NewDay Night cameras look snowy

[Arockerdude 0]

Just hooked up a Pelco CCC1390 and a Panasonic WV-CP474. They were both demos or used cameras. I paid $227 for the pelco and $185 for the Panasonic. Both came with a new auto iris lens 3 - 8 mm. I bought them because I have been reading about how good these day night cameras with the auto IR cut filter work at night. During the day they loof Great! But at night they look all snowy in both the Black and white mode and the color mode. My old cheapo cameras were not snowy at night. But they did not look very good during the day. These have much better resolution. The new cameras may be a little brighter. I have the AGC on and the Sensitivity set up just a little on both cameras. Is that why it is snowy? Is it possible it is my cables? If it was the cables wouldn't they look bad during the day also? I don't understand why My Swan cheapo with night vision (it's there best box $200 camera) has no snow at all. Day or night. But when I hook up cameras that cost over $600 they are snowy. Its a Bummer! Anyone have any Idea what's wrong? Or is that just the way it is with the higher resolution camera that has a little AGC and Sensitivity set up? Thanks for the help. Dave

Sample Pics.

The Pelco CCC1390

 

The Panasonic WV-CP474

 

The Swan

 

Older model Panasonic WV-CP224

 

And all Four

[Arockerdude 0]

Here is a link to the cables I am using for info.

 

HomeTech Solutions

ECVPC

Composite Video Plus Power

Preterminated CCTV Cables

 

http://www.hometech.com/video/composite.html

 

Thanks Dave

[libertysurveillance 0]

Arockerdude, usually helps a lot to focus the cameras in low light, just after twilight starts, before it gets reallly dark. If it looks good during that time, it should maintain the look in the daytime, though it doesnt usually work the other way around.

[Arockerdude 0]

Yes I have focused them just before dark. The problem is they don't look good at night. They are snowy at night. During the day they look Great! Dave

[jisaac 0]

yes definitly you have a backfocus issue. But also the number 2,3,4 look like they are color cameras. The number one camera should definitly not look like that. But thats one of the gambles you take when you get used cams

[rory 0]

What they said .. but also, you really want some RG59 at least with the high Res cameras ... those cables you posted are basically like RCA .. probably RG56 or RG58 ..

[Arockerdude 0]

This is the Pelco CCC1390. It is now set to day night mode. Does it look like it has a back focus problem? Here is what I don't get. During the day it looks perfectly clear. My picture is not quite as clear as it looks on my screen. But it is pretty close. Should the snow not be there? Also when I have it in day night mode. Cars headlights are so bright you can hardly tell what type of car it is. Here is another pic of just the Pelco. Does it look off focus. If so can you give me some clues how to better adjust the focus. Thanks a million! Dave

Pelco CCC1390 At night

During the day. From DVR recording. I cant do it straight from the camera till day light tomarrow.

Would I be able to get away with the regular RG59 for a test? Just don't want to order the exspensive cable till I get my cameras right.

Also the power cable I am using is pretty light duty. Could they not be getting enough power? Seems to me they would not work at all.

[Walteryubo 0]

your camera is too bad on day and night function,I really think that your famous brand camera is fakes.

[rory 0]

could also be becuase they are used .. maybe bad chips ... overtime the chips go bad anyway .. nothing like a new camera to save the day

[Walteryubo 0]

I find that the bright light coming into your camera directly!If your camera don' support bright light conmpressing function,that may caused the picture blurry!I suggest you change the camera position,avoiding the street lamp!

[Arockerdude 0]

"If your camera don't support bright light conmpressing function,that may caused the picture blurry"

How would I know if it has this function? Maybe it's just a setting. Thanks Dave

[VST_Man 1]

haaaaaang on. check the pic at the camera with a good monitor. IF that pic is good, clear, ect. then you have issues with your terminating cable/equipment. If you put a good pic into a cable and get a good pic out at the other end the cable & camera are good.

 

NOW, connect that camera to the DVR and check the loop out and monitor out for any changes to that pic. If still good, check your DVR recorded pic for any changes................this is where the changes are noticably going to be "bad" if the DVR is not of any decent quality.

 

The solution is the isolate the good picture and then progressively build the system all the while checking for any changes to that pic. I've seen bad baluns, cable, DVR's, ect. cause all the problems you are trying to figure out. Cheap cable is one.....the thin stuff with audio, video, and power in one thin cable.

 

CCTV camera's require a certain bandwidth to complete a perfect picture at the end of a cable run. Color uses more bandwidth than B&W. Resolution size also effects bandwidth requirements. Basically you have to have good cable that can effiecently pass the camera signal. Cheap cable is bad.

 

Ever see those CCTV pattern test signal generators? Those things actually work as intended becasue they produce a perfect test pattern that is easliy viewed for imperfections if used to test cable or video production systems. All that "stuff" on the test pattern screen actually represent bandwidth results. If the test pattern varies you have a problem.

