the case of the missing LEDS

[Billy D. 0]

So ive had this problem with a few different cameras, I use 600 line IR domes and usually Q-see style DVR's. Sometimes these cameras dont "See" the ir, I know its on cause another cameras pointed at the same area is lit up. Say camera 1 is pointing at my driveway and its pretty much pitch black at night, while camera 2 sees that area and its lit up nicely. What gives?

[draken 0]

IR is much like visible light. It drops off very quickly. Take a flashlight and shine it up in the sky. Don't see much, do you? Now point it a tree or fence or something 10 feet in front of you. You'll see a lot more. The object is reflecting the light back to your eyes so you can see it. IR is the same, it needs to be reflected back to the camera for it to be seen. Perhaps camera 2 is getting a better reflection than camera 1. Have you tried moving camera 1 a bit to see if you can improve the IR reflection? Wide open outdoor spaces are the most difficult to light up, so what you have may be the best you can expect with your current equipment.

[Billy D. 0]

no .. camera 1 is about 10 feet from my truck in my driveway, it should light it up like crazy, camera 2 is about 30 feet away from the truck and can see the IR coming off C1...

[Stanislav 0]

May be your cameras are True Day/Night ones with removable IR cut filter. Such cameras are sensitive to IR only in B/W mode. From some reasons like a camera bug or illumination features (for example on the scene there is a bright region) these cameras sometimes don't switch to b/w mode. Thus the IR cut filter remains and cuts IR part of light.

[draken 0]

My cameras have a movable IR filter. In the box, there was a note about how to reset them if the IR filter was misbehaving. Said to take your hand and cover the entire front lens and IR area as much as possible for 10 seconds then uncover. You may hear some soft clicking during this time as the IR filter moves. The note said this may have to be done after a power failure, perhaps this will work for you.

[MaxIcon 0]

Are you saying that Camera 1 used to see IR OK and sometimes doesn't, or has it never seen IR the way that Camera 2 does?

 

If it used to see IR, it's likely the IR cut filter is stuck, as Draken says, assuming it has one. If it never did, it may have a fixed IR filter and will never be able to see IR unless the filter is removed.

[Billy D. 0]

Sorry it took a couple days to get back to you guys, but I fixed the problem thanks to draken.

I covered the whole front of the camera (at night) first with the lights on in the driveway and garage, that didnt do anything so I turned off all the incandescent lights and did it again. Viola! the IR comes on bright and is seen as the usual bright white light in the middle.

Thanks to all for the suggestions and file this one away for your own future referance.

[draken 0]

Glad to hear you got it working! Glad I could be of some assistance.

 

Cheers!