Example Sentence:
The shutter clicked noisily, its ______ lens able to discern the shapes and structures of the ruin.
I'm looking for a word which means that the (camera) lens is able to see in the dark and the answer is not "Night vision" because it seems to imply that it works against night. I'm looking for a word which means that the lens is able to see in low light conditions and not just in the night time.
The term used in photography is a fast lens. It refers to lenses with apertures that open wide. The larger the aperture, the more light gets in.
All other things equal, the recording medium requires less time to achieve the same exposure with a wide aperture than with a narrow aperture. This is the reason for calling wide-aperture lenses fast.
Fast lenses can be advantageous over slower ones in certain shooting conditions and types of photography. They really come into their own where there is either low light (for example if you need to shoot indoors but can’t use a flash) or where you need to use a fast shutter speed (for example in sports or even wildlife photography). They are especially useful when you need both a fast shutter speed in low light (ie indoor sports). - DPS
Your sample sentence would then be worded this way:
Note that to discern the images and structures requires more than the lens. It requires the image (facilitated by the recording medium as @Spencer notes) as well as the interpretation of that image.
Why don't you use your own phrase, low-light? As already noted, it is typically used to describe a sensor - but since you're not insisting on being technically correct, you could use it here.
Another term you may consider is starlight - often used to describe a super low-light imaging capability, for example:
While low-light surveillance capabilities have been around on the market for some time, starlight camera technology is redefining low-light surveillance to new levels.
