Couldy lens on Hikvision Turret Cams

[venturis]

I thought I'd share my recent experience where I had to disassemble and clean the internal face of the glass lens covers on a number of my Hikvision turret cams.

I recently put a 2CD2332-I back into service after having it stored away for over a year. The first night it was running I noticed the image was badly obscured by what looked like IR reflections and points of light were suffering bad halo effect.

Because I'd given the camera a bit of a clean before putting it into storage I thought that I might have somehow got a little moisture into the housing but after a few days of operation the image distortion improved only slightly.

I decided to pulled the cam apart to find out what was happening. I found the silica desiccant in place and no sign of any moisture or corrosion.

After dissembling the CCD/lens module I looked though the glass window at the front of the turret where I found there was a very distinct white, semi-opaque film where the lens sits.

I gave the camera lens and the glass window a good but very gentle clean with a microfiber cloth, carefully checking by holding the glass window up to the light to make sure it was spotless.

After putting the cam back into service, found the picture was now perfect.

I decided to check another turret cam. Same result, a very distinct cloudy and semi-opaque film on the inside of the glass window.

I eventually when through 6 cams. Every one had varying degrees of the white, semi-opaque film on the inside of the glass window.

The interesting part is that most of the cams have never been exposed to any direct weather. No water has ever hit the housings and there was no signs of moisture in any cam. The climate where I live is very moderate and dry.

All the cams were purchased at different times and have been in service for different durations. Models also varied but they were all turret style cams.

The film might have been from vapour given off by materials used in the camera construction such as the foam ring around the lens.

I found that I could see the film on the inside of the glass window before disassembly by holding the camera up to light at a certain angle.

I'm not suggesting that everyone go out and start pulling apart your cams but if they have been in service for some time and image seems to be less than perfect, might want to check for presence of the film on the inside of the glass window.

 

[TonyR]

Good post, thanks for the info. What you said makes sense:

Many gaskets, cables, foam rings, etc. inside the cam are made from thermoplastics which can contain petroleum byproducts. As they age they emit hydrocarbons which combine with moisture and air and create...smog. Generally, they eventually stop emitting this after a time.

Many new cars with that 'new car smell' will do this a lot if you don't clean the inside of the windows for several months. As the car ages, the smell goes away and so does the smoggy film that gets on the glass.

If you burn LP gas in your house in winter, you will also get a similar film on the windows because the burnt petroleum product (propane, butane, etc. ) gives off particles (carbon) that combines with the moisture released by the burning of the gas and it coats the inside of the windows. Unvented fireplaces will do this more than vented ones; with the vented type, more of both (hydrocarbons, water) goes up the chimney / vent.

 

[redavenger]

Had the same thing happen with my new camera. First night in cold weather and the lens clouded up. Had to pull it apart and clean it. I'm guessing where the cameras are made aren't put together in a neutral temperature environment.

 

[TonyR]

I'm guessing where the cameras are made aren't put together in a neutral temperature environment.

Yep, that happens, too.

For more on a similar topic, read my post here.