Improving Nigh Vision Quality

So the trees get cropped out, and then the bad guys bring flashlights and nobody is allowed to change gamma to see what is going on.
 
MartyO said:
So the trees get cropped out, and then the bad guys bring flashlights and nobody is allowed to change gamma to see what is going on.
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No sure where you come up with this stuff. Anything is possible......adjusting multiple monitors, tablets and phones, here makes no sense...
 
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If the OP has the perfect camera set up, and if he does then changing monitor settings, when he needs too, will definitely improve things. If you disagree with this then I don't know what to say.
 
MartyO said:
If the OP has the perfect camera set up, and if he does then changing monitor settings, when he needs too, will definitely improve things. If you disagree with this then I don't know what to say.
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I disagree with changing monitor settings...Yes.

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@MartyO I respect the fact that you are trying to help others, but unfortunately your suggestion is not the best option. As @fenderman stated, this will only make the image "better" for OP on the actual monitor he/she is viewing the camera video and not the actual video. Why not get the best possible native video quality first? I think that's more in the lines of what OP asked for.
 
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djangel said:
@MartyO I respect the fact that you are trying to help others, but unfortunately your suggestion is not the best option. As @fenderman stated, this will only make the image "better" for OP on the actual monitor he/she is viewing the camera video and not the actual video. Why not get the best possible native video quality first? I think that's more in the lines of what OP asked for.
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Thanks for the post, my suggestions assumes best possible native video quality, my point is not all monitors are good or act the same.
 
Yostie said:
Gents,

I have a DS-2CD2142FWD-IS, and have been playing around trying to get the best quality night vision. Below is a snapshot of what I have so far. Can anyone give any pointers on how I can improve the quality. Would a IR illuminator be good idea, and if so, what brands do you guys recommend.



Cheers

Yostie
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Gday Yostie,

Looks like you are also in Australia given the Land Cruiser and Commodore Sportwagon in your pic.

I bought myself a couple of sub $50 96 LED illuminators and they work ok. They are older models built by Scene Electronics. Bought them on Ebay

I have been looking at upgrading with some of the more modern illuminators from Scene IR.

I have seen a couple of reviews of people using the GD series to good effect. Cleans up the image and removes the graininess. In a perfect world I would buy Bosch illuminators but they cost more than the cameras.

A lot of people also recommend white light led fittings. I decided against going that route as I wanted to keep relations a bit more cordial with the neighbours by not having bright white light on all night.

If you are buying an illuminator pay attention to the specs and get one with an angle that matches your camera, probably about 60 degrees in your case, or you will get a spotlight effect.

Also take the distance claims with two or three gains of salt. I've heard both converting the claims in metres to feet, and halving the claimed distance, as good rule of thumb metrics. My experience so far is that changing metres to feet is closest to the mark. You may get away with halving as your camera has improved night performance over mine.

Trimming back the tree in the foreground will also help. Having such a bright object in the frame makes it hard for the camera to adjust settings so the whole scene is evenly lit. The leaves will all grow back on that one shortly so the problem will only get worse. Using WDR can also help to even out the lighting.
 
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SyconsciousAu said:
Gday Yostie,

Looks like you are also in Australia given the Land Cruiser and Commodore Sportwagon in your pic.

I bought myself a couple of sub $50 96 LED illuminators and they work ok. They are older models built by Scene Electronics. Bought them on Ebay

I have been looking at upgrading with some of the more modern illuminators from Scene IR.

I have seen a couple of reviews of people using the GD series to good effect. Cleans up the image and removes the graininess. In a perfect world I would buy Bosch illuminators but they cost more than the cameras.

A lot of people also recommend white light led fittings. I decided against going that route as I wanted to keep relations a bit more cordial with the neighbours by not having bright white light on all night.

If you are buying an illuminator pay attention to the specs and get one with an angle that matches your camera, probably about 60 degrees in your case, or you will get a spotlight effect.

Also take the distance claims with two or three gains of salt. I've heard both converting the claims in metres to feet, and halving the claimed distance, as good rule of thumb metrics. My experience so far is that changing metres to feet is closest to the mark. You may get away with halving as your camera has improved night performance over mine.

Trimming back the tree in the foreground will also help. Having such a bright object in the frame makes it hard for the camera to adjust settings so the whole scene is evenly lit. The leaves will all grow back on that one shortly so the problem will only get worse. Using WDR can also help to even out the lighting.
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Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it. You are right Syconscious, I am located on the sunny Gold Coast.

Based on feedback, the first step I will take is to trim back that tree causing the reflection. I will also have a look into the IR illuminator recommendations. With the IR illuminator, is it best to have it mounted near the camera, or do you reckon mounting a second light source on the other side of the house, and using it in conjunction with the camera's IR would be a good idea. I read somewhere else that WDR can cause night quality to be worse, is this correct?

In reference to increasing the gamma on my monitor, this is not a solution I would be happy with. I want to get the best image quality I can before having to change any setting post image/video capture. Changing gamma on my monitor will effect everything else I do on my comp.

Thanks again for the advice.

Cheers

Yostie
 
WDR can increase the noise in your image however in situations where you have bright reflective objects in the frame WDR can improve your overall image by evening out the brightness of the image. You will need to experiment with your particular setup to find out what is best for you.

With mounting, experimenting with different positions will help you identify which position works best for you. I have mine mounted below the camera so the spread of the IR matches the field of view of the camera.
 
SyconsciousAu said:
WDR can increase the noise in your image however in situations where you have bright reflective objects in the frame WDR can improve your overall image by evening out the brightness of the image. You will need to experiment with your particular setup to find out what is best for you.

With mounting, experimenting with different positions will help you identify which position works best for you. I have mine mounted below the camera so the spread of the IR matches the field of view of the camera.
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Thanks again SyconsciousA. Just having a look at Scene IR's page at the moment. Are the illuminators good quality? Do you know if they will suffer from premature burnout of the LED's?
 
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Mine look well built and I have had no issues so far. Early burnout seems to be a problem with cheaper illuminators but the Scene Electronics ones seem more mid range
 
Yostie said:
Thanks again SyconsciousA. Just having a look at Scene IR's page at the moment. Are the illuminators good quality? Do you know if they will suffer from premature burnout of the LED's?
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If you have chance, post image after improvements complete.
 
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