PeteCress 0 Posted November 28, 2014 When my motion-triggered floods come on and there's a little snow on the ground, I get a very nice transition to Daytime mode: colors, much better definition. viz: But without the snow to help out, I never get that transition when the floods come on. Configuration | Day/Night Switch | Sensivity = 7 (max allowed), ...Filtering Time = 5 (min allowed). I guess some more watts in the floods is in order, but I'm thinking maybe there's a back door. Has anybody played around with other settings like Backlight, White Balance, or Image Enhancement in an effort to get a NightTime => DayTime transition with less light? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
300winmag 0 Posted November 29, 2014 I gave up and now all my lights are on a timer, so they stay on all night and off during the day. My camera's are set to "day" 24/7. I am upgrading to 4 par38 spots as these Hikvision 2732 camera's need a crazy amount of light to get a decent picture of a face. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boogieman 1 Posted November 29, 2014 Instead of spots you should use flood lights..the spots concentrate on one area too much and will wash out faces create an improper image balance...I use led and clf indoor floods with no issues outdoors (there are not many outdoor flood lights, most are spots..)Dont use halogens or incandescent as they are expensive to run all night.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
300winmag 0 Posted November 29, 2014 I will try but I don't think it will be enough light. I have 5000 lumens from 2 CFL bulbs on my 20x30 driveway and its not enough. They need to have a reflector behind them directing the light instead of wasting it all over the place. I think you are right about washing out the faces... but I have to try to make sure. Maybe I will get 2 spots and 2 floods instead.... Hmmm i think the floods might annoy my neighbors though... we will see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boogieman 1 Posted November 29, 2014 What kind of bulbs? Most are 600-1500 lumen each so how are you getting 5000 from two? This is one you might consider http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-90W-Equivalent-Bright-White-3000K-PAR38-47-Degree-Flood-Dimmable-LED-Light-Bulb-BPAR38-1503047T-12DE26-1U100/205184900 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
300winmag 0 Posted November 29, 2014 They are 200 watt equivalent, 2600 lumens each. Monster size CFL's, they JUST fit into the light housing lol. I could try them LED ones but that's $100 for 4... I will ask what the return policy is on them just to be sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boogieman 1 Posted November 29, 2014 They are 200 watt equivalent, 2600 lumens each. Monster size CFL's, they JUST fit into the light housing lol. I could try them LED ones but that's $100 for 4... I will ask what the return policy is on them just to be sure. Home depot has a very liberal return policy..you should be fine.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeteCress 0 Posted November 29, 2014 [quote="300winmag"Home depot has a very liberal return policy..you should be fine.. On a consumables, I would ask first. I bought three Ryobi batteries (about eighty bucks each). One failed way prematurely, and I was out of luck because the warranty was based on calendar time instead of usage/charge cycles (which was very low). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boogieman 1 Posted November 29, 2014 [quote name="300winmag"Home depot has a very liberal return policy..you should be fine.. On a consumables' date=' I would ask first. I bought three Ryobi batteries (about eighty bucks each). One failed way prematurely, and I was out of luck because the warranty was based on calendar time instead of usage/charge cycles (which was very low).[/quote] I have returned open led bulbs before..no issues...batteries may be different..also they changed their policies in the last year or so... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeteCress 0 Posted December 1, 2014 I think I have something that works: http://tinyurl.com/q8l7hz5 9,500 lumens, 500 watts, $30 per...... set to turn for one minute per trigger event. Cam's transition to color takes about 10 seconds as per http://youtu.be/1rpGPaXmxeI. (seems to take forever to load... but maybe that's my inner Type-A talking...) Replacement bulbs are about $3.50 each. They come in lower wattages/lumens and I might try a 300-watt just to see if it still does the job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buellwinkle 0 Posted December 1, 2014 CFL's are not that good for what you want to do. The same lumen output incandescent or LED would be far more effective. Also, I get that level of brightness using a small inexpensive IR illuminator without the annoyance of white light like losing frames while the camera adjusts, not getting pre-motion frames lit up properly and causing glare for neighbors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeteCress 0 Posted December 3, 2014 I will try but I don't think it will be enough light. I have 5000 lumens from 2 CFL bulbs on my 20x30 driveway and its not enough. They need to have a reflector behind them directing the light instead of wasting it all over the place. I think you are right about washing out the faces... but I have to try to make sure. Maybe I will get 2 spots and 2 floods instead.... Hmmm i think the floods might annoy my neighbors though... we will see. These things have been working for me for about a week: http://tinyurl.com/q8l7hz5 I was half expecting them to fail because of water penetration and/or temperature, but they're still hanging in there. 9,500 lumens, 500 watts.... replacement bulbs @$3.50 per. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites