A few questions regarding night vision security cameras

Vermonter73

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I'm going to be setting up a few security cameras so help monitor our long driveway and other parts of our property. It seems like most 'night vision' cameras have IR LEDs on them. Would that produce a visible glow at night that would attract attention? If not visible to the naked eye, would it be highly visible to night vision goggles? Not that I'm expecting anyone with night vision goggles :duh2:

If a camera isn't officially 'night vision', could supplemental IR illumination be done in the area which would help the camera see at night? Does the type of sensor in the camera make a difference? ie CCD or CMOS.

My idea is that if the IR LEDs could attract attention, I'd rather use cameras that don't have them, and provide IR illumination with IR LED clusters that aren't located with the camera.
 

Sub_Umbra

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I'm going to be setting up a few security cameras so help monitor our long driveway and other parts of our property. It seems like most 'night vision' cameras have IR LEDs on them. Would that produce a visible glow at night that would attract attention?
IIRC IR LEDs in SOME security devices are visible. You would probably have to read reviews to find out which ones are most discrete.
If not visible to the naked eye, would it be highly visible to night vision goggles?
Yes, IR LEDs are like a beacon to NV Gear.
 
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PapaLumen

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I've never seen a visible security IR led. You might as well have a light. I would be very surprised if you could see the IR.
 

stockae92

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i have seen those on wireless security camera and baby monitor with night vision.

they are like 5mm LED but you can see them flow in faint red in the dark. maybe some doesn't glow as much? i don't know.
 

AnAppleSnail

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Cheap IR LEDs emit some of their light as visible (deep red, very dim) light. Also, most digital cameras show IR LEDs as the infrared filters built in are not perfect. If you point such a camera at an IR source in the dark, the camera will see points of light that you can't. The only way to test if the specific one you want to get does or doesn't glow would be to look at it in real darkness. Adding an aftermarket visible light filter might solve any leakage.

If you have an IR security system set up, take not of people waving cell phones around, as the inbuilt cameras are quite good at spotting IR LED sources due to the marginal IR filters.
 

alpg88

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actually it has nothing to do with price of the leds, when they glow or not.
has everything to do with wavelenght, 940nm wont glow, but they are weak, good for remotes, and cheap cameras.
850nm leds do glow, but they emmit a lot more ir. you can put ir pass filter over glowing leds to cover the glow, simplest ir pass filter is overexposed developed color negative.
 

cuervoblur

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Please don't confuse IR camera with a "night vision" camera, totally different technology and price ranges. Also, take into consideration the range of the IR's some of the cheaper cameras w/IR will only illuminate 6-8 feet from camera in a small spot of "light" so unless someone or something walks into that spot you won't see them anyway. Unless it's pitch dark with no ambient light, like street lights a camera with a very low lux spec may be better suited to 'see' at night.
 

Train_Watchman

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I know I'm late to this thread, but I just saw it while looking up something else. I own a lot of IR trail cameras (AKA game cameras or scouting cameras), and use them for surveillance. ALPG88 got it right: the 940nm LEDs are very low glow, or in some cases virtually invisible. Other cams tend to look as though somebody just hit their brake pedal.

Even the cams with "red blob" flash arrays aren't generally noticeable unless someone is looking right at them. If I put a cam up overhead, which I usually do to keep them out of sight and out of reach, I don't think I've ever gotten a photo of a trespasser/thief looking at the cam. But on cams that were closer to eye level, I've seen some "deer in the headlights" expressions on people.

I have a couple of Reconyx cams that are high output, but pretty much "black flash." I can't see one of those flashing when I'm standing right in front of it, unless I look at it with my night vision monocular or my cell phone camera. Yep, the viewer on a cell phone camera will pick up a "black" IR flash if the phone cam is pointed in the right direction at the instant the flash lights up.

Be aware that IR images are always black-and-white, making it hard to discern clothing or vehicle colors. There also tends to be motion blur if anyone or anything triggers the camera while moving past it. Some cams will take short videos, eliminating the motion blur, but using up the batteries faster. (Because the flash array is on longer.)

