Re: What's the secret to high quality night time images?

[Matt Ion <soundy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

J. <jsloud2001 wrote:
> On Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:40:29 GMT, Frank Olson
> <Use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
>>Pokey wrote:
>>
>>>My daytime pics are OK but the nighttime pics are terribly grainy like
>>>a NASA moon landing.
>>>
>>>My current setup includes a standalone DVR set to maximum possible
>>>recording quality which is 720 X 480 at 30 IPS, divided by four
>>>channels = 7.5 IPS per channel.
>>>
>>>All of my cameras are color 1/4" CCD, 380 lines with IR LEDs.
>>>
>>>The cable runs to the cameras are 50-75 feet each.
>>>
>>>The highest quality weatherproof cameras I've seen available are 1/3"
>>>CCD, 420 line.  How much of an improvement would these be over my
>>>existing cams?  And how many lines can you get on a 720 X 480?  My
>>>manual skips this fact.
>>>
>>>My dream camera is a weatherproof, adjustable 4-50mm remote zoom
>>>control camera with auto iris, auto focus, and a 250 foot IR range and
>>>provides crystal clear night time images guaranteed or triple your
>>>money back.  It remains pie in the sky and criminals remain loose,
>>>wild, and free.
>>>
>>>I may not get my dream camera but there must be some middle ground
>>>that's better than a '67 moon landing.  Ideas?
>>>
>>>Pokey.
>>>
>>
>>
>>You won't get good low light performance from most color cameras (even
>>with the IR illuminators).  I think it's Sanyo that makes a
>>colour/black&white camera that switches between modes automatically when
>>the light level falls below a certain threshold (and visa-versa).  You
>>might be better off improving the quality of the scene lighting.  Some
>>good Halide lamps for instance...
>
>
>
> try www.extremecctv.com

And keep in mind, the main criteria you're looking at is the 'lux' rating, which
tells you the least level of light the camera is sensitive to - the smaller the
number, the better.

Also, when you're looking for a lens to go with it, look for something with the
widest aperture (lowest f-stop number) you can find - it'll cost more and be
somewhat bulkier, and you'll probably have to go with a fixed focal length
rather than a zoom to get the best results, but the more light the lens lets
through, the better your picture (you do lose some depth of field this way
though, so focus will be become really tricky).

Or you could just go with a buncha motion-activated flood lights.