CCTV lighting Archives - Integrated CCTV

CCTV lighting for HD SDI CCTV

CCTV lighting has never been as important as it is today. With the growth of HD SDI CCTV and mega pixel IP cameras it is a well know fact that these cameras perform much worse in low light conditions than traditional analogue cameras. In the past CCTV lighting has been traditionally done using either IR bulbs or halogen lighting. This type of lighting is expensive, with halogen in particular it is now widely accepted across the industry that this polluting, inefficient lighting method is being rigorously phased out. New more efficient CCTV lighting in the form of IR and white light illuminators are now available and as LED technology gets better and better these lights are definitely the way forward.

If you want good colour images at night then the white light illuminator is what you should chose. You can expect the CCTV lighting illuminator to produce around 2700 lumens and be IP67 rated. The best thing about led lighting though is reliability. A life of 10 years or more is expected.

So why do we need lighting with cameras? CCTV lighting has always been a subject that gets overlooked but most crime occurs during the hours of darkness and we know all cameras need at least some light to produce an image. It is however the case that background lighting such as street light or even moonlight will not be enough for mega pixel cameras or HD SDI CCTV. It is also the case that good lighting will save space on your hard drive as background interference often increases the memory consumed on your hard drive. So better CCTV lighting reduces storage costs.

So what is the price of an illuminator compared to a halogen? Well right now price wise there is no comparison. While a 500 watt halogen can be purchased for as little as £5 an illuminator that is going to give the same sort of light spread will be well over £170 and very often more. This is hampering the change over of CCTV lighting from old to new technology. However the end user must be educated in the the TCO of an illunminator and the benefits of upgrading his CCTV lighting. While a halogen light might do you for a year without burning out , it wont last too much longer on average. Then it will draw 5 times more energy, this can be costly when having to pay the electricity bill. You must also consider access to the light for maintenance, a cherry picker these days is going to set you back at least £250 for the day so that halogen is far more expensive than you think. Finally if you are upgrading to HD SDI CCTV or a mega pixel IP camera then the extra money you have paid for quality images will be wasted as night time recordings will be disappointing.

So who are the main players well Iluminar and Sirius are popular brands and rival Raytec on price. All these CCTV lighting solutions are trusted brands and have a build quality that will ensure longevity in the field. It must also be noted that CCTV lighting can only become cheaper as led technology improves and more demand means more choice and competition.

So for crisp clear colour images from your HD SDI CCTV system at night go green with a white light illuminator and the sensible way forward for CCTV lighting.

Light or Dark?

An interesting conversation came up the other day…..

PTZ cameras with IR….. the IR is pretty discreet, no beam, just a subtle red glow, almost invisible…….there are even ‘black’ glow versions that are completely invisible….

But one application was calling for white light illumination…..apparently, it would be useful for the PTZ camera to move around with a powerful, white LED beam shining forward to assist the camera to see in the darkest of areas….

Not really very covert….but then again, nor is IR really…..if you were looking at a PTZ camera moving around, you could make out the faint glow of the IR if it were pointing forwards.

But, the white light ‘beam’…..well, it does the job of probably being a deterrent as well as an aid to the camera……a bit like security lighting……..if a park or grounds were completely pitch black and the camera were able to shine a powerful beam right into path of the intruder, it would certainly be effective!

It’s the old age question – Deterrent or Capture….!

What do you think?

CCTV lighting

CCTV lighting.

Often overlooked but a crucial part of any CCTV system, lighting is key to good pictures when you really need them. CCTV cameras have improved dramatically over the last few years and dual chip technology has meant that night vision from CCTV cameras is now acceptable most of the time, but in many cases it is only when images are really needed that end-users realize that lighting on their site is not sufficient to see exactly what they need.

lighting audit.

Most installers will put a caveat in there terms and conditions stating that lighting will be assessed after an installation and that it is the customer’s responsibility to ensure lighting levels are sufficient.. However how often is this really done? This is especially true on installations carried out during summer months when no one ever sees the night time images until it’s a little late? Central stations also refuse to monitor poorly lit installations and will not be held responsible for poor quality nigh time pictures.

Lighting solutions.

It is a little publicised fact but colour cameras need white light to work at night, IR lamps only work with mono images and in the past you either chose to install mono from scratch, sacrificing colour daytime images for night time clarity. Bulky IR lamps were installed and these were expensive and unreliable. Dual chip cameras were the compromise and these allowed colour during the day and mono at night but this did not solve the fact that IR bulbs would blow for a pastime.

Raytec.

Raytec are a progressive company who have addressed this problem using advanced LED technology to give an IR output that is long range and reliable it is something that anyone who demands night time pictures of good quality must insist on.

halogen lighting.

Alternatively you can fit halogen lighting that will work on a sensor to bring lights on automatically when someone enters an area protected by the CCTV camera, again however these bulbs blow easily and cost a lot to run.

Blackhawk and Predator domes.

360 vision have developed the ultimate solution to good night time images. They have both the Blackhawk and Predator cameras that have IR lighting built in that follows the tracking of the camera and ensures that a good nighttime image is always available.

Designing a CCTV system.

So when you think about a CCTV system, think about when it is most likely to be used and think about how you will design your lighting it is crucial this side of things is not overlooked.