IR halo - Vivotek IP8332

[benf 0]

I just installed a new out of the box IP8332 cam and noticed a halo effect in night mode with the IR on. If I disable the IR it goes away so I know that's the cause. Did a lot of searching but didn't uncover much except for a review on Amazon where it's mentioned. Read on another site about halo effect in general and that it's the IR light reflecting off the glass over the lens which I'm assuming is the problem here. That being the case guessing there's not much I can do about it. I do have a dedicated IR illuminator so I can disable IR on this cam but was planning on purchasing several more 8332's where I won't have extra illumination. If this is inherent with these cams I may have to look elsewhere.

 

Am waiting to hear back from Vivo tech support but was curious if anyone has noticed this before or if there's an easy fix.

 

Image samples below.

 

 

[danger_e 0]

This is called "IR Bleed." You are right about the cause; this happens because of the inside of the dome reflecting the IR light, usually cameras that are affected by this have a "Bleed Filter" or gasket of some kind that's a foam gasket that sits around the lens and presses up against the dome to prevent this.

 

That camera looks like it comes with a bleed filter. Check to make sure that the filter is up against the cover and protecting the lens.

[benf 0]

This is called "IR Bleed." You are right about the cause; this happens because of the inside of the dome reflecting the IR light, usually cameras that are affected by this have a "Bleed Filter" or gasket of some kind that's a foam gasket that sits around the lens and presses up against the dome to prevent this.

 

That camera looks like it comes with a bleed filter. Check to make sure that the filter is up against the cover and protecting the lens.

 

Thanks a lot, I'll check it out

[skane 0]

Yes check the rubber guard that surrounds the lens. Must be flush to the glass plate. That halo does not look normal for an IP8332.

[SEANHAWG 1]

I would also check to see if there are any objects directly right around the camera that would be causing reflection.

[ronwood 0]

I had a similar issue, but with a different camera manufacture, GeoVision. After several months of emails & talking with the company, they finally admitted to changing the coating on their acrylic domes/covers.

 

I was able to confirm it was the acrylic covers by exchanging them with my older cameras (same model, different manufacture date). When I did this, the older cameras had the IR issue & the new cameras worked perfectly.

 

The changes made to the acrylic covers caused severe IR reflection issues in total darkness. However, if there was any exterior lighting present (external IR, flood, etc) the IR reflection was not noticeable.

 

GeoVision finally corrected the problem & sent me replacement covers (7 months later). The latest version of acrylic covers are working great so far.

 

If you have tried everyone’s suggestions & still have the issue you may want to find someone who has the same model of camera & exchange the lens cover.

[benf 0]

Follow up: I took the front part of the camera apart and could tell the little "hood" (circled in red in picture) that separates the lens from the IR light wasn't lined up quite right on the black ring masking of the front glass (see lower half of lens in second pic). Got it aligned up and put back together but having the same exact problem. What's odd is I tested it in a dark room in the house before moving it outside and didn't notice any halo. It's really dark out there so definitely not any external lights bleeding through nor any reflective surfaces.

 

So either I didn't get it lined up correctly, or the hood thingy isn't completely touching the glass due to shrinkage, or it's just faulty. Disappointed because I'm otherwise impressed with the quality. Still waiting to hear back from Vivotek support.

[benf 0]

I had a similar issue, but with a different camera manufacture, GeoVision. After several months of emails & talking with the company, they finally admitted to changing the coating on their acrylic domes/covers.

 

I was able to confirm it was the acrylic covers by exchanging them with my older cameras (same model, different manufacture date). When I did this, the older cameras had the IR issue & the new cameras worked perfectly.

 

The changes made to the acrylic covers caused severe IR reflection issues in total darkness. However, if there was any exterior lighting present (external IR, flood, etc) the IR reflection was not noticeable.

 

GeoVision finally corrected the problem & sent me replacement covers (7 months later). The latest version of acrylic covers are working great so far.

 

If you have tried everyone’s suggestions & still have the issue you may want to find someone who has the same model of camera & exchange the lens cover.

 

Thanks for the info, you may have something there. I noticed when the front of the cam was apart the glass lens was highly reflective on both sides, gave off a bluish hint of color when held at an angle.

