More recent IR illuminator recommendations?

[SJGUSMC21]

Like I said, the blaster has been up for over a year and a half with no problems. No LEDs burned out at all. I will say the dusk/dawn switch is a little funky in that the light flickers a few times both when turning on and shutting off.

I stand by what I said regarding the coverage of the smaller one. I have one mounted on the back corner of the house and it throws IR out to at least 40, if not 50 feet. I am using Dahua cameras, 2MP with 1/2.8" sensors, and that can make a significant difference when compared to a consumer grade 4MP on a 1/3" sensor which could easily account for apparent illumination differences.

I just bought one of these and find the beam is more like a spotlight than a floodlight. Much narrower and may project a bit further as a result of that. I think it's a function of how many LEDs are in use compared to the others I have.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MX63RX3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

I have 4 of these and they are around 1.5 years old (under eaves, so they are protected from the rain). They are all still working, and they are more focused (which is what I wanted) then area coverage.

 

[NorthBendDave]

Just ordered 2 (an IR30 and an IR40) to illuminate dim areas in my yard. Just had a bobcat (?) kill a rabbit in the dark area of the yard. All I could see was the eyeballs just outside the camera IR.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

the tricky part is getting enough light in the distance without washing out and overexposing the foreground.

 

[Rob2020]

One of my plans for the coming year is to pick up and install an Axton from B&H Photo.

Yes, expensive but if you have high quality cameras having a high quality illuminator seems appropriate.

OEM

 

[JesseSR]

I used all 3 of these in the past, very recently (though I switched out to all-color 4K-X cams so I don't really need them anymore, but I'm still using the larges of the 3 below, for the remaining 5442 I still have)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MTXSJP9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZX1M88/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004F9LF7E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I agree with @Left Coast Geek that it can be hard getting the IR not to wash out the foreground while getting it to light the more distant area you need.

 

[Davahad]

One of my outdoor cameras really needs some help with light. I’m looking to add an IR illuminator but I’m really struggling to find one that doesn’t have reviews that are trash, or is recommended within at least the last 3 years. The FAQs here are recommendations from 2018 and I have to imagine there are newer options. Was looking at some of the CMvision ones on Amazon and half the reviews say it’s the best thing since sliced bread, the others say they might as well ship them straight to the landfill. Was also looking at some of the univivi ones and they’re kind of same deal.

What are folks using that they like and have lasted longer than one year? Not restricted by POE as I can run separate 12v power.

Get the Axton expensive but has 3 leds, poe power, and lifetime warranty. Have 3 of these now and they are much more uniform and brighter than the stuff on Amazon.

MegaPixel PoE Powered IR Illuminators, Outdoor IP67 Waterproof

MegaPixel PoE Powered IR Floodlights for Security Cameras CCTV, I/O Port device Activate, Auto Day/Night | LIFETIME WARRANTY, USA Made by AXTON

axtontech.com

 

[Rob2020]

Get the Axton expensive but has 3 leds, poe power, and lifetime warranty. Have 3 of these now and they are much more uniform and brighter than the stuff on Amazon.

MegaPixel PoE Powered IR Illuminators, Outdoor IP67 Waterproof

MegaPixel PoE Powered IR Floodlights for Security Cameras CCTV, I/O Port device Activate, Auto Day/Night | LIFETIME WARRANTY, USA Made by AXTON

axtontech.com

There is an Axton thread in the archives, not sure if it was Member Davahad or someone else but the review was really positive. One thing that stood out was the person talked to the factory and they were very helpful in steering him to the right product based on his specific situation.

ETA Found the review adding it here.

Axton Review

 

[Davahad]

There is an Axton thread in the archives, not sure if it was Member Davahad or someone else but the review was really positive. One thing that stood out was the person talked to the factory and they were very helpful in steering him to the right product based on his specific situation.

ETA Found the review adding it here.

Axton Review

That was me that did the review and bought initial emitter for LPR which works great. Since added 2 more and the link I provided with the
MegaPixel 11E are what I am using. Bought through B&H.

 

[looney2ns]

I have had one of these up since Nov 2018, still works fine: Here.

I have one of these up since Feb 2018, still works fine: here

This one since April 2018, still works fine: here

My first foray into IR illumination I believe was this one: Here
It was up about a year, until I replaced it with one of the others mentioned above.
I replaced it because I checked at about 4 months and found if half full of water, but still worked.
The front half screws onto the back half. I discovered that it wasn't screwed tight, and also the cable entering into the back was not sealed properly.
Since then, if I purchase a new one, I take it apart to confirm it was properly water proofed at the factory.

I always mount the wall warts that power them, in the garage and run cable from there to the light. And use dielectric grease in the outdoor power connection and protect it from rain.

