Pros and cons of IR floodlights?

[ipmania]

Some cameras have built-in IR LEDs. I'm sure their range isn't good.

How well do IR floodlights complement recent model cameras? I'm assuming the video will still be in B&W but will be clearer, right? And will frame rates and shutter speeds go up because of the better illumination?

Aside from the additional cost, what could the downsides be? Are they high wattage and consume lots of electricity?

Importantly, would they glow red, however faintly or not, thus giving away their position?

 

[sebastiantombs]

Yes, they glow red and are visible from acute angles but not from obtuse angles. They will light things up significantly. I have a 30 watt in the backyard that lets the cameras see out to about 220 feet. In terms of power you can pick what you want. I also have a bunch of seven watt units so I don't need the IR in the cameras which attract bugs to the lens areas. Just mount them a foot or two away and it eliminates the bug/rain/snow problems. The down side is that the intensity isn't controlled by the camera so when something gets close it can get washout due to excessive IR lighting.

 

[Steve.L]

There is such a thing as "too much" IR, which can result in washout of your images. You really should confirm that your cam IR is inadequate before exploring supplemental illumination. And, no, IR per se won't increase FPS and shutter, that's up to you to tune as required.

 

[ipmania]

Could the problem of IR overexposure be dealt with more numerous but lower-powered lights spread around the area I want monitored? Or one that is powerful and casts a wide beam but which is situated high up (rooftop perhaps)?

 

[wittaj]

The biggest newbie mistake is assuming more FPS is better.

Shutter speed is more important. Shutter speed is what gets the clean freeze frame photo, not FPS. I am capturing plates at night at 8FPS where the car is in the image for less than a second - why - because the shutter speed is 1/2000.

Now of course if you have more light whether it be visible or infrared, it does allow one to run faster shutters. That is good. But placement of external IR and distance from camera to object come into play to not get a completely washed out face.

No reason to run more than 15FPS, and many us have cams running at 10 to 12 FPS. Movies for the big screen are shot at 24FPS, so I do not think we need 30FPS for these cameras and to view on our phones and monitors LOL. The goal is to get a clean image, not smooth motion.

Sure 30FPS can provide a smoother video but no police officer has said "wow that person really is running smooth". They want the ability to freeze frame and get a clean image. So be it if the video is a little choppy....and at 10-15FPS it won't be appreciable. My neighbor runs his at 60FPS, so the person or car goes by looking smooth, but it is a blur when trying to freeze frame it because the camera can't keep up. Meanwhile my cameraat 15FPS with the proper shutter speed gets the clean shots.

Watch these, for most of us, it isn't annoying until below 10FPS

 

[ipmania]

Great visual proof that more than 15fps is a waste if one has to bend over backwards to try to achieve it. From my eyes, 10 fps looks sufficient and maybe I'll aim for 15.

 

[nbstl68]

What are typical \best ways to power a secondary IR source external from the camera? (not including running a 2nd CAT run.) If you are like me, you have a CAT 5 cable powering the camera where there are no outlets. I have seen splitters to break out the data and power but of course would need power to both the camera and the IR light. If I can get data to the cam and power to both through 1 cable, would I then need a POE + switch to provide the additional load?

 

[sebastiantombs]

You have to watch the total power load on the line. You may need PoE++ with bigger IR floods. The biggest problem becomes finding a splitter with enough power output. Most are rated, optimistically, at two amps/24 watts total.

I simply pull a 16/2 or 18/2, depending on length, to where I want an IR flood and use the appropriate wall wart. Never have to worry about power or splitters that way.

 

[tigerwillow1]

If you have an extra POE port available you can wire that to the 2 otherwise unused pairs in the ethernet cable, and connect it to a splitter on the far end to power the IR light. I'm doing that in one camera location. The extra port and 2 cable pairs power only the IR light.