dahua starlight cams - attract bugs with ir light?

srmtech · May 3, 2017

Good Afternoon all,

I am new to the security camera community but I learn fast, I like to read and ask questions, and I like to help out when I can.

I am interested in purchasing and installing a new security camera system for my house and the DAHUA starlight cameras might be what I am looking for.

Do these series of starlight cameras transmit IR light all the time or is the ambient light enough for them to trigger on motion? I am concerned that they may be putting out IR light all the time and attract a lot of bugs at night time.

Also, I have motion sensing flood lights installed near the areas I will have these or a similar camera installed. Would the light from my flood lights be enough for face recognition at 15-20 feet?

Thank you!

Shockwave199 · May 3, 2017

Any camera with ir will attract spiders. That's the bug that bugs us all, lol. Your motion lights close by will attract flying insects and will in turn attract spiders. There's bug sprays you can apply but they need to be reapplied along the way for best results. You won't really know how the camera will perform without ir in your spot of choice until you see it. I usually do a temporary setup with a camera on a tripod to see how it works out before permanent install. But as far as cameras go, it seems the starlight cameras are the best to choose at the moment.

fenderman · May 3, 2017

Shockwave199 said:
Any camera with ir will attract spiders. That's the bug that bugs us all, lol. Your motion lights close by will attract flying insects and will in turn attract spiders. There's bug sprays you can apply but they need to be reapplied along the way for best results. You won't really know how the camera will perform without ir in your spot of choice until you see it. I usually do a temporary setup with a camera on a tripod to see how it works out before permanent install. But as far as cameras go, it seems the starlight cameras are the best to choose at the moment.

Turret cameras virtually eliminate problems with spider webs....

nayr · May 3, 2017

fenderman said:
Turret cameras virtually eliminate problems with spider webs....

when installed correctly, lots of ppl want to tuck them back under overhangs and stuff then all bets are off.. still tons better than a ring of round diode LED's that are still far too commonly produced.

best cure to bugs is disable the IR and use external lighting; the starlights are the easiest to pull this off with.

Shockwave199 · May 3, 2017

Or if you have even a single branch tree high up above, all bets are off too.

HMS · May 3, 2017

nayr said:
when installed correctly, lots of ppl want to tuck them back under overhangs and stuff then all bets are off.. still tons better than a ring of round diode LED's that are still far too commonly produced.

best cure to bugs is disable the IR and use external lighting; the starlights are the easiest to pull this off with.

Could you give a example of what your describing on where you should an shouldn't put them under a overhang?

Shockwave199 said:
Or if you have even a single branch tree high up above, all bets are off too.

Probably simple answer that's going right over my head next to the branch, but, how would the branch affect this?

Newb is fitting to my name...

nayr · May 3, 2017

if you have anything infront of the camera for em to hang a web off of they will if they can; if the furthest thing out from the structure is the front face of the camera it becomes much less likely... cameras mounted to poles or on the broad side of a wall are fine, tuck it under an overhang/soffit/gutter/inside corner and you'll have a web infront of it sooner or later.

randytsuch · May 3, 2017

Also, if its too close to an overhang, you'll get IR reflections off of the overhang. Messes up exposure at night.

As suggested, try one out.

I would buy one, get it working and mount it to a 2x4. See how it looks during the day, and at night, in the locations you are considering. Once you find the right spots, then run cable and do the permanent installations.

Randy

HMS · May 4, 2017

Thanks for the answers. the simplest ones make the most sense.

srmtech · May 4, 2017

Thank all for the advise, I had a feeling this was the right forums for help!

ccater1 · Aug 12, 2018

I know this thread is getting old, but I received several hundred snapshots last night from a spider dangling on a web from the underside of my soffit. The soffit is vented, so I sprayed a spider killing product that is supposed to remain effective for 12 weeks. We shall see. Just thought I'd mention it. It may not work, but I'm giving it a try. If it lasts 12 weeks, that puts me into the cooler part of the year with less bugs, so no bugs, not spiders. Fingers crossed.

fenderman · Aug 12, 2018

ccater1 said:
I know this thread is getting old, but I received several hundred snapshots last night from a spider dangling on a web from the underside of my soffit. The soffit is vented, so I sprayed a spider killing product that is supposed to remain effective for 12 weeks. We shall see. Just thought I'd mention it. It may not work, but I'm giving it a try. If it lasts 12 weeks, that puts me into the cooler part of the year with less bugs, so no bugs, not spiders. Fingers crossed.

wont last...what camera are you using?

ccater1 · Aug 12, 2018

fenderman said:
wont last...what camera are you using?

Do you mean it won't last for 12 weeks to kill spiders from the residual? The camera is a Dahua IPC-HDW5830R-Z. Are you thinking the camera is faulty?

J Sigmo · Aug 12, 2018

Fargin spiders! They really are the bane of, as Fenderman points out, bullet cams.

And I have cameras that I've mounted back under eaves, to soffits, to shield them from direct sunlight because they're on a south side. And spiders really do love that area regardless.

I do think using separate IR illuminators is the best answer outdoors. The IR LEDs that are integrated into a camera must, of course, be located very close to the lens. So anything, no matter how small, even a speck if dust, will appear very big and bright in the images because it is so close to the LEDs and the lens.

To me, separate IR illuminators, mounted rather far from the camera(s) are the best answer outdoors. We get blowing dust, rain, snow, bugs, spiders, you name it here. Any built-in illuminators really make this stuff show up to the point of causing problems.

fenderman · Aug 12, 2018

Turrets eliminate the problem completely for me..

fenderman · Aug 12, 2018

ccater1 said:
Do you mean it won't last for 12 weeks to kill spiders from the residual? The camera is a Dahua IPC-HDW5830R-Z. Are you thinking the camera is faulty?

The camera is not faulty..my point is that turrets eliminate the issue in almost all circumstances...

ccater1 · Aug 12, 2018

J Sigmo said:
Fargin spiders! They really are the bane of, as Fenderman points out, bullet cams.

And I have cameras that I've mounted back under eaves, to soffits, to shield them from direct sunlight because they're on a south side. And spiders really do love that area regardless.

I do think using separate IR illuminators is the best answer outdoors. The IR LEDs that are integrated into a camera must, of course, be located very close to the lens. So anything, no matter how small, even a speck if dust, will appear very big and bright in the images because it is so close to the LEDs and the lens.

To me, separate IR illuminators, mounted rather far from the camera(s) are the best answer outdoors. We get blowing dust, rain, snow, bugs, spiders, you name it here. Any built-in illuminators really make this stuff show up to the point of causing problems.

Good idea to mount external IR. Would get expensive, but no one ever said this was cheap lol...

fenderman said:
The camera is not faulty..my point is that turrets eliminate the issue in almost all circumstances...

Gotcha, yeah in my case it is a turret, so it must be ole spidy likes to swoop down from above my vented soffit. Hopefully my insecticide will work until next spring. The weather where I live swings so much during the winter months that we have far fewer bugs flying around.

SkyLake · Aug 12, 2018

It's Spiderman... He just wants to protect your camera against the bad guys :lol:

ccater1 · Aug 12, 2018

Lol...

blake · Aug 12, 2018

fenderman said:
Turrets eliminate the problem completely for me..

I haven't had any spyder issues with turrets either. The occasional moth but that's it. Now the P.O.S Hik bullet that is about to find its resting place is ridiculous.

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dahua starlight cams - attract bugs with ir light?

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