[rory 0]

that deep round metal cover doesnt look like it helps either.

any LEDs pointing a little outward and may reflect back.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

I got two of the IP8332's at one customer site and it is doing the same thing. I got the exact picture you have in the first post.

 

I have an IP 8332 at my office as a demo and it doesn't have it. It's hit or miss. I've installed many of these and it is not consistant at all. I wish they would fix it cause I do like the camera.

[benf 0]

I got two of the IP8332's at one customer site and it is doing the same thing. I got the exact picture you have in the first post.

 

I have an IP 8332 at my office as a demo and it doesn't have it. It's hit or miss. I've installed many of these and it is not consistent at all. I wish they would fix it cause I do like the camera.

 

I've tried a lot of different setups and noticed when indoors the halo is either not there or bare noticeable. Outside where there's essentially no "background" for the IR light to hit it's quite noticeable. I'm pretty sure it's the rubber "hood" that goes over the lens and touches the front glass/protective lens. If I pressed lightly on that lens with the end barrel removed, the halo would appear/disappear. I'm guessing it's shrunk a bit or has some pits in the rubber that lets light through.

 

I did hear from Vivotek support this afternoon asking me to confirm the model number of the cam, I'll let you know what I find out.

[Digiscan 0]

I got two of the IP8332's at one customer site and it is doing the same thing. I got the exact picture you have in the first post.

 

I have an IP 8332 at my office as a demo and it doesn't have it. It's hit or miss. I've installed many of these and it is not consistent at all. I wish they would fix it cause I do like the camera.

 

I've tried a lot of different setups and noticed when indoors the halo is either not there or bare noticeable. Outside where there's essentially no "background" for the IR light to hit it's quite noticeable. I'm pretty sure it's the rubber "hood" that goes over the lens and touches the front glass/protective lens. If I pressed lightly on that lens with the end barrel removed, the halo would appear/disappear. I'm guessing it's shrunk a bit or has some pits in the rubber that lets light through.

 

I did hear from Vivotek support this afternoon asking me to confirm the model number of the cam, I'll let you know what I find out.

I'd be interested in what you find out, too...

[benf 0]

I got one email from them asking for the model number and then it went silent. I'm going to call them today, not expecting much. I do have an idea on how to repair myself, I'll post pics/info if it comes to that.

[ssmith10pn 0]

One of the many reasons I gave up on integrated IR cameras a long time ago.

[benf 0]

One of the many reasons I gave up on integrated IR cameras a long time ago.

 

That brings up an interesting/related question. I've been looking at other similar IP cams and ran across this one:

 

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=474651

 

It's obviously missing IR illuminators but was curious if I have dedicated IR illuminators (which I do) will this cam be able to pick them up?

 

For whatever it's worth the IP8332 IR can be disabled which is nice (and solves the halo issue), but I may not always have the room/ability to setup a dedicated IR for each cam.

[dolladave 0]

One of the many reasons I gave up on integrated IR cameras a long time ago.

 

That brings up an interesting/related question. I've been looking at other similar IP cams and ran across this one:

 

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=474651

 

It's obviously missing IR illuminators but was curious if I have dedicated IR illuminators (which I do) will this cam be able to pick them up?

 

For whatever it's worth the IP8332 IR can be disabled which is nice (and solves the halo issue), but I may not always have the room/ability to setup a dedicated IR for each cam.

 

 

I would think that Panasonic won't work with an IR illuminator. I looked at the specs sheet and I don't see anything about a removable IR cut filter. Therefore using IR light wouldn't do any good because it won't see it.

 

David

[3RDIGLBL 0]

I got an 11 camera Vivotek job I'm working on and last night managed to get on of the IP8362 cameras up and here is my issue with this supposedly higher end Vivotek camera.

 

 

Cable harnes is too short and comes out the underneath of the camera in order to go through the bracket. How can one make a nice clean install with maybe 8" of cable? I spent over an hour trying to figure out how to use the threaded knockout on the back of the camera. I ended up having to jury rig a solution to get the cable coming out the back of the camera because they did not make the underside cable entrance the same size as the entrance on the back. I was swearing up a storm trying to figure out how these darn engineers design these cameras thinking they know anything about field installation. ARGH

 

Next is the bracket itself. Nice for the horizontal movement because it is toothed and once tight it doesn't move. The stupid STUPID part is the vertical movement. There are two Allen bolts that get tightened to lock the camera into it's vertical position but the joint is not toothed at all. Once tight that camera easily moves up and down and once moved down a little will actually blackout the side Allen bolts requiring them to get tightened again. Try to remove the front lens cover, focus it and put the cover back on without jarring the camera........nope instead I went to tight it again and stripped the threads trying to crank on it. I called Vivotek and they are sending me another bracket but I will have the same damn issue.

