Vitek Cameras

[electron]

I have had a few Vitek cameras, including ones with the IR LEDs, and never had that halo ring effect. I have had a lot of trouble finding a good camera, even when willing to spend a few hundred dollars :/

 

[Rupp]

Dan and others, these cameras are really good. We just installed 10 of the first camera on this page at work. The quality is very good. As good as I've seen in an IR camera.
http://www.supercircuits.com/Security-Came...curity-Cameras/
( PC332IR-HR )

 

[Steve]

I always thought the best approach was to use a camera without IR. Automate a nearby light or if that's not possible mount a better IR pod near the camera.

 

[Jrock]

I temporarily setup one of the other Viteks on the other side of my house tonight. It has the same halo effect as the one on my driveway but not nearly as bad. The image below is with zero light.

edit: image url was incorrect.

 

[Jrock]

I have had a few Vitek cameras, including ones with the IR LEDs, and never had that halo ring effect. I have had a lot of trouble finding a good camera, even when willing to spend a few hundred dollars :/

Do you happen to know what model cameras? I do not want to spend a few hundred dollars but don't mind spending more money if I am going to get decent quality.

Dan and others, these cameras are really good. We just installed 10 of the first camera on this page at work. The quality is very good. As good as I've seen in an IR camera.
http://www.supercircuits.com/Security-Came...curity-Cameras/
( PC332IR-HR )

How big are those cameras? I am looking for something as small as possible at a reasonable price. Would actually prefer something smaller than the Viteks I got, but their size is acceptable.

 

[KentDub]

About it being washed out -- the halo affect is probebly caused by the light ring... During the day -- do you have contrast & brightness controls you can adjust? The image also looks over-sharpened...

I have brightness, contrast, hue, and saturation controls. I played around with them the other day but was unable to get a better picture.

The center of your screenshot is black, which causes auto-iris controls to brighten the image (washing out everything else)... What does it look like with a more ballanced scene?

I will try swinging the camera around towards the back of the house tomorrow for a more balanced scene.

I think a lot of your problems can be fixed by adjusting your brightness and contrast. Start by resetting both of them to 50% or their middle settings. Then adjust the brightness knob until the black level (that car would be great for this) shows some detail (I.e. not "pure" black) but dosn't look grey. Then adjust your contrast knob until the whites or brightest part of the image is a showing detail, but not "pure" white. The worst part of your Vitek screenshot is the contrast is way too high, after that it's a bit too sharp. The outside night image of the trees has its brightness way too high. Again, black should be black but not pure black, and definatly not grey.

Hope this helps,
Kent

 

[pete_c]

Yesterday replaced one of the outdoor domes with a "commercial" security dome camera. It doesn't have IR's and it has a heater. The dome itself is about 4 times larger than the original one. It does have a heater inside. My wife says it much more noticible than the other one relative to size. The feed on this one is via cat5e buried inside of a PVC pipe and sits around 75 feet or so from the back of the house. Total length of cable is around 100 or so feet to the DVR. This dome cam is a color one as the other one is.

I'll post two snapshots. One from the cheaper color dome with the IRs and the other new one.

 

[Monk]

Google Search

interesting that I can google the PN of this cam and I get only2 hits - one of which is this thread - the other is the manufacturers website....

 

[batwater]

With the IR from the cameras you are going to get somewhat of a "halo effect" no matter what. With a combo unit the best is if the lens is separated from the LEDs, not just a foam ring between the lens barrel and the LEDs against the camera's front glass plate (this is where you can really get a halo as the LEDs refract back into the camera barrel from said glass) but a shield ring that protrudes through the outer glass.

The IR LEDs are situated in a ring around the camera lens and project in a spot light like fashion. This causes a hot spot which can also be perceived as a halo effect depending on the camera's settings and how it adjusts itself for day vs night. None this is absolute and what the IR lighting looks like will depend on the quality of the camera, the distance of the camera from the objects being illuminated, how powerful the IR LEDs are (usually spec'd out as illumination distance) and how reflective the objects are being illuminated. Anything that is close, like the tree limbs in the backyard shot, is going to show up white hot in the image.

Someone else mentioned separate lighting, this is really the optimal way to get a good image at night. Motion floods, street lights, etc, this will give you the best lighting result.
-Ben

 

[russban]

I have had a few Vitek cameras, including ones with the IR LEDs, and never had that halo ring effect. I have had a lot of trouble finding a good camera, even when willing to spend a few hundred dollars :/

I really like the Digital Watchdog Star-Light series of cameras. They are certainly not in the low price category but the high quality of the video and construction (5 year warranty) make them worth it IMHO. They are true day night, and have both bullet and dome models including some with IR also. I have not had a single negative comment on them yet.

 

[WayneW]

Google Search

interesting that I can google the PN of this cam and I get only2 hits - one of which is this thread - the other is the manufacturers website....

That is because the OP had a typo. It is an IRLED24a, not a TRLED24a. Change that one character and you get a lot more hits. Hopefully the OP or a mod can edit the OP?

 

[pete_c]

A question to camera security gurus

The replacement outdoor dome I installed is an Everfocus Model EHD350/H-1. It faces SW.

Everfocus

Right off noticed that my field of view is smaller than previous dome. I need to adjust it a bit.

Noticed that I can adjust a few settings on it and would like some recommendations:

Here are the specs - will most likely unplug the heater.

