IR Cannon w/Adjustable Focus
- Thread starter nayr
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- illuminator infrared lighting
I got a "5W OSRAM Cree Infrared iR 850nm LED Flashlight" http://www.ebay.com/itm/252376848531 which runs on 1 AA battery, but I imagine could be modified to run on external power. You can find similar 850nm focusable flashlights on Amazon. Based on the results shown here, I've also got one of these adjustable "IR CANNON" lights on order. I will be curious to compare how they perform. I have no great faith in the accuracy of "xx watts of power" claims on Ebay but the price was low enough to take a chance.
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thats a cool flashlight, I might pick me up one for testing purposes.. and yeah dont trust the ratings, even the cannon is kinda bullshit.. if it has 3x 4.5W LED's then it should be ~13.5W load, but its really 10W.. so they are under-driven if anything so I suppose thats not bad.
There is alot of advantages to external IR that might not be obvious:
- Weather is less of an impact at night; fog, rain and snow are not reflecting most of the light back into the camera.. think of it like running w/hi-beams on through fog/rain when its built in.. If you want defogging then this will work better than some software routine every time.
- Bugs are not an issue and if a spider does run a web across the FOV all you can see is the spider and the web remains invisible.
- Shadows on the face bring out more detail, even if washed out its still more detail.. adds depth to the image.
- You can tune out reflectors on cars from flaring up.
- Dust and other little sprites that the ScyFy channel thinks are ghosts are practically eliminated.
- You can put up very powerful lighting without pissing off neighbors or blinding passing vehicles.
There is alot of advantages to external IR that might not be obvious:
- Weather is less of an impact at night; fog, rain and snow are not reflecting most of the light back into the camera.. think of it like running w/hi-beams on through fog/rain when its built in.. If you want defogging then this will work better than some software routine every time.
- Bugs are not an issue and if a spider does run a web across the FOV all you can see is the spider and the web remains invisible.
- Shadows on the face bring out more detail, even if washed out its still more detail.. adds depth to the image.
- You can tune out reflectors on cars from flaring up.
- Dust and other little sprites that the ScyFy channel thinks are ghosts are practically eliminated.
- You can put up very powerful lighting without pissing off neighbors or blinding passing vehicles.
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Kawboy12R
Known around here
- Nov 18, 2014
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Avoid using internal IR at all costs if possible. The only cameras running internal IR at home are the Critter Cam and the PTZ. Even the Critter Cam has backup external IR though. It's for lighting up the trees in the distance to even things out.
single-AA IR flashlight at 850 nm
Here's a short clip showing the so-called 5W Vastfire 850nm single-AA flashlight, at the most narrow beam focus setting. I measured a current draw of 1.2 A at 1.5 V so it really uses less than 2 watts of power. The active part is all in the head, would be easy to solder some wires onto it instead, if you had a 1.5V power supply. The image is grainy because my Dahua IPC-HF5421E is set to 1/250 shutter, to reduce motion blur. The road is 25 feet wide so the cars are about that far from me; the house beyond is maybe 60 feet from where I'm standing.
Most of the light in the image is coming from one Univivi U06R illuminator off to the right. It draws 0.44 A at 12V which is 5.3 watts. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M3O5ERK/
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By the way, this thing http://www.ebay.com/itm/171091792532 (judging only from the power draw: 12 W) may be similar in performance to the "IR CANNON" at about the same price (except a fixed narrow 10 degree beam, not adjustable zoom) and it comes with an IP66 housing and adjustable-angle mount. I notice that all of these devices including the little flashlight sell near $5 per watt so that gives you a reference point. I mean (current x voltage) = watts of DC power draw, not the wildly inaccurate "xx watts" advertised.
UPDATE 10/18/2016: I got the above ebay illuminator but it was not as pictured; actually it has 66 pieces of 15 degree LEDs. It draws about 0.85 A at 12 V so uses 10 watts. The performance is so-so and I don't think it's a good value compared with alternatives. For the same price the "IR CANNON" looks a lot more useful.