 

Last but not least is the reason I posted this hear. The dreaded hallo, ir reflection, ir bleed or however everyone chooses to call it. This camera did it bad. Straight out of the box once the ir's kicked on I could see the lens staring back at me from the video shot. Called them again to complain about the stupid design. They said remove the cover and reapply making sure the rubber gasket rests tightly against the ring on the lens. YA.....DUDE you come here where it is currently about 10-15 degrees out with a bracket that don't tighten and up in a cherry picker to screw around with a lens cover that will cause the camera to move again only to have to realign and probably not fix the problem. Well guess what I could not get rid of the halo. I ended up turning off the ir's.

 

I got so darn frustrated I stopped just short of telling them I'm sending all 11 cams back.

 

I just sold another 10 camera Vivotek job this week and I'm thinking about canceling to find another camera solution. I had better luck with Acti to be completely honest.

 

Off my soap box!

[benf 0]

I've been attempting resolution through their tech support too. After several emails and finally begging for someone to at least reply, they finally called me and agreed to send out a new IR ring (the part that's supposed to sit tight against the inside of the lens cover). They did send it right away but it was the wrong one. In fact I'm not even sure what it was they sent, it's not even close.

 

The idea I was going to try, posted about earlier, was to (carefully) use black silicone and affix the front part of the IR "hood" to the back of the lens cover. So basically when you put the lens cover back on it will slide over the lens and eliminate IR leak, at least from the lens cover portion. The hood would have to be trimmed just a bit on the part that goes towards the inside of the cam otherwise it will fit too snug and will be very hard to get the lens cover back off again. I tested this theory using a lens cover from an old analog cam I had laying around with a similar setup (they had a small hood that went over the lens which was attached to the lens cover). The lens cover was an almost exact fit so I put it on and it indeed got rid of the IR bleed.

 

Was wanting to try and fix it the "right way" before I start hacking in something like that, but at this point they aren't leaving me much choice.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

That's a good idea with silicone and rubber lens seal. I'm getting so used to modifying poorly designed mounts and cameras that this would be a good test.

 

I took one of the cameras back to our office, I'm going to mess with this idea. Thanks I missed the post that mentioned this.

 

Sometimes I think these engineers design in a bubble. They design mounts on fake walls that they have easy access to both sides not thinking that maybe this camera might be mounted to a brick wall or a wall with no access from the backside. IR reflection....how could they miss the halloing during design, this makes no sense to me what-so-ever. Why not design a bracket that once tightened it won't move.....nooooooo you can tighten all you want and when a bird lands on it it will swing downward cause there is no provision to lock it into place. ARGH!

[Digiscan 0]

I wonder if the 8134 would have this haloing problem? If it's the result of lens position and shape I imagine that even a relatively subtle change in them would resolve it.

[benf 0]

That's a good idea with silicone and rubber lens seal. I'm getting so used to modifying poorly designed mounts and cameras that this would be a good test.

 

I took one of the cameras back to our office, I'm going to mess with this idea. Thanks I missed the post that mentioned this. !

 

Cool, please post how it goes. Mine's installed on my barn so won't be able to get to it for a few days.

[MaxIcon 0]

I wonder if the 8134 would have this haloing problem? If it's the result of lens position and shape I imagine that even a relatively subtle change in them would resolve it.

 

My FD8134 is harder to get right than my IP8332 due to the differences between bullet and dome design. For the IP8332, it's not so hard to get a seal against the flat glass if the seal material is in good shape. Neither of my IP8332s have halo problems, but the weather is moderate here.

 

My FD8134 has a lot more trouble getting the dome against the IR seal, depending on which way the camera is pointing, due to the curve of the dome. Even a half-mm off of the seal causes major reflections, and I've been running it without the dome temporarily.

[MagnumVP 0]

Was there ever a solution found for the Halo Effect? I'm looking at the Vivo cameras where I will need the IR.