Soffit IR Reflection Options - Visor, Paint, Move?

J

jc_cshmny

n3wb
May 8, 2018
10
2
Just purchased two Amcrest IP8M-T2499EW-28MM turret cameras and need some kind of way to reduce the IR reflection. They are soffit mounted and are reflecting the IR horribly. I know, I know it's Amcrest and they're rebranded Dahuas. The price was right and it has the Starvis sensor as suggested elsewhere in the forum.

Does anyone have a visor accessory that they can recommend or just general advice on soffit mounting? I am willing to move the camera but would really prefer to keep it out of the elements as much as possible. I had one metal-enclosed camera like this get penetrated with water last year so a little wary.
 
A couple of images may help.

I say that because I don't know if you used a circular mounting box that would stand them off a bit and possibly help with the IR bounce back.
 
TonyR said:
A couple of images may help.

I say that because I don't know if you used a circular mounting box that would stand them off a bit and possibly help with the IR bounce back.
Click to expand...

Good call. I can get images shortly, but I did not use a junction box or standoff of any kind. It is mounted directly to the soffit.
 
jc_cshmny said:
Just purchased two Amcrest IP8M-T2499EW-28MM turret cameras and need some kind of way to reduce the IR reflection. They are soffit mounted and are reflecting the IR horribly. I know, I know it's Amcrest and they're rebranded Dahuas. The price was right and it has the Starvis sensor as suggested elsewhere in the forum.

Does anyone have a visor accessory that they can recommend or just general advice on soffit mounting? I am willing to move the camera but would really prefer to keep it out of the elements as much as possible. I had one metal-enclosed camera like this get penetrated with water last year so a little wary.
Click to expand...
Where I couldnt avoid it - I angled the camera to avoid as much of the soffit as possible. I also found using black tape (such as gorrila duct tape) on the parts that refelect the worst to help - this dramatically improved image qulaity.

obviously, depending on the level of light you have - would you get away with running with the IR off at night?
 
Easiest thing to do is get the soffit out of the frame/view of the camera. I have multiple Dahuas mounted directly to the soffits and don't have a problem with IR reflections.
 
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sebastiantombs said:
Easiest thing to do is get the soffit out of the frame/view of the camera. I have multiple Dahuas mounted directly to the soffits and don't have a problem with IR reflections.
Click to expand...

There is actually no soffit in the view of the camera. I am assuming it is the soffit based on when I lower the angle, the reflection nearly disappears. This particular camera is mounted on a 1-story soffit about 9ft off the ground. If I lower the angle any more, I will miss the driveway that I am trying to capture.
 
I’ve had the same problem with turrets under eaves. It’s a challenge. Now I use bullets and have not had a problem.
 
bigredfish said:
I’ve had the same problem with turrets under eaves. It’s a challenge. Now I use bullets and have not had a problem.
Click to expand...

Mounted in the same location? Amcrest IP8M-2496EW-28MM is the equivalent bullet. Does the visor help that much on these?
 
A bullet, with its mounting stem, would be probably be lowered enough to eliminated from the field of view. Of course a bullet would attract more spiders than a turret does.

From the model number I assume it's a 2.8mm lens. Another alternative would be a 3.6mm lens on the same model/style camera. That would narrow the field of view enough to get the soffit out of the frame and "move" the driveway closer at the same time. Another way around this would be to use a varifocal like the 2231 series from Dahua.
 
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i was referring to bullets in general vs turrets under eaves.

The bullet lens is a good 4-6” closer to the edge.

I have a lot of bullets and for me the spider web thing is overblown. Yes they happen, but it’s not a reason to not use them where appropriate. I get spiders, and geckos, and frogs, and other critters on turrets as well.
 
sebastiantombs said:
A bullet, with its mounting stem, would be probably be lowered enough to eliminated from the field of view. Of course a bullet would attract more spiders than a turret does.

From the model number I assume it's a 2.8mm lens. Another alternative would be a 3.6mm lens on the same model/style camera. That would narrow the field of view enough to get the soffit out of the frame and "move" the driveway closer at the same time. Another way around this would be to use a varifocal like the 2231 series from Dahua.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess I could get the bullet visor/lens right up to the edge of the eave vs the turret being set back due to the mount. We have quite a bit of spiders, but I don't have any bullets to know if that would be an issue there. I have never had any critter interference with turrets in about the two years I've been using them at this house.