Here's a short clip showing the so-called 5W Vastfire 850nm single-AA flashlight, at the most narrow beam focus setting. I measured a current draw of 1.2 A at 1.5 V so it really uses less than 2 watts of power. The active part is all in the head, would be easy to solder some wires onto it instead, if you had a 1.5V power supply. The image is grainy because my Dahua IPC-HF5421E is set to 1/250 shutter, to reduce motion blur. The road is 25 feet wide so the cars are about that far from me; the house beyond is maybe 60 feet from where I'm standing.
Most of the light in the image is coming from one Univivi U06R illuminator off to the right. It draws 0.44 A at 12V which is 5.3 watts. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M3O5ERK/
--
By the way, this thing http://www.ebay.com/itm/171091792532 (judging only from the power draw: 12 W) may be similar in performance to the "IR CANNON" at about the same price (except a fixed narrow 10 degree beam, not adjustable zoom) and it comes with an IP66 housing and adjustable-angle mount. I notice that all of these devices including the little flashlight sell near $5 per watt so that gives you a reference point. I mean (current x voltage) = watts of DC power draw, not the wildly inaccurate "xx watts" advertised.
UPDATE 10/18/2016: I got the above ebay illuminator but it was not as pictured; actually it has 66 pieces of 15 degree LEDs. It draws about 0.85 A at 12 V so uses 10 watts. The performance is so-so and I don't think it's a good value compared with alternatives. For the same price the "IR CANNON" looks a lot more useful.
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> if it has 3x 4.5W LED's then it should be ~13.5W load, but its really 10W.
Looks to me like they are being brave and actually specifying that the optical power output totals 4500 mW (so each of the three lenses delivers 1500 mW) while also listing electrical power input at 10 W. From your first aliexpress link:
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD]Power[/TD]
[TD]10W[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]IR output[/TD]
[TD]4500mW[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
I think it's brave of them because the industry standard is to mention only power input, and usually lie about it too. If you take those numbers at face value it means their IR LEDs are > 45% efficient. That is possible; the Osram Oslon Black SFH 4715A claims 48%
Anyway, bottom line from your video it clearly puts out a good amount of light. Looking forward to trying one out, when the slow boat from China comes in.
Looks to me like they are being brave and actually specifying that the optical power output totals 4500 mW (so each of the three lenses delivers 1500 mW) while also listing electrical power input at 10 W. From your first aliexpress link:
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD]Power[/TD]
[TD]10W[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]IR output[/TD]
[TD]4500mW[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
I think it's brave of them because the industry standard is to mention only power input, and usually lie about it too. If you take those numbers at face value it means their IR LEDs are > 45% efficient. That is possible; the Osram Oslon Black SFH 4715A claims 48%
Anyway, bottom line from your video it clearly puts out a good amount of light. Looking forward to trying one out, when the slow boat from China comes in.
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Update: Well I did have to be clever and try a different model than nayr recommended. I got this http://www.ebay.com/itm/111722615701 label says L50RK and claims "3.6 W power, 3000 mW IR output". It draws 0.36 A at 12.0 V = 4.3 watts so the first part is nearly right, but the IR output spec cannot be true as current technology does not permit a ~70% efficient LED. This model has only one lens, and inside it looks like just one chip. It does focus down to a pretty tight spot. Not a high power draw so the aluminum case gets only a little warm: after 1 hour in still air ambient 20 C, the case reaches 32 C. There is a 1/4-20 threaded hole in the case, so you can mount with any standard camera hardware.
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Re: IR Cannon compared with 6-LED flood
Sample photos with Dahua 4MP box cam at 1/100 shutter, Gain=50, 3D NR Off. IR Lights are spot: L50RK as mentioned above from ebay, and wide: Univivi U06R from Amazon. There is a dim streetlight overhead. Cars are about 50 feet away from my two IR lights. Spot is at maybe 80% focused here; at 100% the beam gets about half this size. Note the light I'm calling wide or flood is actually still pretty directional.
Spot Light: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111722615701
Wide Light: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M3O5ERK
None but streetlight: Wide only: Spot only: Spot + Wide:
I could make the image look a light brighter with longer shutter and higher gain, but then it's not really useful due to noise and motion blur.
