IR Illuminators in 2019

[xyz%]

Are additional IR illuminators necessary in 2019 as cameras have improved their IR?
Opinions please.
I have read different opinions on this forum but some are back a few years.

 

[TonyR]

Additional or outboard IR emitters can be of benefit when:

• The onboard do not provide quite enough range and/or width of coverage
• The onboard IR has been disabled in an effort to reduce spider & insect attraction at the lens
• The onboard IR has been disabled because of the camera's location causing nearby wall/surface or object bounce-back or glare

 

[tigerwillow1]

My current opinion (only for Dahua fixed and varifocal cameras, bullet and turret):
The internal IR has a significant center hotspot.
Internal IR attracts bugs and spiders.

I'm not trying to say the internal IR is useless, or that external fixes everything. I for instance sometimes have a spider crawling over the lens of a camera that uses neither internal or external IR.

 

[0658]

Like Tigerwillow above I agree, but for Hikvision and Clones of Hikvision. In addition the longer ranges need an additional IR source. The Turrets are better than the bullets for IR in my opinion.

You must be careful in selecting IR Emitters, most of them, especially the small round ones are like a spotlight, a very tight illumination area.

 

[stratfordwill]

I added separate IR illuminators to my system this year. They are a significant upgrade for me. I would encourage anyone pulling cable for an IP system to consider pulling a few extra cables for IR illuminators (mine are above and behind the cameras).

 

[bp2008]

I would say that the need for extra IR has decreased as cameras have improved, however there still are reasons to use IR illuminators ... which @TonyR has listed.

I will say however that IR isn't the only reason bugs love cameras. They are all over mine during the day in the summer months. Less at night actually because by then it has cooled off and they've all tucked themselves away somewhere.

 

[Valiant]

Illuminators still have their place. You can run an even faster shutter speed to reduce motion blur.

 

[105437]

I have illuminators for each of the Dahua 5231s at each corner of my house. Here's the difference I see with mine.

 

[TonyR]

I have illuminators for each of the Dahua 5231s at each corner of my house. Here's the difference I see with mine.

Yep, they can make a positive difference in many cases!

 

[mech]

Also, when the camera is looking down the beam of a light source, infrared or otherwise, stuff tends to look flat. Facial contours and details will stand out in contrast if the illumination is coming from an offset angle. If your objective isn't to light up reflective stuff (like license plates) then that's another bonus to having your IR or visible light coming from maybe 30 degrees off-axis.

 

[xyz%]

I have illuminators for each of the Dahua 5231s at each corner of my house. Here's the difference I see with mine.

What type of IR, is it the large array LED or the millions of small LED's?

 

[105437]

What type of IR, is it the large array LED or the millions of small LED's?

Tendelux 80ft IR Illuminator
AI4 No Hot Spot Wide Angle Infrared Light for Security Camera

 

[bigredfish]

I’m also a fan of Tendelux

 

[bradner]

Like Tigerwillow above I agree, but for Hikvision and Clones of Hikvision. In addition the longer ranges need an additional IR source. The Turrets are better than the bullets for IR in my opinion.

You must be careful in selecting IR Emitters, most of them, especially the small round ones are like a spotlight, a very tight illumination area.

I use external illuminators on problem cams (bugs...) and put photographic diffuser gel on the glass to reduce the spotlight effect.

 

[xyz%]

Does anyone have a link for large LED vs multiple small LEDS performance, pros and cons? I'm struggling to find anything

 

[105437]

Does anyone have a link for large LED vs multiple small LEDS performance, pros and cons? I'm struggling to find anything

My personal experience with the same form factor as the one I posted above except for using multiple small LEDs, is that it started failing LEDs after about a month. After about 6 of the LEDs were dead, I returned it and went with Tendlux. I've had these running at the new house since April and no issues.

 

[xyz%]

My personal experience with the same form factor as the one I posted above except for using multiple small LEDs, is that it started failing LEDs after about a month. After about 6 of the LEDs were dead, I returned it and went with Tendlux. I've had these running at the new house since April and no issues.

thanks for the reply. I will look at the 8-12 LED arrays. Thanks again.

 

[bigredfish]

I have the 200ft Tendelux mounted at the entrance to our neighborhood for the LPR camera at 120ft and its been fine for 2 years.

 

[iseeker]

@bigredfish - what version is your 200ft tendelux? Any recent suggestions on IR illuminators for an LPR camera trying to capture plates at 110' - ish?

 

[bigredfish]

BI18