I think people on amazon that complain about them not having much distance is because they have left the camera on auto, and not taken the time to properly tune the camera's settings. Or properly test the IR mounting location prior to installing permanently. Location of the mounting does count.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

I have a Microlight IR Helios 30 degree spotlight, that works very nicely and is nicely made. I've had it 4 months now, so can't talk about long term reliability yet. the light quality is very good, even 30 degree cone with well defined edges, almost no illumination outside that.
...

and a few months later, after some wet weather, the not-cheap Microlight died They are made in Russia, and have been unobtanium

I need a 30 degree max cone illuminator to match a 12mm lens on a 1/1.8 cam, and one thats got nice even light but isn't too bright as my Dahua 5442 is plenty sensitive.

 

[33696933]

and a few months later, after some wet weather, the not-cheap Microlight died They are made in Russia, and have been unobtanium

I need a 30 degree max cone illuminator to match a 12mm lens on a 1/1.8 cam, and one thats got nice even light but isn't too bright as my Dahua 5442 is plenty sensitive.

Theres a common6 led light style that come in a variety of narrow angles. Or you could buy one of those style lights and replace the 20mm TIR optics with angles you want

 

[Revo2Maxx]

I have been using iluminar IR for years on some of my locations. IR623-2 is 5 years warranty. They have other IR also offered in 30degree and have lower warranty offering from 1 year to 3 years and even a 2 year model so they have option. They also offer 850nm and 940nm models and they also offer POE models. Again better quality higher warranty.. Maybe something to check out. IR623-2 Series | Long Range IR illuminator for CCTV Security Camera Maybe they have something that will last. I have had some now for 10 years seeing some of my PTZ cameras didn't come with IR..

 

[Left Coast Geek]

Theres a common6 led light style that come in a variety of narrow angles. Or you could buy one of those style lights and replace the 20mm TIR optics with angles you want

um, huh? can you bet a little more specific? are you saying I should build my own waterproof enclosure and optics? and can you reference a source for these 'common led types' that are narrow angle ?

 

[Left Coast Geek]

I have been using iluminar IR for years on some of my locations. IR623-2 is 5 years warranty. They have other IR also offered in 30degree and have lower warranty offering from 1 year to 3 years and even a 2 year model so they have option. They also offer 850nm and 940nm models and they also offer POE models. Again better quality higher warranty.. Maybe something to check out. IR623-2 Series | Long Range IR illuminator for CCTV Security Camera Maybe they have something that will last. I have had some now for 10 years seeing some of my PTZ cameras didn't come with IR..

so I honed in on the IRC132-A30-24 for my application and they are $150 lights? eeek.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1078388-REG/iluminar_irc132_a30_24_30o_99_30m_850nm.html

The IR148-A30-24-2 is even more expensive.

 

[Revo2Maxx]

Yes as I said they were not cheap the 623 are even more costly.. The 132 has 2 year warranty and is on the budget side of the family.. One of the White LED models I paid 549 on sale as open box model lol The WL436..

 

[Left Coast Geek]

why would you spend $500+ on a white light when there are so many common sources of white light ?

 

[Revo2Maxx]

You are correct there are many different types of options and I even tried to build a few of my own before I gave up and gave in buying a long range WL light.. So yeah I have maybe 40 or so failed LED in Cob format, little SMD 5w leds and hundreds of little star cob plates, I bought 100w and 150w cob leds with and without the plates and glass, I changed out an old glass tube light installing a 3 100w cobs and ran 3 drivers. I found that the LEDs either burn out to fast or had some issues that just didn't work for building my own. So I bought some crazy offroad Cree LEDS and just didn't offer good enough results for my needs. *Mainly with the Offroad LEDS it was over powering and no adjustment outside of the 2 options of Wide not so bright to the full on Overly bright, So The WL LED light has a couple adjustments on the light for power and to help setup when the LED turns on. So yeah didn't want to pay full price and I had an email with the offering of the Open Box so I thought it was 100 or so less then full price and I had just got fed up with all the messing around trying to get something to work correctly. Kind of the same reason I paid a crazy price for a 22x bullet camera with 6.5 ~ 143 mm when I have PTZ cameras that are up to 32x lol. Something to do.. To be honest PTZ in that location was over kill seeing pan or tilt of the camera would just see woods so needed a camera that could see the gate from the installed location and other cameras that I had in Bullet format was not good enough, I mean I have 20x zoom Samsung SNZ-5200 box camera but it is only 1.3mp and after using it there for a couple of years with yeah a costly IR blaster lol I wanted a camera with better options.. So now there is a 4mp 1/1.8" bullet camera doing its job. The only thing I miss is the Presets.. I mean I have a Few TVI cameras that are 10x with presets that are big bullet cameras I don't understand why no one has put presets in large Ip Zoom cameras lol. I mean yes I know PTZ have Presets but again my TVI bullet cameras have presets just saying..