Stupid mistake - aimed cameras at one another (learn from my mistake)

[Tygunn]

So, I made a STUPID mistake installing the two cameras that cover the doors/windows overlooking my patio. The picture attached shows the situation. The two walls with windows/doors form a corner. It is about a 20ft x 20ft area.

I mounted a camera to the side of each door, zoomed in to cover the opposite door.
Works great in the day time, however I completely flubbed this and didn't consider the fact that the camera's IR emitters are visible in one another's field of view.

I can probably re-aim one of the cameras to compensate, but for the other I wanted to cover a bit of the most likely point of approach, so its inevitable to have it in view.

I'm thinking my best option is to get an IR emitter (flood, or two more directional ones) and put it off-camera in the corner somewhere, illuminating the patio that way.

Its either that or move the cameras, but I would prefer not to do that.

 

[JFire]

Why cant you just put 1 camera where you propose the ir emitter to cover both doors? Or both cameras from there?

Im assuming you are mounting the emitter on something.

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

 

[Tygunn]

Why cant you just put 1 camera where you propose the ir emitter to cover both doors? Or both cameras from there?

Im assuming you are mounting the emitter on something.

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

The position where I propose to mount the IR emitter is a pergola. I haven't fully thought it through, but I don't even know if I could mount an emitter there without the structure getting in the way, plus we may be removing that in the future anyways. My other thought is to mount is under the eaves on the house in the corner.

I could technically cover both doors with one camera, but I'd be zooming it out all the way and not really getting a tight shot of a potential intruder.

I don't want to move the cameras because:
1. I've already drilled holes in the house for anchoring the boxes and cabling, and I don't really want to have to patch that.
2. I would have to re-run two VERY long Cat6 runs.
3. The cameras (in daytime) are already showing exactly what I want to see; moving them to the corner where I marked an IR emitter would technically be a good spot, but the structure from the pergola is going to really be in the way. Plus I'll likely end up looking into the camera that is along the side of the house at the bottom of the image.
4. They're nicely sheltered from direct sunlight and rain by the overhang of the house right now, and the pergola is going to offer zero rain protection. A $40 emitter? I'm willing to risk it'll degrade over time.

 

[Fastb]

Tygunn,
Nice sentiment - your desire to let others learn from your mistake. With that in my, I'll contribute the following to help others. (not to criticize you).

Camera location is critical. I moved several of mine from where newbie me originally mounted them (thankfully, temporarily mounted).
So to the newbies/novices out there, use a "Test Rig" to check out locations. Some threads that discuss test rigs are below:
Advice appreciated
Driveway camera install.
Where to install turret camera I'm about to purchase?

Tygunn, you might consider a test rig for the additional IR light. It could help determine which cam, or both, have their IR LEDs disabled. And you get to evaluate IR illumination coverage. Maybe two small IR emitters, not one.
Maybe someone could say if setting a "privacy block" (masked out area) in the camera would prevent the cam from being blinded, and allow it to see the deck. Since you don't need to record the other camera...

Good luck!

 

[Tygunn]

Tygunn,
Nice sentiment - your desire to let others learn from your mistake. With that in my, I'll contribute the following to help others. (not to criticize you).

Camera location is critical. I moved several of mine from where newbie me originally mounted them (thankfully, temporarily mounted).
So to the newbies/novices out there, use a "Test Rig" to check out locations. Some threads that discuss test rigs are below:
Advice appreciated
Driveway camera install.
Where to install turret camera I'm about to purchase?

Tygunn, you might consider a test rig for the additional IR light. It could help determine which cam, or both, have their IR LEDs disabled. And you get to evaluate IR illumination coverage. Maybe two small IR emitters, not one.
Maybe someone could say if setting a "privacy block" (masked out area) in the camera would prevent the cam from being blinded, and allow it to see the deck. Since you don't need to record the other camera...

Good luck!

Its funny one of the big takeaways from reading up on here is that I DID use a test setup. For each camera I temporarily hung it, and made sure it was looking where I wanted, etc. HOWEVER, what I neglected to do in this case was temporarily mount both of them. So that's a good takeaway. If you have two cameras that could potentially interact, make sure to test them both out temporarily and see that everything is okay day AND night.

I ordered an IR illuminator and I am going to try it out at night using a temporary mount.

I considered masking the area in the camera, but it causes some odd reflections and "lens flare" in addition to the bright spot. I'll probably get less bugs flying in front of the camera as a result too so many this is for the best.

 

[JFire]

@tygun if youre feeling really adventurous i was going to play around with a solar motion light and ir pass through plexiglass. I was going to swap out the lights clear cover with the ir plexi so its only visible to the cameras. Before i started this project my power company switched my streetlight to led and now i no longer need additional lighting in front.

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

 

[Tygunn]

@tygun if youre feeling really adventurous i was going to play around with a solar motion light and ir pass through plexiglass. I was going to swap out the lights clear cover with the ir plexi so its only visible to the cameras. Before i started this project my power company switched my streetlight to led and now i no longer need additional lighting in front.

I wonder how much IR will be created by the motion light's LEDs. Interesting experiment though!

We've got sodium lights in my area still, and very few of them, so even in the front my camera needs the IR illuminators to see anything. The back yard is incredibly dark. I think I need some motion lights for my own use so I can see where I'm going.

 

[JFire]

@Tygunn in my thinking it should be as bright to the camera as it would be to the eyes. The plexi is only allowing the ir to pass.

Maybe when i get the extra $. Ill need it for my backyard once i get cameras there.

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

 

[wxman]

Sorry, couldn't resist. I haven't had a good opportunity to share this graphic lately. lol :-D