Yes the entry level thermal we are selling, working bit good!
Have a review here.
Have a review here.
Looking for low-light camera recommendation to use as navigation aid on a boat
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bigredfish
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Its very dark back there. Theres a street light 100 yds behind me but its old and ridiculously weak and is obscured by trees, 2 houses and around a bend in the street. No moon or stars as we're extremely overcast with a storm front having just moved in
The iphone pic is pretty close to what my eyes see.
The camera picks up light incredibly well, but yes at those settings you're going to see some motion blur. I think you will with the BoatEye360 as well, but I'm betting he's using an even bigger sensor.
Personally I would go with a thermal.
At the high gain and slow shutter you would have to run, anything moving may not show up, and since you are the one moving, it could be problematic seeing something stationary on the water.
The invisible man, where can he be. Thank goodness he is carrying around a reflective plate to see where he is LOL (hint - the person is literally in the middle of the image at the end of the fence holding a rectangular reflective piece of metal).
I've seen better images on an episode of ghost hunters
Here is link to a thread of many that shows the disappointment of many thinking a ColorVu camera was magic and could defy physics. Full Color type cameras are great if you have light, but will be horrible if you do not have enough light.
Hikvision ColorVu
At the high gain and slow shutter you would have to run, anything moving may not show up, and since you are the one moving, it could be problematic seeing something stationary on the water.
The invisible man, where can he be. Thank goodness he is carrying around a reflective plate to see where he is LOL (hint - the person is literally in the middle of the image at the end of the fence holding a rectangular reflective piece of metal).
I've seen better images on an episode of ghost hunters
Here is link to a thread of many that shows the disappointment of many thinking a ColorVu camera was magic and could defy physics. Full Color type cameras are great if you have light, but will be horrible if you do not have enough light.
Hikvision ColorVu
Mike A.
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I've hooked up IP cams to my Lowrance units just to see it work and I could but I've not tried it on the water at night. I'm guessing that you're referencing this thread?
Looking at the video here: I'd think that the Dahau 1/1.2 sensor cams would be about the same with the same about of light. Set it on auto and let it do as best as it can. If there's decent moonlight or other ambient lighting you'll be able to see as shown there. You're not concerned as much with motion blur as we are for security purposes. You can see how marginal the quality is relative to what we're going for and that still seems acceptable for the purpose. Build quality isn't the same but you can replace a bunch of them for the difference in price.
Looking at the video here: I'd think that the Dahau 1/1.2 sensor cams would be about the same with the same about of light. Set it on auto and let it do as best as it can. If there's decent moonlight or other ambient lighting you'll be able to see as shown there. You're not concerned as much with motion blur as we are for security purposes. You can see how marginal the quality is relative to what we're going for and that still seems acceptable for the purpose. Build quality isn't the same but you can replace a bunch of them for the difference in price.
If you get an IR capable camera, get an IR spotlight or two. They’ll help light up the area, but only your cameras and anyone with Night Vision capabilities will be the only ones to see it.
bigredfish
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Yep I watched that before I did the test images. I think comparable. (I still think he's using a bigger sensor) but the advantage of visible light is you can see things in the water that are the same temp as the water, or close, that thermals wouldn't.
Obviously it comes down to needing multiple cameras! Id do the visible light AND a thermal. But by the time you're done, it may have been just as cheap to be a good quality FLIR
bigredfish
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While we would normally say "don't chase MegaPixels" in this case Yes. The 1/1.2" sensor is the best at picking up light.
There is another camera I mentioned, very new that I dont have that may be a contender. It has upgraded SOC and is supposedly VERY good at light pickup.
But We need to see a test similar to mine in complete darkness
I got my hands on one of those Color4K Dahua cameras, and I am looking for some input on what settings to change in order to get the best possible low-light performance in motion.
I've been experimenting with some settings on my own for the past few days, but I don't fully understand many of the options and I am hoping that you can steer me in the right direction. I am happy to share my current settings, or reset the camera to default and start over.
I've been experimenting with some settings on my own for the past few days, but I don't fully understand many of the options and I am hoping that you can steer me in the right direction. I am happy to share my current settings, or reset the camera to default and start over.
Mike A.
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For use on a boat as in this thread or more generally? As talked about here, under Exposure I'd try mode set to auto to start. That will automatically adjust shutter and gain to try to get the best image. The downside of that is that without much light it will tend to take shutter speed low and gain high so you'll have more motion blur. With a more static scene you can go with manual shutter/gain settings to try to balance that better but not sure how that might work on a boat with a changing scene. As above, don't think you're as concerned with some blur for this application; rather, you mostly want maximum visibility even if there's some blur. You can play with exposure compensation to push the exposure and brighten the image. I'd leave the backlighting options alone to start. Once you have that pretty good, under Picture you can use brightness/contrast/gamma to fine tune things a little better. Take sharpness down low to 20s. Leave the onboard lights set to off. They won't do anything for you.
