Any luck with 4mp at night with IR?

[gwminor48]

I have rebranded 4mp Hikvisions turrets and I have spent a lot of time trying to get a decent picture at night at 4mp but I haven't gotten anything I'm happy with. I get decent results at 2mp, I'm curious if others are getting something they are happy with at night, 4mp with IR. I can see a noticeable difference in daytime between 2mp & 4mp but unless I'm willing to manually switch from 2mp to 4mp every morning I guess I'll be using 2mp. Are people getting better results with a 2 or 3mp camera at night when using IR?

 

[Michelin Man]

You wouldn't be able to give us a sample screenshot would you?

 

[gwminor48]

You wouldn't be able to give us a sample screenshot would you?

I'll look, I think I deleted them all. They were all very grainy despite all the settings I tried, mainly shutter & dnr. If I can't find any I can try again tonight.

 

[Michelin Man]

I just believe that having screenshots would show us what kind of picture you are getting now as a reference point.

 

[gwminor48]

I just believe that having screenshots would show us what kind of picture you are getting now as a reference point.

Yes, that sounds good. I'll try again tonight and save some results, thanks.

 

[gwminor48]

Hopefully I will have more luck tonight and even if I don't I'll save some results so maybe you guys will have more info to work with. From the lack of response I'm guessing it's not a topic of interest or others are not having good results with 4mp at night with IR either. I would love to be able to use these cameras at 4mp even though that means I'll have to get a better pc to support them but that's a different topic.

 

[klasipca]

I was not happy with my new 4MP at night (dome) to cover my yard and replaced it with mini "Hikvision" PTZ which has 4x the IR power for less $$ and been very happy. These Hikvision budget domes/turrets are only good to cover small area with built IRs from my experience. You either need some light or external IR. I am hoping to get one of their darkfighter series at some point.

 

[fenderman]

I am hoping to get one of their darkfighter series at some point.

Darkfighter and similar technologies will revolutionize the market when they trickle down to the cheaper cameras.

 

[klasipca]

Darkfighter and similar technologies will revolutionize the market when they trickle down to the cheaper cameras.

I can't wait, but at this rate it might still be years away. Going from 3MP to 4MP with marginal improvements for night time quality took 2 years...

 

[fenderman]

I can't wait, but at this rate it might still be years away. Going from 3MP to 4MP with marginal improvements for night time quality took 2 years...

Yeah, I think they need to simply price it right....at 300 its within reason for the improvement.
This model is available for 600 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1162153-REG/hikvision_darkfighter_series_ds_2cd4526fwd_izh_2mp.html
it has lots of additional features like motorized varifocal and and heater....no reason they cant sell a basic fixed cam with darkfighter for 300...but they probably wont ...

 

[klasipca]

Yeah, I think they need to simply price it right....at 300 its within reason for the improvement.
This model is available for 600 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1162153-REG/hikvision_darkfighter_series_ds_2cd4526fwd_izh_2mp.html
it has lots of additional features like motorized varifocal and and heater....no reason they cant sell a basic fixed cam with darkfighter for 300...but they probably wont ...

Sensor	1/1.8" Progressive scan CMOS
Minimum Illumination	0.002 lux @ (f/1.2, AGC On), 0 lux with IR 0.0027 lux @ (f/1.4, AGC On), 0 lux with IR

all I ask, they can keep all other features

 

[fenderman]

Sensor	1/1.8" Progressive scan CMOS
Minimum Illumination	0.002 lux @ (f/1.2, AGC On), 0 lux with IR 0.0027 lux @ (f/1.4, AGC On), 0 lux with IR

all I ask, they can keep all other features

Couldn't agree more.

 

[JimandYen]

This is a shot from a rebranded dahua bullet 4mp qsee cam (Costco). I think with some adjustment they could do better.
I know you were talking about Hikivision but I thought I'd show a 4mp from another cam.
I'm in the process of putting more light and negotiating to trim my wife's plant...

These are on sale again at Costco starting today.....

 

[fenderman]

@JimandYen I think most of the problem is the IR reflecting off the plant and roof

 

[JimandYen]

You are right. It does reflect a lot. Trying to cut.......I mean "trim" the plant and add a motion light with a pretty good output. Not that we have problems here but stuff happens...

 

[fenderman]

You are right. It does reflect a lot. Trying to cut.......I mean "trim" the plant and add a motion light with a pretty good output. Not that we have problems here but stuff happens...

The qsee/dahua should also have a 3d noise reduction option that should help as well.

 

[gwminor48]

Thanks for your replies. I played around with mine a little more. These screenshots are with these settings:
4MP
variable bit rate
video quality=highest
max bit rate 4096
fps 15
i-frame 15
brightness=40
contrast=51
saturation=46
sharpness=100
shutter=1/6
wdr=off
white balance=awb1
dnr=on - 50

 

[klasipca]

Yup, not enough light or IR. If you look a the top right corner you can tell how much light you need to get the best quality.

 

[gwminor48]

Thanks for the pic @JimandYen that looks similar to mine. @klasipca I think you're right. That's a gutter at the top right, I guess I should change the aim a little.

 

[Fruit]

If you have the turret you can rotate the camera upside down (so the IR is to the left side because in your picture it seems you need more IR on the left...) then in image in Mirror then do up/down then do Center then it'll be reverse upside down (i hope that made sense).

like for my house, if i didn't do all that work the ex ir would be right next to the wall and have alot of reflection, but after rotating it the IR isn't as close to the wall and spreads more evenly.