Lux, Night Vision and Color issues!! : eBay Guides

Natural verses Artificial Lighting

To see properly, a CCTV camera requires a certain amount of light produced by natural or artificial illumination.

Black and white cameras work with any type of light source.

A standard light bulb creates incandescent lighting which is primarily from the red spectrum. Fluorescent lighting is primarily blue spectrum.

Color cameras will show natural colours differently under these different types of artificial lighting.

Daylight is a mixture of red and blue as well as all the other colours in the light spectrum.

Color cameras will render color best when there is a healthy amount of daylight.

The brightness of the daylight is also very important. The brighter the daylight is, the clearer and more colorful the picture will be.


What does a camera's LUX rating mean and How is it Determined?

The amount of light is defined by LUX (Lumens per Square Meter). One LUX is the amount of light cast by one candle at one meter's distance.

Here are some examples of natural light sources expressed in LUX.

Natural LUX Examples
Full daylight:                    10,000     LUX
Very dark day:                     100     LUX
Twilight:                                 10     LUX
Deep twilight:                           1     LUX
Full moon:                               0.1   LUX
Quarter moon:                         0.01 LUX
    
Some high quality CCD cameras will provide an excellent picture at 1 lux.

Usually, however, Night Vision cameras should be used in situations of 3 lux or lower.

Night Vision Cameras have Infra Red LED's

Night Vision Cameras have Infra Red LED's. The greater the number of these LED's and the more powerful the LED, the better the camera will be able to see in the dark.

In low light conditions, below 1-2 lux, the camera will automatically switch to black and white. This is a good thing, as you will be able to see more detail in black and white.

But be careful.....usually with 12 inexpensive LED's you will be able to see a faint outline up to 15 feet.

The technology exists to see better and farther, but it can become costly.

We have cameras that will give you an excellent picture up to 100 feet in pitch black. They have 24 or more LED's and each LED is more powerful than usual. These cameras sell for $100.00 with SONY image sensors...

The cheapest way to solve a  low light situation is to put in a motion detection outdoor floodlight. These lights sell for $15-$30 in almost all hardware stores. They are a cost effective way to ward off intruders.

Visit our eBay Store to View a Wide Assortment of COMPLETE Camera Kits!

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