Optimize 5241E-Z12E Night @ 225'

[TVille]

I have a Dahua 5241E-Z12E used for watching the problem child apartments down from me. The trash cans are 225' away, the near side of the building is 200' and the farthest apartment is 250' away. Daytime is fine. Night time I am struggling with. The area is fairly well lit, between house lights, street lights, and Christmas lights. But it is not a bright scene, just enough to walk through and not trip. Am I asking too much from the camera?

Here is a video from last night. IPCT Guy with gun This is not the same guy with the AR looking BB gun.


Here are my current settings. IR light doesn't seem to make much difference at this distance. I have tried it with 100/100 and it adds a little bit of glare from reflections. And a ton of glare off the road sign!!





Any and all recommendations warmly accepted!!

 

[looney2ns]

Appears to be a problem with focus. Are you using manual focus?

 

[TVille]

Appears to be a problem with focus. Are you using manual focus?

Yes. I have the DahuaSunrise app set the focus each sunrise and sunset. I'll check on that and make sure it is as sharp as I can get it tonight.

 

[user8963]

hmm what do you expect with these settings ? you are turning contrast up and then brightness too ? is there any sense by doing this ?

can you post a video/screen with all sliders 50 without BLC?

 

[TVille]

hmm what do you expect with these settings ? you are turning contrast up and then brightness too ? is there any sense by doing this ?

can you post a video/screen with all sliders 50 without BLC?

When left at 50, it is too dark to show any details. I'll get a video later tonight at straight 50. With manual shutter, it will be dark.

 

[user8963]

if its too dark, then brighten it with software will not help you..

but i dont understand how it can be too dark, IR light for far is at 50.. so turn it up..

if there are reflecting objects like streetsigns sure they will reflect IR light..

 

[sebastiantombs]

You can privacy mask off any highly reflective signs or objects.

 

[bigredfish]

yeah first blush I'd get rid of BLC and turn Far IR to max 100
Id set image controls to 50 and play with Gain and Iris one at a time.
Its soft, any DNR over 50 will induce some blur, and thats compounded by Sharpness so low at 15.

Like to see a daytime image as @looney2ns mentions it doesnt appear to be a perfect focus.

FWIW in my experience you're at the edge of effective range with that camera and its onboard IR. I've also had focus issues with it and the older 5231 at max zoom

 

[Alaska Country]

Experiment with the backlight settings. Say off, and see if it brings up the brightness level of your image. Try HLC at 50 or lower to just take the glare off of auto headlights.

IMO your shutter speed is too slow to capture motion at 1/60 second. Like to see that at 1/125 ( 8 ms) or 1/250 (4 ms) if possible depending on available light.