Well, it's pretty purple/violet in reality, like when you see a rainbow, it's like the last color you see ;D.The beam in the picture looks really blue.And that's not exactly a huge blacklight, it's a 15W bulb, way weaker than those you see in clubs and such. :-/ But as far as brightness goes I guess it picks it up better than you can see with the naked eye.Even the blacklight looks brighter and bluer.Not IR though, it has a good IR filter....IR looks pretty much as you see it with the naked eye.