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?