IPC-HDW5231R-Z: Please help me figure out why it looks like crap

[zebrock]

I have two 5231's on the driveway, one on either side of the garage. I've noticed one of them has gotten blurry/foggy over time. I really noticed about a month ago when we had breakins on the street. The subjects came down my side of the street but never came up on my driveway so I couldn't get a decent look at their face. They walked down the sidewalk about 20-25 feet away from the camera but you can only see the top half of their bodies like they have no legs. I don't remember it ever looking this bad at night. Daytime video looks good.

I've cleaned the lens and played with the settings suggested here in regards to ghosting, to no avail. It should be noted there isn't much light so I rely heavily on the IR. Take a look at the first screenshot from that night and let me know what you think, you can only see the top half of his body. The second screenshot is from right now. Settings? Gasket bleeding IR?

 

[bigredfish]

Nighttime video is hard!

Those new settings will likely get you improved results, get some video samples with you walking in same area and compare and post here.
The spot where the subject is walking (30-35ft?) is towards the edge of your light coverage and well beyond the focal point (12-15ft Im guessing), so you're only going to get so-so detail out there by the street without more light. I'd recommend adding some additional IR (or white light) offset at an angle to the desired coverage area.

Your focal point is correct IMHO, on your vehicles where it most matters. Very much like mine. I have similar issues even with lots of white light.

 

[bigredfish]

Also, not unlike my own you have a spot out there on the street that may be a bit of glare, or as I found, a reflection of the neighbors white light..

 

[looney2ns]

More light is needed.
The light colored car right below the cam will reflect the IR back into the cam, and cause the exposure to be less then it would be normally. Thus affecting distance.

You have some IR light reflecting off the soffit in the upper left corner, that may be causing the fogginess.

To get an ID shot out that far, at night, I would say you need a another cam with some zoom, and set it up to specifically target the sidewalk/street.

You can see in the second pic how much better lit the sidewalk and the truck is, due to the car being on the other side of the drive, and the black trailer in it's place. I agree, some light glare in that 2nd pic coming from across the street.

 

[zebrock]

So this isn't necessarily the camera or settings, more along the environmental lines. I just don't remember it being this bad.

Which would you suggest, LED flood lights or an IR illuminator to get a clearer image of the sidewalk? Really want to avoid adding a 3rd camera on the driveway.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[looney2ns]

So this isn't necessarily the camera or settings, more along the environmental lines. I just don't remember it being this bad.

Which would you suggest, LED flood lights or an IR illuminator to get a clearer image of the sidewalk? Really want to avoid adding a 3rd camera on the driveway.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Yes, neighbors may have changed their lighting since you installed. You need IR light in such a position that it's not reflecting it's light back into your cams. So, up high, and --not--pointed directly down at the cars.
Such as: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075F7NV56/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1