Upgrading question for best night vision outcome

[shepherdsecurity]

Hi all

I've been reading/researching on the forum to get a good answer for my question before I spend several hundred dollars. I'd hate to not be able to achieve what I'm after so thought it's best to get ask the experts.

I currently have a 5MP Hik-vision camera which is fine and suitable for day time viewing. However, due to the nature of the environment at night, the IR reflection from the garden statue is making it unsuitable fo my application. See attached images.

I thought upgrading to the 8MP Hikvision ColourVu cameras would fix my issue. Upon further research though, i've learnt these cameras have a white led light which is always on? (Not keen on that ) Keep in mind the area is reasonably well lit with the street light except the black wooden deck leading up to the house.

Any suggestion on which camera will give me the best night vision in this scene would be appreciated. I'd prefer to stick with a turret style and I have a Hikvision NVR, not sure if that matters

Cheers

 

[wittaj]

ANY camera with infrared will be problematic with that field of view.

Heck even a ColorVu with white LED light could be a problem. There is just too much stuff for light to bounce off of and mess up the exposure.

You need to move the camera or add supplemental lighting either infrared or white light beyond the landscaping.

 

[shepherdsecurity]

Thanks appreciate your reply. Would you suggest the ColourVu would at least be better than the current result?

 

[wittaj]

I think the ColorVu would stand a little better chance in that the white light doesn't reflect as much as infrared does, but it could still interfere with the exposure.

But keep in mind the ColorVu or any full color type camera either needs enough ambient light or the white LED light on the camera - if there is not enough light then the camera is blind and they cannot see infrared either, so you can't add it later.

 

[Swampledge]

Can you put 1 or 2 IR illuminations next to that statue, then shut off the IR in your camera?

 

[alastairstevenson]

I thought upgrading to the 8MP Hikvision ColourVu cameras would fix my issue. Upon further research though, i've learnt these cameras have a white led light which is always on? (Not keen on that ) Keep in mind the area is reasonably well lit with the street light except the black wooden deck leading up to the house.

The white LEDs don't have to be always on.
The ColorVu cameras can work very well even with low illumination, but how well in your scene will depend on how strong the street light illumination is, and whether a good image can be obtained with a short enough exposure to reduce motion blur.

Suggestion to assess this:
On the existing 5MP camera (what model number is it, for the sensor size?)
Disable the IR, change to Colour mode and snapshot the scene, along with a screenshot of the existing settings for exposure and the other video settings.

 

[shepherdsecurity]

The white LEDs don't have to be always on.
The ColorVu cameras can work very well even with low illumination, but how well in your scene will depend on how strong the street light illumination is, and whether a good image can be obtained with a short enough exposure to reduce motion blur.

Suggestion to assess this:
On the existing 5MP camera (what model number is it, for the sensor size?)
Disable the IR, change to Colour mode and snapshot the scene, along with a screenshot of the existing settings for exposure and the other video settings.

Hi, thank you very much for your response.

After your post I played around with a few settings, I changed the "BLC" to left and the image lit up quite a bit and I was able to see the black walkway leading up to the door. However it made the image and motion guide grainy I believe and over exposed when closer to the camera.

I have also attached a photo of the colour mode only.

The camera in question is the DS-2CD2355FWD-1 2.8mm Lens

 

[looney2ns]

You will have to use external illumination mounted away from the camera to avoid the reflection off the landscaping.
Or move the camera so that area is not in the field of view.