Hope this helps. Have you been to ChasinGame yet? They have reviews on almost every trail cam ever made, plus a forum with a lot of helpful people who can give you more info than I can.
 

hoffmyster86

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basically, even the 940hm lights can be seen when you look straight at them, 850nm ir's you can see on a galloping horse if your at the right angle to them.. (or up to 70mph on one house i drive past lol).

regaurding camera picking up the IR, in general the lower the lux capeability the more they pick up IR, or, the lower power IR's you can see with.

0.001 lux is a good start.(in BW mode).
 

Samy

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I have setup a number of CCTV systems for my work and i have a number of cams at home. I use this one on my driveway:


AJ-1000.jpg


it's fairly long range so it'll light up and zoom in on stuff 100 feet away in the pitch black. I have setup to look down my driveway from the house and see what's happening at my gate and letterbox. The LED's are not bright but do emit a faint red glow. It's more noticeable where i live because i'm in a dark remote area with no lighting. I have been out the front of my place at 1am star gazing with my telescope and heard 2 youths walk down the road and one say to the other "hey look at that camera, it's one of those night vision ones". It was pitch black and i didn't know they were there until i heard them talk.

Yes it's a concern that they have noticed it and were talking about it - a thief might think i have something worth stealing, but it's also good that they noticed it in the pitch black as hopefully a thief would move on and choose an easier target. As i have discovered at work after being robbed and broken into over 100 times in the last decade, making your CCTV cameras stick out like dog's dingles is far more valuable than hiding them. If a thief can see cameras everywhere, they usually back off and go elsewhere.

I've now got big bold cameras EVERYWHERE and don't have anywhere near the trouble i used to have years ago when i had small discreet cameras.

cheers
 
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127.0.0.1

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if you use a cell phone camera, you can see IR cameras from quite a long distance
as the IR shows up as a bright light on any cell phone cam

so...only true night vision cams (light amplification) is actually hidden at night, but you
are talking a thousand dollars plus per cam. IR cams are cheap and available everywhere
 

guardpost3

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First off, just buy the best camera you can and worry about the illumination after it is up and running. Check its minimum illumination rating, and aim for one with a built in IR-cut filter. A high quality day/night camera can produce amazing images in very low light. I always use separate illuminators, the better the camera you start out with the more effective the illuminators will be. The brightest ones are 850nm and do emit a slight glow, the 940nm are completely covert but are not as powerful.
Obviously a bit overkill for someone's home (unless you're me) but I put this together today and it reminded me of this thread. Full 1080 HD auto IR-cut and low light sensitive down to 0.04lux. I added the array of IR leds to the bottom of this camera as it will be in a very dark place. They are 850nm and have a 120 degree pattern effective to 90'. Oh, and its vandalproof.

IMAG0233.jpg
 

Trarun

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I've been using Hikvision cameras. Very good image quality at an honest 3 Megapixels along with 30 FPS at 1080P. The cameras also have very good night vision IR performance at a true 30 meter range. I have two models of their cameras along with their 8 channel NVR. The system can be accessed via web GUI from a PC or through mobile apps for both Android and IOS.

This is the camera I use for indoors. I also use one of them for a baby cam. The camera can run on both wired and WiFi. It also has a micro SD slot to store video locally or to a DVR. It also has 2 way audio. I can hear what is going on in the room or I can talk through the camera.

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BobBrian

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I'm also in the market for a good quality low light camera. I have done a lot of research on the cameras mentioned in the thread and i realize I will have to fork out a bit more. These reviews help me narrow down choices.
 

Richard Thompson

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I'm going to be setting up a few security cameras so help monitor our long driveway and other parts of our property. It seems like most 'night vision' cameras have IR LEDs on them. Would that produce a visible glow at night that would attract attention? If not visible to the naked eye, would it be highly visible to night vision goggles? Not that I'm expecting anyone with night vision goggles :duh2:

If a camera isn't officially 'night vision', could supplemental IR illumination be done in the area which would help the camera see at night? Does the type of sensor in the camera make a difference? ie CCD or CMOS.

My idea is that if the IR LEDs could attract attention, I'd rather use cameras that don't have them, and provide IR illumination with IR LED clusters that aren't located with the camera.

I have put a trail camera in front of my house, and it takes many a pictures and videos for me, well, I think it meets all my needs as to protecting our safety.
While I have to say that some trail camera are using 940nm no glow LEDs, so that there tends to have no brightness of the trail camera.
 
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