Why is my ACTI 1231 camera so bad at night?

[magohn 0]

Hello all,

 

I purchased the ACTI 1231 after reading excellent reviews on the net. Since installing the camera I have always been majorly disappointed in its night time performance. The lens seems to pick up reflections from the circle of LED's around the camera. I tried tightening the lens cover to make sure the rubber seal that lives around the lens is blocking out any reflections from the LEDs. This made no difference.

 

The camera cost $500. By comparison here is a pic from the ACTI (top) versus a pic from one of those cheap Chinese eBay PTZ cameras ($75).

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

Thanks!

ACTI

 

CHEAP PTZ

[hardwired 0]

Try getting a sample image with the lens cover off, it still looks like the IR is bleeding over into the lens. Also, make sure the firmware is one of the newer versions, with the imager profile loaded, this does improve low light noise (and a few other things) somewhat.

[rory 0]

I dont know, maybe as its megapixel?

But more importantly, why does that Ebay camera look so good at night??

Is that IR from the camera itself or is there other light on from the Patio?

Is the same exact amount of light present in the snapshot from the Acti camera?

[Birdman Adam 0]

I dont think this is a fair comparison...eBay cam gets porch lights.

 

But yea, I think the IR is reflecting through the outer glass cover to the lens...I would maybe disconnect the IR and use an external IR source.

[magohn 0]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will attempt to address a few:

 

AFAIK - I cannot turn off the IR lights on the Acti. I see no option to do this in the latest firmware.

Lighting - The eBay cam has an extra LED illuminator as we have a coyote problem and we needed to see across our fields. The Acti is using the stock IR's BUT there is a large "normal" secuity light on that corner in the pic but the Acti is still almost unusable at night.

 

Im most disappointed on the level of reflection into the lens of this Acti - I will try tonight leaving the glass cover off the lens and see how that works. Its warm and dry tonight so a night without the cover on should not do much harm.

 

I guess I just feel that for a $500+ megapixel camera the quality at night is akin to my $25 USB cams I have.

 

Please keep the suggestions coming - much appreciated.

[thewireguys 3]

Can you post a daytime image please.

[Ashley 0]

Hello there, I worked in IR PTZ cameras 4 years. This problem is the lens angle is too big, it doesn't match the IR LED lights.

[rory 0]

Well the Ebay camera obviously has a ton more light as you mentioned a separate IR .. also its much lower resolution so it would be more sensitive in low light situations. Hey I use 420TVL BW bullets in most of my low light applications for a reason, not even the 600TVL ones .. i wish I can find a 1.3 at least megapixel BW camera that can match it .. i mean match it not come close ... for low light that is. Anyone?? And Im serious about that ..

[cactuscctv 0]

This is the IR PTZ Dome camera design problem.

[rory 0]

AFAIK - I cannot turn off the IR lights on the Acti. I see no option to do this in the latest firmware.

Lighting - The eBay cam has an extra LED illuminator as we have a coyote problem and we needed to see across our fields. The Acti is using the stock IR's BUT there is a large "normal" secuity light on that corner in the pic but the Acti is still almost unusable at night.

 

Im most disappointed on the level of reflection into the lens of this Acti - I will try tonight leaving the glass cover off the lens and see how that works. Its warm and dry tonight so a night without the cover on should not do much harm.

 

On many IR cameras you can disconnect the IR physically, perhaps try that?

I dont know this Acti camera, but are you sure it is focused for low light, what type of lens is it?

Is the cover clean?

[rory 0]

This is the IR PTZ Dome camera design problem.

I just checked and this camera is not an IR PTZ Dome??

[magohn 0]

Can you post a daytime image please.

 

I would hope the engineers at Acti would match the angle lens to the IR's on the camera. I will post a new night image (without the glass on) as soon as I get one - thanks!

 

Daytime pic of the Acti -

 

[rory 0]

Doesnt look right ^^

Im sure thewireguys or bullwinkle can assist though as ive seen their images and they were much much better.

[thewireguys 3]

I would hope the engineers at Acti would match the angle lens to the IR's on the camera

Well it has a var-focal lens so its not possible.

 

 

Could you post full res images please. What is the compression set to? Can you take a pic of the lens cover and a pic of the lens with the lens cover off? What firmware is in the camera?

Edited August 17, 2010 by Guest

[rory 0]

wait a sec ... the acti is in a different location?

[magohn 0]

I would hope the engineers at Acti would match the angle lens to the IR's on the camera

Well it has a var-focal lens so its not possible.

 

 

Could you post full res images please. What is the compression set to? Can you take a pic of the lens cover and a pic of the lens with the lens cover off? What firmware is in the camera?

 

If its OK I will post the full res tomorrow as night-time is here and the image is degrading fast. I will take one tomorrow in full daylight.

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

Firmware Version = A1D-220-V3.12.13-AC

 

[thewireguys 3]

Some water marks on the lens cover

 

Edited August 17, 2010 by Guest

[thewireguys 3]

Why not Megapixel resolution?

[magohn 0]

Why not Megapixel resolution?

Hello,

I dont run the camera in megapixel because the other 5 cameras on the network are all 640x480. The CCTV software I am using resozes the viewing window to the resolution of the camera and so if one camera is at a different res than the others, the viewer has to manually resize the viewing window to see the full picture.

 

Here's a pic from last night without the glass cover over the lens - no more IR reflections but still weak quality compared to your excellent shots. I need to figure out why the IR's are reflecting into the lens with the cover on. I have screwed the cover on as tight as possible but the IR's still bleed through.

 

Thanks all.

 

[magohn 0]

....and a full res picture:

 

[SEANHAWG 1]

Dang, can you get a refund for the $500 and get several of the cheap $75 that do better?

 

It almost makes me think the camera is defective or something. That just doesnt look right. Even right out of the box without any adjustments, you should get way better of a pic than that.

[thewireguys 3]

Your NVR software could be messing with the settings in the 1231. Disable the camera in your NVR software and default the camera then log into the cameras web interface without reconnecting the NVR software, see if there is a difference. Also I would recommend replacing your NVR software with something that would let you record your all of your cameras in full res.

[bdmckinley1 0]

I've installed multiple 1231 cameras at a school. Your image is not normal. Looks like you are viewing through a fog bank. The IR reflection looks to me to be a defect in the alignment, already mentioned here. While night time IR is certainly less clear than daytime and the nature of IR day/night creates a lot of noise, your picture is not normal. The focus adjustment of the varifocal lens is very VERY sensitive and it is easy to get it out of focus. Did you try to focus the camera at night?

[bpzle 0]

I've installed multiple 1231 cameras at a school. Your image is not normal.

 

I disagree. There's very little in this scene for IR light to reflect off of. Grass and trees soak up light, not reflect... That also looks to be a pretty dark area at night, compared to most commercial/ non residential areas. This looks to have ZERO ambient light.

 

Built in IRs of nearly any style cameras, much less POE powered IRs are not going to flood a pitch black area outside. Just not realistic....

 

 

What is the shutter speed, AGC, brightness, and contrast set to?

Edited August 21, 2010 by Guest

[rory 0]

 

Still looks like something is wrong with the camera.

the IR beam itself seems okay for what it is.

 

here, this shows the amount of light in the image a little better, manually edited.

 

this gives a better example of the IR beam (IR, edited)

 

comparison to a regular BW camera with IR (IR, edited)