where to buy Outdoor low-light security cams

electron said:
If there is one thing I learnt with these onboard IR LED's, is that my next cam won't have them. I will just get a really low lux cam, and install external IR pods. This allows you to define the range as far as you want (just install more pods), and avoid the 'halo' effect.
Click to expand...
electron,

Can you give me some more details? I've just started to look into getting cams, and was planning to get some color IR ones (gotta have all the features, right? :( but I was not aware of the "halo" effect. What is that?

So, if you could do it over again, what cams would you choose?


Do they make tiny IR pods that you can stash inconspicuously (i.e. just beside/behind the cam) without cluttering the front door area?
 
I would look for the camera with the best chipset and a really low LUX rating. Since I was looking for the IR LED feature as well, my search was pretty limited to just a few cams. I have a VisionTech camera right now, and it is a great cam, no complaints there, but I probably could have gotten better if I didn't require that feature.

As for those pods, Martin sells them (haven't tried them yet tho):
http://www.automatedoutlet.com/product.php...6&cat=11&page=1

You could install these in several locations, I don't think they have to be where the camera is (just treat it like a spotlight).

As for camera recommendations, I will leave that up to the people with more experience.

I will try to take a snapshot when it gets dark tonight, so you can see the halo effect. Basically, the IR LED's are mounted around the round lens, so in some cases, you can see the projection of a big white circle on your driveway.
 
OK, my DigiNet site is up and running and temporarily open to the public to check it out. You can access the *link removed* here.

Keep in mind I have slow Cable Internet upload speeds (384 kbps Up). I can tell you, though, that on my LAN I'm achieving 15+fps using the Direct X option :( When I get Verizon FIOS in December with 2 mbps up, frame rates over the internet should be much better :)

You can access via the Pocket PC client available here.

On my Dell Axim x50v (802.11b), I'm getting 4-10 frames per second over the LAN.

All this with less than 10% CPU utilization: 5 cameras, all at 640x480 w/ 30 fps recording 24/7 and detecting motion 24/7.
 
Hi Jeff;

I included a direct link to the camera in your post above. Is your picture in "color" or switched to black and white mode during the night (with the snow on the ground)? Is it a washed out color?

I'm wondering if the camera is right on the threshold of switching to black and white mode with the increased light caused by the snow?

One test (if you have one indoors) is maybe turn it on in a room with a dimmable light and play around with the room light level to see if you can duplicate this problem.
 
I gave the camera another 250mA of power and that fixed it (500mA total). The IR array was drawing too much power for the camera to transmit in night mode. Camera model is still top notch in my opinion, especially for the price.
 
Interesting. I was going to suggest that, but the original description sure made it sound like it worked before it snowed.

I had the opposite problem with a similar IR camera. It worked inside fine, so I moved it outside. It worked outside overnight, Then one morning, I saw it wig out (image went black) in front of my very eyes. It was well after sunrise, so I wasn't sure what the cause was. When turning the power supply on or off, you could very briefly see a good image. I ended up replacing the power supply and it worked fine. I am speculating that the cheaper power supply that I was testing with first was not regulated well enough and when the IR LEDs turned off, the voltage went too high for the camera. The IR LEDs are on well after the camera switches from B/W to color mode.
 
was working fine before it snowed...but the night it snowed I ALSO happened to move all my cameras over to my new Elk power distribution module from AutomatedOutlet. :p Prior, all my cams were connected in parallel to the same 1.5A supply.
 
You definitely need 500mA when using LED's. What power suppy are you using to power the Elk PD9?
 
Quick question related to the $65 camera...
I ordered the camera from DirectSales Inc.(They were out of the $65 one, so I upgraded to the G4SH18DN420, which is the same cam, but with a Sony CCD instead of Sharp)
I also ordered a 50 ft cable. I think there may be something wrong with the cable, but since this is the first experience with BNC cables, I wanted to ask here first.
Here's the cable:
CamCable01.jpg

CamCable02.jpg


The problem is that the output connector on the cable(left one in the pic) doesn't seem to fit. I even tried connecting the camera to each end of the cable(just to see if it would fit). It fit just fine on one end, but not the other. Even after applying a bit of force, I just cannot make it go all the way in.

Am I misunderstanding something, or should both ends be exactly the same size?

Thanks...
 
BNC connectors should all be the same size. AFAIK, there is only one size in common use, the only difference should be gender. But, I have seen some issues with some BNC-RCA adapters I purchased that would not "click in" with some cables I had, so it seems that there is some slop in somebodies manufacturing process.

According to link the G4SH18DN420 is still a Sharp chipset. As I recall, the $65 was a 1/4" CCD, so it appears that you got upgraded to a 1/3" CCD, which is good.

What area of the web site did you find that cable? I missed it. Part number? price?
 
WayneW said:
According to link the G4SH18DN420 is still a Sharp chipset. As I recall, the $65 was a 1/4" CCD, so it appears that you got upgraded to a 1/3" CCD, which is good.

What area of the web site did you find that cable? I missed it. Part number? price?
Click to expand...
Their website has a typo.
This is the camera I got: http://www.intellicamusa.com/G4-S18-DN420.htm

And the cable... I bought it from the same place. I phoned in the order and asked for a 50ft cable. It was $19.
 
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