 

Anyway, I wanted to jump in and say that you need to check the BASIC's first BEFORE you say the camera is bad, back focus is bad, ect. I can make a cheap camera look great and an expensive camera look bad just by using different cables, DVR's, and monitors.

 

Seek and you will find.............................

[Arockerdude 0]

This time I took a picture with my digital camera straight off the screen. It is an LCD screen. Does this look like a camera that is not working properly? It looks pretty good from where I'm standing. Not blurry or out of focus. Just a liitle bit of snow. The bright light in the center of the screen is my flash. Is was needed to get an acurate shot. Than I had to upload it to my online storage site. Because this site keeps telling me "Could not access ftp directory: 'attachments/thumbs'. Please check your FTP Settings" Dave

[Arockerdude 0]

Yaaa! Go Marine Core. Pops was a WWII Vet. He fought in all the big battles in the South Pacific. I was starting to think I was on the phone with one of those tech supports from India. Telling me my software disc is bad and they are going to send me a new one. When you know darn well it's not your software! They just don't know what they are doing or dont want to spend the time to help! I remembered from reading another post how you can take a picture directly off your screen. Everything was telling me it was probably my DVR. Looks worse at night . Some day I will get a better one of those. Or a Geovision card. Tomarrow I am going to hook up a better cable. Although it will only be tv cable RG59. Not the copper groung. Just to see if I can get rid of a little bit of the snow. Thanks for the help and encouragement. Dave

[crirvine 0]

Just a guess but what lenese are you using the Fstop could make the differance.

[Arockerdude 0]

On the Pelco AD LD35814CS 3.5- 8mm F1.4

Panasonic Lens: Panasonic TV Zoom Lens Model # WV-LZ81/6A F 1.2f = 8.5-51 mm

How does the last pick look? Better?

[sajaan458 0]

RG59U cable with Cooper should help alot... With RCA type cable you lose quaility BIG time....

 

Regards,

 

Sajaan

[cctv_down_under 0]

The snow, you are seeing is Gain....turn down your gain level, by firstly switching off agc and setting it manually, try to realise that better cameras try to stay in colour longer so therefore they will have more noise as they add more gain, if your lighting has something bright in the image or is on the level of switch over then maximum gain will be added casuing snow.

 

I am betting though that your lenses are the issue, i would try a NEW lense and see if that makes a difference, they could be burnt out, I have seen this heaps of times before...I would also check to see that you have tested each camera at the same scene, not assumed that one is better because they are all outside and subjected to the same light, there may be more scene reflectance in one view compared to another.

[cctv_down_under 0]

Have a look at this link and you will see two images of the same camera, you will see that in one it has defualt settings and tries to stay in colour mode, causeing a huge amount of noise and then in the other it is forced to low light mode and has had a AGC level adjustment....mind you not enough and you will see two completely different results with the same camera

 

http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=6562

[Arockerdude 0]

Was playing with the settings the other night. I changed the Gama setting from the default setting of 45% to 100% and most of the snow went away. Dave

[jisaac 0]

hey buddy if I was you I after watching your video I would most definilty bring your FOV closer to your car so that the next time you can have a picture of their face.

[Arockerdude 0]

I'll give that a shot. But I really will miss the view of the camera pointing up the street. Also that is not one of my good cameras. So I really do need to pick up another good camera for that side. Probably another Pelco CCC1390. Thanks Dave

Ps Does it make sence that the Gamma turned up would make the snow go away.

[Arockerdude 0]

Also was just thinking I might miss the view of the get away car if I change the field of view. I'll change it just not to much that I will miss the street. Dave

[jisaac 0]

now you can do what you want. If your objective is to see the get away car pull up then dont change it. but it those shots are hard to tell any type of descriptive shots of the person or car. So it really does not tell you much in review.

But it all boils down to YOUR objectives.

[kensplace 0]

Objectives change though, often peoples first objective is to see as much as possible. When a system is installed, people love it, they can see a nice big area, and as long as nothing happens, they could be happy for years.

 

Their objective will soon change radically when they replay the footage, and realise that the nice wide shot does not give any detail, or the low resolution and or high compression settings they chose to get longer recording times mean they cant identify the difference between a elephant and a zebra at 10 meters.

 

Unless its permanantly monitored, and ptzm then I would go for two cams, one for overview, and one focused close up on the car+a tall persons height all around it.

 

The camera close up to the car will provide a boring view 99.99 percent of the time, but will be worth its weight in gold if it gives a nice clear close up shot of the culprit.

 

Mind you, you will always have to park the car in the same spot every time

 

If you do set up another cam, make sure you go out in the dark, and pretend to break into your car, to see if the replay can make out enough details - often what looks fine live is not up to scratch when recorded.

 

In a instance where that happens, sacrifice recording time for quality, whats more important, a couple of weeks worth of recording of not that good quality, or a day or two only of top quality recording?