what this consists of are two IR (infrared - so invisible to the naked eye) LED flashlights, an IR-sensitive digital camera sensor, and a tiny low-resolution (but full color!) screen.The screen is "split" via mirrors to create the "binocular" view. The IR CCD picks up the reflected IR light (and visible light, if present), and voila- you can see in the dark.Some important notes that are not immediately obvious: - These are telescopic binoculars. I didn't realize this when I purchased them, and they are not great for seeing things that are near you (within 5 feet or so) - The zoom level does not seem adjustable - They are not "wearable" such as you might think from the look of them. They are meant to be handheld binoculars. - The "binocular" vision is not really stereoscopic- it is a single image split and shown to both eyes (as far as I can tell), so don't expect any depth perception.All that being said, this is an incredible amount of technology in a little toy package, and it does work quite well. You can really see in the dark, and if you are trying not to scare wildlife or wake a sleeping baby, it's great that you aren't casting any light at all. Don't confuse this with the cheaper "night vision" toy glasses you'll see- those are just green flashlights. They may let you see in the dark, but they're not exactly "stealthy".Some good notes: - The system transitions well from dark to light. It's not going to blind you, the screen isn't that bright. - The display is full color (more or less) in normal light, for what that's worth. - It really works in the dark!The mirror system is adjustable to account for differences in face width (how far apart your eyes are), and thankfully works well for both adults and children. Furthermore, there is a focus adjustment to help with near versus far objects. The whole system can actually produce a fairly crisp image in the dark when properly focused. They also work with glasses- I am a glasses-wearing adult, and I can comfortably fit my face and glasses in the binoculars and still get a pretty decent "seal" (the eyepiece is framed with a bit of rubber, presumably to trap out the light cast by the LCD).There are also two additional controls. One will turn on the secondary "high power" LED flashlight, which also emits some visible red light. In the normal mode, the binoculars are completely invisible in the dark (unless the person looking at you is also wearing IR goggles, in which case you'll show up like a bright flashlight!). However, in this "high power" mode you'll be visible as a faint red glow. This does let you see a good bit farther away, though- so it's not just a gimmick.The other switch applies various color "filters" to the display- red, green, blue or normal. This can be useful in some circumstances (the green view looks much more "night vision", and I imagine the red view works well in conjunction with the high-power LEDs, though I have not tried it). This feature feels a bit more gimmicky, but it's a nice thought.The binoculars also come with a neck strap, which at first you might mistake for a head strap. It's a nice touch, though.All in all, I'm really impressed. I'm not entirely sure yet that it can do what I purchased it for (I did not expect the magnification!), but I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun with it looking out at the critters in the yard at night, if nothing else.