LED vs IR lighting

[polaris]

It seems that some new cameras are providing visible spectrum LED lighting exclusively. Do you think it's a good option compared to IR for outdoor home surveillance? I am a bit worried that it might not be as affective as IR.

 

[bigredfish]

They have their niche I think. I have a black hole at my entry door and we keep it lit up and in color at night. Its a nice backup to know that if the white lights dont come on for whatever reason, the camera's LED's will take over.

(remember to change Youtube player to 1080p)

 

[TonyR]

+1 there @bigredfish .

Do you think it's a good option compared to IR for outdoor home surveillance?

I do and I like having the choice.

I am a bit worried that it might not be as affective as IR.

IR won't allow color rendition, visible LED will.
IR allows stealth, visible LED does not.

Again, and for me, it's about having the choice to better suit the application.

If one has a decent low-light camera without integrated visible LEDs one could just mount a visible LED flood next to it an achieve much of the same effect, perhaps with wider and/or deeper coverage.