Sample photos with Dahua 4MP box cam at 1/100 shutter, Gain=50, 3D NR Off. IR Lights are spot: L50RK as mentioned above from ebay, and wide: Univivi U06R from Amazon. There is a dim streetlight overhead. Cars are about 50 feet away from my two IR lights. Spot is at maybe 80% focused here; at 100% the beam gets about half this size. Note the light I'm calling wide or flood is actually still pretty directional.
Spot Light: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111722615701
Wide Light: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M3O5ERK
None but streetlight: Wide only: Spot only: Spot + Wide:
I could make the image look a light brighter with longer shutter and higher gain, but then it's not really useful due to noise and motion blur.
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its got a built in dusk/dawn sensor, runs all night.. i dunno why you'd want to trigger it to come on/off, its not like they take much power.
Your PoE Switch is 48vdc, this operates on 12vdc.. you'll need something like these and power you camera off its 12v plug too
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M5U4OFA
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Q8IKRE
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M5U4OFA
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Q8IKRE
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Don't expect it fast... I ordered this light cannon from Aliexpress on Oct. 18, so it's been 22 days so far, and nothing yet...
CCTV 5 90 Adjustable Focus 4500mW Surveillance IR Illuminator LED Array 850nm 10 100M-in CCTV Accessories from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
I also ordered this, slightly different model from Ebay, and it came in 13 days.
CCTV 5-90° Adjustable Focus 3000mW Surveillance IR Illuminator LED Array 850nm | eBay
CCTV 5 90 Adjustable Focus 4500mW Surveillance IR Illuminator LED Array 850nm 10 100M-in CCTV Accessories from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
I also ordered this, slightly different model from Ebay, and it came in 13 days.
CCTV 5-90° Adjustable Focus 3000mW Surveillance IR Illuminator LED Array 850nm | eBay
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It took 32 days to get here, but arrive it did (this one). In case anyone is interested, there are three LEDs inside. They are in series, 1.18 A runs through each one, Vf = 1.8V each for total 5.4 V, so total power into LEDs is 1.18 * 5.4 = 6.4 watts. Almost the entire interior volume is one large cylindrical heatsink. External DC power draw is 0.71 A at 12.0 V or 8.5 W, so the internal DC-DC step-down converter is 75% efficient. The LEDs have integral 60-degree lenses, that combines with the external lenses on the front face to make the beam.
I would like to find those single-die 1.2-amp 850nm LEDs sold separately, but I haven't seen them. If it was the common 700 mA type being run really hard, I'd expect a higher Vf.
EDIT: Well now, I take that back. I tried out one of these (850nm on heatsink)3W Infrared IR 850nm 940nm 60 90 140degree Chip High Power LED Emitter with | eBay at 1.18 A and measured Vf = 1.65 V so it's even lower. But they spec 700 mA and ebay is hardly known for understating the spec. I wonder how long I can get away with that current.
I would like to find those single-die 1.2-amp 850nm LEDs sold separately, but I haven't seen them. If it was the common 700 mA type being run really hard, I'd expect a higher Vf.
EDIT: Well now, I take that back. I tried out one of these (850nm on heatsink)3W Infrared IR 850nm 940nm 60 90 140degree Chip High Power LED Emitter with | eBay at 1.18 A and measured Vf = 1.65 V so it's even lower. But they spec 700 mA and ebay is hardly known for understating the spec. I wonder how long I can get away with that current.
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Mine is here, so 17 days after ordering in the 11:11 action.
I expected it to be larger, but than again Nayr put it in a birdhouse. Better small indeed to hide it somewhere.
Will test if it works, and than it has to wait a while till i am moved and than i can install it on my garage roof which has free sight on the entry road to the street where our houses are built.
So it should be easy to catch all licence plates from people entering and or leaving the street.
It is other cheaper type i got: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bWGGJJWs
I expected it to be larger, but than again Nayr put it in a birdhouse. Better small indeed to hide it somewhere.
Will test if it works, and than it has to wait a while till i am moved and than i can install it on my garage roof which has free sight on the entry road to the street where our houses are built.
So it should be easy to catch all licence plates from people entering and or leaving the street.
It is other cheaper type i got: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bWGGJJWs
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Has anyone had any failures with these units? I'm thinking of picking one up but at $60USD per...
Mine's still OK, but it's only been running for 1 month, and it's cold outside now. I assume failures would happen more in summertime due to heat.