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!

Excellent product. All my IP cameras are mounted on my inside windows. This product totally eliminated the IR window glare issue for me. I bought my second IR illuminator yesterday. I've had the first one for almost 2 years now and I don't have a single issue to report. ( I live in the Rockie Mountain area so I get the full spectrum of weather.) Super easy to install and the chassis is metal and rock solid. Overall? I am 100% satisfied with this product. Kudos.

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.

This is the second time that I've tried these illuminators and again, it doesn't work. At all. The first time was with GW Security cameras a few years ago and this time with Empire Tech cameras (which are awesome) and still no difference in nighttime illumination whether or not this light is off or on.
Now the Empire Tech cameras (as most others) use 850nm IR illuminators internally. So I purchased this external IR illuminator since this is 850nm as well. But it doesn't do anything...I don't get it. It was on since I could see the red IR LED's.
I really wanted to get a 950 IR Illuminator since you (stealthily) can't see the red IR LED's when they are on, but from what I could learn they would not have worked on cameras that use 850nm. Ok, so what works? Oh and the first IR illuminator I used was different than this one, but still an 850nm. So what works? I give up. My solution? I added 5W landscape lights to almost every fencepost or garden area to bring light to my property and now my 8mp cameras are 4K color at night. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YXKVWL9?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

UODATE!!!
The company contacted me and offered a higher powered light, since they thought for my application the choice I made was underpowered. Boy, were they right! I got a 20w light shipped from them and plugged it in. I was shocked how bright it was. What a massive improvement. So I'm buying a second one now.
I have two POE cameras that are in very dark locations and I do not want to light them up with standard lighting like I did in the front yard. What this means is that I have no power at either location, since the cameras are powered up from the Cat5 cable. These lights only need 12v, so I will set up a 60w transformer and run 14/2 wire inside the soffit to each camera, then have the transformer set to use the photocell to turn on and off automatically.
Again, thanks to the company support team for stepping up and providing a 20w Illuminator for testing. Great customer support!

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.