Teaser Info and Mini Review - Empiretech B52IR-X3 Triple Lens Camera

JPmedia said:
I am certainly no expert with nighttime settings, but you may want to try a slower shutter speed. I would see what 0 - 5 or even 0 - 6 looks like for night combined with a slightly higher exposure comp setting (like 55 - 60). If that doesn't work, my guess is you may need additional IR light.
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I have tried 0-16 with 20 gain, and it didn't help much, so I decided to go faster with more gain based on @wittaj 's settings. Exposure comp isn't meant to do anything when you're running Manual settings. It will make changes in some firmware, but all it is doing is adjusting the exposure and gain, so you might as well just make the changes yourself.

This camera does not have smart IR.
 
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wittaj said:
Yeah, I think the trees are absorbing/reflecting too much IR.
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Any thoughts on camera settings that could make a difference before I move it down low and try that? Or that could make a difference if I slide it down to around 7' or so.

I am hoping down low and shooting up under the tree makes a difference. It will possibly make the Near view useless, but oh well.
 
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I guess some locations can be difficult to get the right setup. I'm learning there's much more to successful camera images than just settings. The location and installation also play a big part in the image, and each is just as important.
 
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Ri22o said:
I hate waiting so long for it to get dark, but not much I can do about it other than complain.

Here is what I have so far and I don't know what to do. I trimmed the trees back, but not sure how much more I want to trim them. I know they're a problem, but I also don't want to completely strip them of lower branches. I moved the camera down a little bit from 9', I don't think it's quite to 8' yet, but not sure where it ended up. I want this to work, but I am close to giving up. It doesn't help that the path in this direction is 25" higher than the ground below the camera. So if I am at 6' install height, I am 4' at the path...

Another option I am considering is mounting it low, with an upward tilt. This would get the IR under the branches and maybe help? I noticed seems to do better at height, but the upward tilt could make a difference? Thoughts?

All IRs are set to 100%. The only IR that is on is from the higher camera. The lower camera had all IR turned off. New camera is on the left, current is on the right. Settings for both cameras are the same.

Mid View:
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Far View:
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I can't imagine running that fast of a shutter without a lot of ambient light. I have to run 0-5 up to 0-7
 
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I moved it down, maybe 18" from the ground, to try and shoot the IR up beneath the tree branches. I changed exposure and gain to 16/20. It seems to be better, but not great; definitely the low end of recognize. I'll mess with it some more.
 
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I'm still debating replacing a 4kx with one of these so I can have a close up on my driveway, middle would be my mailbox and then far for cars/people walking farther away on the sidewalk.
But not sure I want to give up the 4kx images.
 
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It’s amazing how bad 2MP looks at night especially now that I’m used to 4MP and 4K

The Triple lens is cool, but is destined for non essential duty for me
 
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bigredfish said:
It’s amazing how bad 2MP looks at night especially now that I’m used to 4MP and 4K

The Triple lens is cool, but is destined for non essential duty for me
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Same. It's usable, but 4MP is so much better.

I made some changes last night but rain kept me from doing too much with it. It would be much easier if I had someone to just walk back and forth for me instead of making a change, walk out, make a pass, walk back in, look at the clip, walk out, make a pass, walk back in, ....
 
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Ri22o said:
Same. It's usable, but 4MP is so much better.

I made some changes last night but rain kept me from doing too much with it. It would be much easier if I had someone to just walk back and forth for me instead of making a change, walk out, make a pass, walk back in, look at the clip, walk out, make a pass, walk back in, ....
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LOL don’t we all.
 
You know, I was going to pull the trigger on this 2mp triple camera, but was afraid 25mm wouldn't be enough to get me the FOV I'm looking for as it is right about 50 - 55 feet from the mounting location. I think the location would do better with a Z4E and a ZE. I really don't need 3 different FOV here as it is mostly the neighbor's front yard and the intersection/street. The Z4E can manage the intersection and the ZE can be the overview. Yeah, the triple camera may look more aesthetically pleasing, but not at the performance trade-off.

I feel the 2mp does well during the day but has a hard time with a clean image at night. It tends to look grainier. And the location this/these will be in has practically NO ambient light. I would think the two 4mp cameras would do better in this location and I already have a Z4E which I haven't used yet. Will just need a ZE for overall view
 
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For reference, here is a mower about 40-45' away. It's 55' to the middle of the path behind him. Keep in mind he was moving at a pretty good pace, so that lowered the quality some. 4MP would be much better, but this thing also puts out so much IR compared to what a ZE, Z4E, or Z12E will. I run supplemental IR floods for all of my other cameras because other than landscaping lights around the backyard I don't have much ambient light.

Try the Z4E and hold out for a refurb ZE. If they don't work you can always deploy them elsewhere and look into one of these again. I think most of my issues are install height and nothing to reflect the IR to help light up the scene, it's just shooting into nothingness.

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