I love the 2.8mm lens honestly. I can get the driveway entrance, my whole parking area, and about half the walkway to the side door. Actual day time view below. Night time view is exactly like the sample below fwiw.

Edit: The alternative lens for this model is 4.0mm.

1579110666672.png
1579110871742.png
 
You will need to drop the camera away from the soffit, or move it closer to the facia or both.
You have a significant facia lip below the soffit. That's where it's reflecting.
But beware, you might create glare from the gutter downspout if you drop it too much.
You could try painting the fascia facing the front of the cam flat black.
Don't worry about the cam being out in the weather. If you checked the snuggness of the screws in the cam, it should be fine.
I do see a problem with the Ethernet connection. It needs to have Di-electric grease in the female portion of the jack, then you need to wrap the entire connection with coax seal tape.

This is why we always advocate here to test your proposed location prior to permanent mounting. Use a 5gal bucket, 2x4 and rocks as ballast.
A 2.8mm lens is almost worthless outdoors as far as getting a facial ID. The perp would need to be 10 ft or closer to the cam with a 2.8mm.
You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
On a real computer study this>> Cliff Notes.

update.png
 
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looney2ns said:
You will need to drop the camera away from the soffit, or move it closer to the facia or both.
You have a significant facia lip below the soffit. That's where it's reflecting.
But beware, you might create glare from the gutter downspout if you drop it too much.
You could try painting the fascia facing the front of the cam flat black.
Don't worry about the cam being out in the weather. If you checked the snuggness of the screws in the cam, it should be fine.
I do see a problem with the Ethernet connection. It needs to have Di-electric grease in the female portion of the jack, then you need to wrap the entire connection with coax seal tape.

This is why we always advocate here to test your proposed location prior to permanent mounting. Use a 5gal bucket, 2x4 and rocks as ballast.
A 2.8mm lens is almost worthless outdoors as far as getting a facial ID. The perp would need to be 10 ft or closer to the cam with a 2.8mm.
You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
On a real computer study this>> Cliff Notes.

View attachment 53935
Click to expand...
Appreciate the detailed feedback.

I would say this is a temp mount at this point. I could certainly leave it like this but the soffit is very flexible and sags slightly under the weight of the camera.

I found the DORI for the 2.8mm vs 4.0mm versions of these cameras:
DetectObserveRecognizeIdentify
2.8mm69m(226ft)28m(92ft)14m(46ft)7m(23ft)
4.0mm89m(292ft)36m(118ft)18m(59ft)9m(30ft)

From the photo above, the car is about 25ft away, the basketball goal 50ft, and the weeping cherry behind the goal 90ft.

In an ideal scenario, I would like to be able to identify anyone who is on the asphalt/brick (50ft-ish radius). The 4.0mm lens isn't going to give me that based on the table. Also, if aimed in the same spot, I would lose the brick walkway, front of the parking area, and driveway entrance.

Might order the bullet just to see. These are brand new and can be exchanged, so not out any $.
 
That's why I suggested a varifocal, it can be set at whatever works for the particular application.
 
jc_cshmny said:
Appreciate the detailed feedback.

I would say this is a temp mount at this point. I could certainly leave it like this but the soffit is very flexible and sags slightly under the weight of the camera.

I found the DORI for the 2.8mm vs 4.0mm versions of these cameras:
DetectObserveRecognizeIdentify
2.8mm69m(226ft)28m(92ft)14m(46ft)7m(23ft)
4.0mm89m(292ft)36m(118ft)18m(59ft)9m(30ft)
From the photo above, the car is about 25ft away, the basketball goal 50ft, and the weeping cherry behind the goal 90ft.



In an ideal scenario, I would like to be able to identify anyone who is on the asphalt/brick (50ft-ish radius). The 4.0mm lens isn't going to give me that based on the table. Also, if aimed in the same spot, I would lose the brick walkway, front of the parking area, and driveway entrance.

Might order the bullet just to see. These are brand new and can be exchanged, so not out any $.
Click to expand...
Those DORI figures from Dahua are generous. Again, 2.8 is 9-10ft for ID's.
 
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