Indoor Camera Facing Out : IR or NO IR

[mobiledynamics 0]

I plan to have a camera placed indoors on my window ledge facing OUT.

Will I have issues with IR due to the glass ?

 

The PQ I care about is mainly during the night...

[Kawboy12R 0]

The cam will be blind at night. Been there done that. I got a KT&C B&W Exview cam with excellent light sensitivity and variable zoom for that job. It works well with minimal light so if you have any streetlights or external lighting it works fine without IR. Either that or get a TDN cam with mechanical IR cut filter and no built-in IR and put an IR illuminator outside. One of the CNB Mona Lisa bullets would probably work better through a window than their domes if you're looking for analog. My CNB VCM-24VF dome sees 940nm IR (invisible IR) quite nicely and works well with my CMVision 940nm floodlight. Looks like an LED floodlight that isn't turned on during the day so folks probably won't think it's a camera accessory.

[Kawboy12R 0]

Scroll down this post to compare a Mona Lisa CNB to a proper nightvision camera (KT&C) with no IR. If you have very low light levels and can add an illuminator then the CNB is a much better all around camera though. If you've got good white night lighting then the CNB is again a better all around camera, but when the light is very low and you can't add more then the KT&C is an excellent specialty cam for looking through windows. Googling ".0003 lux exview KT&C" will bring up some useful hits. I'm sure there are other makers that might make a better cam based on the same chipset. If you want good forensic detail and a broader useful field of view then start looking for an IP camera with IR you can turn off or something like this if you have reasonable light or an illuminator. Axis makes some nice night IP cameras if your budget isn't scared of a $1000 camera.

[mobiledynamics 0]

I pulled up your link. This is all Swahili to me...

Where in the spec do I look for where it shows I can turn off IR

 

http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/ipc-hf3300-12.html

[Kawboy12R 0]

I chose that link because the cam doesn't have any IR LEDs built into it but can still see IR and uses CS mount lenses for a good selection (you didn't mention what you wanted from the camera or at what distance). The "ICR" in the specs means it has an IR blocking filter that is automatically placed in front of the sensor during the daytime so that the massive amounts of IR present during the daytime don't screw up the colours. If the sensor in the cam didn't see IR then it wouldn't need the filter. You want the camera to be able to see it so you can put an IR floodlight outside but still have the camera inside. If you've got lots of white light (motion activated floodlights or whatever) available then you won't need IR sensitivity. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it though. Add a lens like one of these to provide good zoom at the distance you want and you're set. Remember the more zoom the brighter it'll have to be. You can get this one for a bit under $400 delivered from China plus lens. I'd recommend finding a place that'll sell it with a good quality lens pre-installed though. Save you some hassle if you just want to throw a cam in your window and have it work.

 

What are you trying to do with the camera, facial ID, license plates, or just generally what's going on? What distance?