Yes, specifically for use on a boat, in low light conditions. You're correct that blur isn't as much of a concern for my application, since I am not trying to get super high detail out of the image, it just has to be good enough to spot objects in the water (for. ex lobster pot markers, mooring balls, small skiffs/kayaks, etc). Thank you for your help, I will spend some time this evening looking at the settings that you mentioned.
I have two related questions, regarding the custom profiles, such as "day", "bright light", "low illumination", etc as opposed to leaving the camera in default:
1. Should iI use one of those profiles as a starting point? The "low illumination" seems to provide a better image in low light conditions based on my limited testing
2. I noticed the the camera doesn't save, or at least doesn't display any custom settings/adjustments within a set profile upon re-login - is this expected behavior or a firmware bug? In other words, I can set the camera to "low illumination" and change a bunch of things, such as color, brightness, sharpness, contrast, etc, but next time I log in, I do not see the changes I made, and everything shows with default values within the profile. Also, within the menu, the camera always default to the "Day" profile. Long story short, I can't tell if this is just a visualization issue or the profile settings are getting saved.
Mike A.
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My Color4K cams are older and don't have those profiles so no direct experience using them on that cam. I've only tried them to test briefly on one cam that I have and that was within a schedule. Not sure if you can set them up for customization and general selection outside of that. I think that the settings for those profiles may be predefined and fixed but I don't know that to be fact. In any case, they're going to do the same thing as setting various parameters yourself. i.e., There's no magic built into them that you can't get to otherwise. If you can't get them to stick within those, then just use the normal Day/Night/whatever profile. Also, make sure you hit save which I'm famous for forgetting to do after making changes on Dahau cams. Some cams are sensitive to browser so try to double check with Explorer if you can.
bigredfish
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I think those are predefined and you dont want them (I dont use them)
You want to define your own
Choose "Customized Scene" at top
Next go to bottom and define day and night by using the sliders
Something like this
Next
On settings, its trial and error. Each scene is different as is your tolerance for noise (DNR)
Here's the settings, or close, to what I showed earlier in this thread
Using the drop down top right of "Profile" choose Night
These are just to get you in the ballpark
NO Backlight
NO Illuminator (unless you choose to)
Then last go to the stream Encode settings. Start here. You may want to back down bitrate but dont go below 10,240
CCTVCam
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I think the bigger issue here you might be missing is the waterproofing aspect. Cameras on a boat will be constantly soaked in Saltwater, sometimes under pressure if a big wave strikes. I'm guessing that's the big difference between the commercially available cameras designed specifically for marine use, and what you'd get if you bought a general CCTV camera. The latter is unlikely to be as well sealed, likely more susceptible to pentration of moisture from the damp high humidity environment, not protected from salt corrosion internally or out etc. I can't confess to know how they differ. But it wouldn't surprise me if the internals of a marine camera were "potted" with potting compound and if the coatings weren't much tougher and connections gold palted etc to resist salt water corrosion. One clue might be found by comparing the weights of comparable marine and land versions. Another way might be just ask a marine dealer how they differ. You may or may not get a truthful answer, but it might at least give a clue you could research.
If I take a wave over the bow, big enough to strike the camera mounted on my hardtop, I will have much bigger problems to worry about
Joking aside, you make completely valid points. For me, this is more or less an experiment and I am willing to take the chance.
Flintstone61
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Some changes save better using different browsers according to @wittaj and many others on here. Like Pale Moon 32 or Internet Explorer, or IE mode in Chrome.
CCTVCam
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If I take a wave over the bow, big enough to strike the camera mounted on my hardtop, I will have much bigger problems to worry about
Depends how big your boat is. If you've ever watched the spectacle of haulover inlet on Youtube, you'll know how easy it is to get spray up to quite a height from even a modest wave if you bury the bow a little. I don't think you need an entire wave to wipe out the camera, just a bit of high pressure spray or even general saltwater moist atmosphere if it's not sealed tight which you're going to get just from the proximity to the coast never mind sailing on it. However, if you're prepared to experiment then why not. I don't blame you. Dedicated boat cameras are expensive. If you can find a camera that stands up to the test of time in a saltwater environment, then that's a victory right there.
We know the 4K-X can take a little water
bigredfish
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I’ve got quite a few that have survived the last 4-5 hurricanes just fine
CCTVCam
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The question is saltwater though. It's the corrosive aspect that's the issue as connections can soon become completely corroded or high resistance. I wouldn't be too worried about the casing but the electronics ie soldered connections / push fit electrical connectors / copper tracks on circuit boards.