Floodlight placement in relation to cameras

[nfair 0]

I'm getting ready to install a couple of ip dome cameras up in the soffit area of my house. In general where's the best place to put motion activated lights in relation to the camera. I'd like to put the 2 dome cameras and flood lights in a cluster with the flood light at the center. For example O V O where the Os are the dome cameras and the V is the flood light with each leg of the V roughly pointing in the same direction of the camera.

 

Is this typically an acceptable setup for lighting? What sort of separation should I put between each fixture (other than making sure the flood light is just out of the field of view of the dome)? One leg of the lights will be pointing at the driveway less than 15' away and the other at the front stairs about 20' away.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

[Soundy 1]

Is this typically an acceptable setup for lighting? What sort of separation should I put between each fixture (other than making sure the flood light is just out of the field of view of the dome)?

This would be about my only concern, really. More to the point, you would want the dome out of the spread of the light altogether, since light hitting the bubble could still reflect and/or refract and cause glare in the picture.

 

Other than that, you probably want to keep them as close as possible... the thinking (at least to me) being that a bright light snapping on is likely to get two responses from a prowler: the second thing he'll likely do is run off; the first thing, though, is he'll instinctively look toward the source of the light... and that's your chance to get a nice clear facial shot.

[oldtimer 0]

Plain and simple. Never face a camera into a light. Place lights to the side of a dome. above can be better. Never put a light under a dome. Reflection will occure in the dome. Remember, practice makes perfect. The area you intend to cover is very simple. Don't make it a hugh project. Put your light up in a temporary position and check it out.

[jxk716 0]

I installed a double flood fixture to the side of the dome about 6 inches away and wished I placed it above. Initially a glare appeared creating a cloudy picture, almost as if it was a foggy night. Installed a hood onto the camera to shade the light and it works. The other thing I noticed was not needing a high watt light since faces were too bright to reconize (the focal point is about 10 feet). Currently using 60 watt flood.

[oldtimer 0]

Does the camera BLC? If it does, try turning it off and on. The BLC could be working at the oposite light spot.