Impact of PIR security lighting on nearby camera?

[pt80]

Hi,
I am just finalising the configuration of my first home CCTV system. I will be fitting AcuSense cameras combined with the 7608NI-I2 NVR. However, having read many helpful posts on here, I now plan to go with a mini dome above the front door (either DS2CD2563G0-IS or DS2CD2545FWD-IS), instead of G2 turret, having read that the shorter IR distance should give a better close up image in that space - I think it will look aesthetically better also, even though I know it is not AcuSense.

My issue is that I have a PIR light above the door also. Ideally, I would put the dome at the back left corner of the sofit above the door (as you look at it in the pic), so very close to the PIR light. Will the PIR light being so close cause an issue with the image? If I need to locate the dome further forward I might not see the person stood on the step properly. Does anybody have any experience of this issue please?

Thanks for any help

 

[Dan]

Hi @pt80

If the light is actually in the cameras field of view then yes it will cause all sorts of problems, if the light is not too bright it will likely cause a hot/white spot on the IR image and this overexposure will make the rest of the image go very dark. If the light is very bright when it comes on it may trigger the cameras IR filter and switch the image back to colour, this can be an issue because the switching process can take several seconds to complete (up to 15 seconds some users have reported) and during the switch the image can be heavily distorted and you may miss important details.

For your specific scenario, we would actually recommend a ColorVu camera as they can achieve a colour image at night and they usually do this using the built-in bright LED floodlight, but you can disable the built-in light and just use the porch PIR light instead. Now the scene will be darker when the light is off but when it comes on you will see far less image distortion than with a camera using IR LEDs. The below forum post includes some example images from a ColourVu camera in similar residential location to your own install:

Can't decide on 4CH K1 NVR or 8CH K2

I keep jumping back and forth between the 4 channel and 8 channel NVR. At this moment in time, I only plan on fitting two cameras so the 4 channel woul dbe sufficient enough but after reading that users have managed to upgrade the 8 channel K2 varient to the V4 firmware, I'm tempted to pay the...

www.use-ip.co.uk

If you want to go the ColorVu route we would recommend the 2347G1-LU 4MP Turret

 

[pt80]

Thanks a lot @Dan - that is really useful to know.

So does the same principle still apply if the PIR light is several metres away too? Is it better just to avoid DarkFighter completely and stick with ColorVu to avoid the switching process? Ultimately I want to install PIR lights at the side and back of my house too, plus have the cameras covering those areas but these will be several metres away.

 

[Dan]

The key factors are how close the light is to the camera and if the light source is visible in the cameras field of view, so even if the PIR light is further away if the light source is visible to the camera it will still cause a hot spot/overexposure that may affect the whole image. If you are planning to put more visible PIR lights around the property then yes I would probably stick with the ColorVu cameras.