Pickup Device 1/3†Sony Interline Transfer Super HAD CCD
Video Format NTSC or PAL
Picture Format 768 x 494 (NTSC) / 752 x 582 (PAL)
Horizontal Resolution 560 TVL
Video Output BNC 1.0 Vp-p, 75 ohm
Sensitivity 0.5 Lux/F=1.2
S/N Ratio Over 48dB (AGC Off)
Electronic Shutter 1/50 (1/60) ~ 1/100,000 sec.
Sync. Mode Line Lock/Internal Sync.
Flickerless On/Off switch
Backlight Comp. On/Off switch
Auto Gain Control On/Off switch
Auto White Balance Yes
Gamma Correction 0.45
Iris Level Adjustable
Lens Built-in vari-focal f=9~22mm / f=2.9~10mm
Dimensions (W x H x D) 130 x 98.8 x 130 mm / 5.1†x 3.9†x 5.1â€
Operating Temp. -40°C ~ 50°C / -40°F ~ 122°F
Humidity 20% ~ 80% humidity
Power Source 12VDC/24VAC
Power Consumption With Heater:
24VAC: 20.5W max. / 12VDC: 11.5W max.
Without Heater:
24VAC: 6W max. / 12VDC: 4W max.
Weight 1.7 kg / 3.7 lbs.
Weatherproof IP66 rated
Vandal Resistant Yes

 

[Rupp]

A question to camera security gurus

The replacement outdoor dome I installed is an Everfocus Model EHD350/H-1. It faces SW.

Everfocus

Right off noticed that my field of view is smaller than previous dome. I need to adjust it a bit.

Noticed that I can adjust a few settings on it and would like some recommendations:

Here are the specs - will most likely unplug the heater.

Pickup Device 1/3†Sony Interline Transfer Super HAD CCD
Video Format NTSC or PAL
Picture Format 768 x 494 (NTSC) / 752 x 582 (PAL)
Horizontal Resolution 560 TVL
Video Output BNC 1.0 Vp-p, 75 ohm
Sensitivity 0.5 Lux/F=1.2
S/N Ratio Over 48dB (AGC Off)
Electronic Shutter 1/50 (1/60) ~ 1/100,000 sec.
Sync. Mode Line Lock/Internal Sync.
Flickerless On/Off switch
Backlight Comp. On/Off switch
Auto Gain Control On/Off switch
Auto White Balance Yes
Gamma Correction 0.45
Iris Level Adjustable
Lens Built-in vari-focal f=9~22mm / f=2.9~10mm
Dimensions (W x H x D) 130 x 98.8 x 130 mm / 5.1†x 3.9†x 5.1â€
Operating Temp. -40°C ~ 50°C / -40°F ~ 122°F
Humidity 20% ~ 80% humidity
Power Source 12VDC/24VAC
Power Consumption With Heater:
24VAC: 20.5W max. / 12VDC: 11.5W max.
Without Heater:
24VAC: 6W max. / 12VDC: 4W max.
Weight 1.7 kg / 3.7 lbs.
Weatherproof IP66 rated
Vandal Resistant Yes

It shows the lens as a varifoca (Lens Built-in vari-focal f=9~22mm / f=2.9~10mm
) l so you should be able to adjust the lens to get a wider FOV.

 

[pete_c]

Thanks Rupp.

For a little bit about 30 minutes ago brought a laptop outside but with the sun washed out the picture.

Another thing I noticed is that I can't increase the 640X480 resolution on ZM. Might be related to the 8 chip/8 port video card though.

The camera is much larger than previous dome. The case its in is much sturdier and definitely will hold up in the weather here in the MW. Looks like would I even use one of these in FL in that it might take a little bit longer to get weathered there (salt air from being so close to ocean)

My only experience with this has been on a commercial level managing a video security project and checking video settings with adjustments being done by the security company installing the system.

Golfing this afternoon and raining tonight here so the "adjustments" would most likely have to be done very early in the AM or late in the PM.

Here's a cropped picture. Ideally want to see the lines on the brick distinctly. This is one of two backyard cams. Each about 75-100 from the house on each corner (close) of the property so FOV is about 75% of the house with overlap of each view. I've attached "old" cam cropped view.

 

[Jrock]

I think a lot of your problems can be fixed by adjusting your brightness and contrast. Start by resetting both of them to 50% or their middle settings. Then adjust the brightness knob until the black level (that car would be great for this) shows some detail (I.e. not "pure" black) but dosn't look grey. Then adjust your contrast knob until the whites or brightest part of the image is a showing detail, but not "pure" white. The worst part of your Vitek screenshot is the contrast is way too high, after that it's a bit too sharp. The outside night image of the trees has its brightness way too high. Again, black should be black but not pure black, and definatly not grey.

Hope this helps,
Kent

I adjusted the settings and was able to get a better picture. It is still washed out a bit where the sun is shining, but not as bad as it was.

It is strange though... I have the Bluecherry DVR card/software which has a web view, a windows client, and of course a console view from the server itself. The card also has a composite out which goes to a modulator to feed my TVs. I adjusted the settings using the windows client and they do not save or effect the web view or composite out. The webview is actually giving me the best picture, but can still use some tweaking. I am hoping this can be done at the console, but for some reason my administrator password is no longer working there!