IR Illuminators

u need a camera that cuts off the infrared filter when it's dark. look for infrared cut filter or similar phrasing

To take full advantage of an IR illuminator, you need a black and white camera. The measure of a camera's ability to see in low light conditions (Lux) isn't all that accurate since different manufacturers use different ways of calculating it to make their product appear "better". It's sort of like that Volkswagen ad where they say you can get up to one thousand kilometers on a tank-full, but "fuel consumption can v-var-ry" (extend the "v" and roll the "r"). :-)

Actually the opposite is true. The more IR illumiators that you have, the less low level light sensitivity the camera needs. ( assuming it's a color day/night switching camera)

There are low light level cameras that don't need any illuminators.

You might also try searching on Day/Night Camera

Well, there you go. Now I'm thoroughly confused.

I have several day/night cameras, some really cheap, one is somewhat expensive. They work great. But I also have some very expensive high end cameras, such as the Sensormatic Speeddome Ultra VII, and the Axis 213 which are not day/night, at least not automatic day/night. These are the ones I need the extra illumination for. What would I need illumination for on cams that already have day/night?

I bought an IR illuminator on ebay thinking that I could use it with the Speeddome Ultra VII inside my house so that my daughter could not sneak back to her room after being out half the night, but I can't see squat because it's so dark. It has 48 LEDs, but doesn't illuminate worth a damn with that camera. I tell the seller, he says "you need low lux camera to take advantage". That's like giving Dolly Parton a boob job if you ask me.

Day/Night usually means (among other things) that the camera is equipped with a IR filter that disengages during the night. The IR filter's purpose is to prevent IR light which is abundant in daylight from overloading the imaging sensor. Without IR filtering the image would be washed out by all that IR light because the sensor sees it almost as well as it does visible spectrum light. At night, however, there is very little natural IR light or visible light. By removing IR filtering at night the camera can see objects (they look black and white) which would not be viewable due to the lack of visible light if you provide auxiliary IR illumination.

IR illuminators are like visible light sources as far as the camera is concerned. The more IR light the easier it is for the camera to see when there's little or no visible light available. The problem with non-day/night cameras with IR filters is they get no visible light at night AND their fixed filters block IR.

Heh, heh, heh... An apt comparison. :^)

The seller is not giving you an adequate explanation, possibly because he doesn't really understand it himself. How far is the illuminator from the subject (in this case your daughter)? It's possible the IR light isn't bright enough. It's also possible (though I'm not certain without looking at the spec sheet) that the camera is not set for day/night operation. If that is the case, a filter might be blocking the IR. I'm not expert on that camera so I can't say for sure.

Thanks, Robert!

There is a day/night version, but that is not the one I have. I found a wonderful deal on ebay for the non day/night

There must be more to this story. A Speeddome Ultra VII indoor model is mounted indoors? But it is looking outdoors? And an IR illuminator? How is the illuminator attached to the camera in order to illuminate the area the camera is focused on? There is a difference between low light cameras. If it is that dark you might need a true day night camera. If you need detail you might need a mega pixel camera instead of a PTZ camera. Try one of these to see if it fits your needs better. AV3130 DayNight

Actually I have two Speeddomes in operation, one Ultra V is inside, looking inside at the entire first floor.

I can see almost everything on the first floor looking 360 degrees with that camera. That is so I can keep an eye on things (cats, people, doors from work). I have a second Speeddome, an Ultra VII, in a window upstairs in my husband's office. Mainly it is to look outside, but I can also look in to see if my husband is on his computer so I can email him from work. It would be in an outdoor enclosure outside, but we haven't gotten brave enough to tackle that job yet. Plus hubby doesn't want our house to look like a prison. I also have fixed infrared cameras outside at the front door, back door, and side yard at the breaker box. I also have a fixed infrared looking at the kitchen, opposite where the Speeddome home position points. The illuminator I bought on ebay is not attached to anything at the moment. I bought it on a whim thinking that I could illuminate the area where the downstairs Speeddome points, at that time, not fully understanding IR filtering. I was testing the illuminator in my office, moving it around, where I have an Axis 213 and an old PTZ-2 just for fun. The Axis goes to 1.0 lux in day mode, complete darkness in IR mode, but it's a manual switch. The PTZ-2 is only good to 7.0 lux. I can barely see any illumination with the Axis, and absolutely none with the PTZ-2. If I put the illuminator out where the Speeddome is, same deal, only see a very slight amount of light (speeddome goes to 1.5 lux). I didn't know the best spot for the illuminator, so I just moved it all around.

I need Pan/Tilt/Zoom and 360. I replaced a fixed infrared with the speeddome. I could buy the day/night speeddome, but they don't show up on ebay very often. I don't want to pay full price. Anybody got a used one for a decent price?

and in white is preferable, cause this thing sticks out like a sore thumb. :-) We would recess it, but the ideal spot is just where a huge beam is located.

I think a sensor driven light is the answer to this problem, as Doug suggested. Don't anyone waste any more effort on this. Thanks.

"Just Looking" wrote in message news:46689785$0$9972$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com...

BTW, these Speeddomes are REALLY nice cameras. I have a third one in my closet just waiting for a place to go.

I don't mount many Speeddomes indoors. The outdoor design has a deadly flaw. There are vents that hornets love to use to gain entry and nest inside the dome. The smoked glass makes it difficult to see the little devils inside before removing the glass. Bad things happen when the dome comes off, especially if you're up on a ladder. Many other domes don't have that vent "feature". AD must like it since it seems like they kept it on VIII.

Oh, dear. That's not good. I don't know if hornets are a problem here in SoCal or not. But thanks for the warning. I just bid on 2 outdoor enclosures.