Direct Sunlight and Camera Longevity

[EarlT 0]

Lets say you have cameras pointing east and west. They are likely to get direct sun exposure while the sun rises or sets. How does this impact a camera's life expectancy? Should you always try and mask the sun? We get a lot of storms, so having a view of the sky is nice sometimes.

[Soundy 1]

Only ones I've had a problem with, that I'm PRETTY CERTAIN were related to being in direct sun, were a few Pelco ICS-110s that died after several days of high heat. That wasn't sun directly in the lens, though; I suspect it's just general overheating.

 

I think as long as you have an auto-iris, you should be okay, as it will allow the iris to close down when it gets too bright.

[Birdman Adam 0]

Yea, auto-iris can help a lot to keep sensor from getting too hot. Basically, as long as it isn't getting outright baked, it will be fine. If it will be in direct sunlight with very hot temps, you should probably have a blower in the enclosure.

[EarlT 0]

Thanks! I plan to put at least one west facing camera (Sanyo HD4600) indoors, so temps won't really be an issue. So it sounds like most domes with would not fare well just being where the sun can reach the glass. Sounds like I might want to reconsider putting a HD3300 looking west, and possibly put a HD2300 on another window. I assume the trade off would be longer life, for slightly degraded picture quality.

[Soundy 1]

So it sounds like most domes with would not fare well just being where the sun can reach the glass.

 

Not so - I've installed plenty of domes outdoor in the direct sunlight, all kinds of different brands and models. The Pelcos were the only ones that ever seemed to have an issue with it.

[EarlT 0]

That's nice to know. It wll help my Decision making. I have a couple of wdr domes up, but want higher res/cost images and want them to last.

 

Thanks

[hardwired 0]

I use lots of dome cameras, and in my area, temperatures can exceed 115F during the summer. So far, the only significant failures have been with Pelco ICS110 domes, as Soundy noted above (I think the heaters stayed on in some of mine, the inner liner was actually melted on some of them!).

[EarlT 0]

EEk! that would not be good. If using a smart PoE switch like a Cisco 3560, you could monitor the output on each port and possibly catch any heaters being on when not needed.

[thewireguys 3]

EEk! that would not be good. If using a smart PoE switch like a Cisco 3560, you could monitor the output on each port and possibly catch any heaters being on when not needed.

 

 

Sanyo Heater/Blower doesn't get power from POE. Most IP domes do not.

[EarlT 0]

That's obviously why I am here. I need to learn and you guys are doing an awesome job of teaching.

 

Thanks!