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    Getting Camera Feed in the Dark

    Hi.

    I want to be able to remotely keep a watch on some locations within my home. I plan to install a few CCTV cameras in each of these locations and then connect them to a cetral DVR (digital video recorder) box.

    My problem is that I do not want to keep so many lights on in my home. This means that the images from the camera will probably not be viewable after it gets dark outside.

    So what do I do in this case?

    I was thinking of installing X10 compatible light switches to control the lights in the locations where I will be installing these cameras. Then, I can connect these light switches via a Powerlinc USB device attached to a computer running HomeSeer.

    Does this seem a bit too excessive a solution to the problem of a lack of light for my cameras?

    I suppose I could try using a night vision camera instead, but I heard that unless I am willing to spend a fortune, I cannot expect to get a night vision camera that can produce a half-decent image.

    Any help or advice is much appreciated.

    Thanks.

    #2
    http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47546

    I have this camera and just use residual light from a streetlight (although it is outdoors, not sure if indoors would require more light). Not to bad for $30 (especially if you have a Harbor Freight in your area, no shipping).

    If you do go to the B&M, take a copy of the ad and they will honor the price.

    Good Luck.

    You know, there was a great night vision B&W camera on this forum a long time ago, they had sample video and everything. Rupp might remember as I think I remember he was the one who asked for the sample video to be posted. I think the guy was from Denver or NY as the sample live feed had a lot of snow in it (in a rural area).

    I did a search and never could find this thread.
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    **** Do You "Cocoon"? ****

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      #3
      http://ubb.homeseer.com/6/ubb.x?a=tp...107#3052941107

      http://ubb.homeseer.com/6/ubb.x?a=tp...986#5702940986

      http://ubb.homeseer.com/6/ubb.x?a=tp...096#7352924096

      -Rupp
      Isn't Disney World a people trap operated by a mouse?
      💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

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        #4
        Hi Rupp:

        None of those links were the one I was talking about. I don't know what happened to it, but I couldn't find it in any searches I did.

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        **** Do You "Cocoon"? ****

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          #5
          Another answer could be to install close to each camera a motion detector that triggers through an appliance module a halogene floodlight, or maybe through a lamp-module an incandescent lamp.

          Comment


            #6
            Thanks for all your input guys.

            BraveSirRobbin, that camera you showed seems to be cheap enough to try out. I am in Canada so I want to find out the best place for me to buy it from. Do you know the brand name of the item? Also, you mentioned some place called "B&M"?

            Looking at the threads that Rupp posted, I came accross a camera mentioned by IndependentPete in this thread:
            web page

            The images coming from that camera in total darkness are impressive by my standards. Do you guys know what camera he might be referring to?

            Thanks.

            Comment


              #7
              Yes this was the posting that came to mind with me also. To be honest I was also absolutely stunned with the quality of 79 bucks cam; mine costed 330 dollars and although it gets well to 40ft (the main difference) it has a quality which doesn't greatly outperform this cheapo of IndependentPete

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                #8
                Sorry about not being more clear:

                "B&M" means "Brick and Mortar" which means you must go to the physical store itself (in this case Harbor Freight) vs. ordering the item via their internet site. Thus you don't have to pay shipping. (Carry-over term used at anandtech.com's hot deals forums)

                I was also pointing out that if you do go to the B&M store bring along the internet price print-out and they will honor that price (in-store regular price was a little higher).

                I clicked on that e-bay link by independent-pete and the item had expired. I would be very interested in buying this camera for $79. The problem I have with the Harbor Freight camera is that it gets "washed out" during the day (I just put up with it considering the price I paid for it).

                BSR

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                **** Do You "Cocoon"? ****

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                  #9
                  Do you have any images you can post from the camera?

                  -Rupp
                  Isn't Disney World a people trap operated by a mouse?
                  💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

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                    #10
                    BSR, I would also be interested in taking a look at some pictures generated from this camera of yours. In particular, I am curious how your camera operates indoors in total darkness.

                    Thanks.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I got one of the harbor freight cams a while back. It is a cam, but not really good for real bright or dark situations. IR Leds good for maybe 5 ft., and best focus at 3-5 feet. But it is a cam and is cheap. The local K-Mart has the below B/W cam for $40 in the light bulb and smoke detector section. I haven't tried this one.

                      http://tinyurl.com/oaf7
                      Why I like my 2005 rio yellow Honda S2000 with the top down, and more!

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                        #12
                        Here another one a couple of pages in that looks identical but is only $29

                        http://www.kmart.com/product/index.j...ductId=1057837

                        -Rupp
                        Isn't Disney World a people trap operated by a mouse?
                        💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

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                          #13
                          I did a test with this camera by pointing it towards my bathroom mirror with the door closed. I couldn't see the hand in front of my face, yet this camera showed a ghost image of me about three feet away (from the mirror). Was not a very clear picture, but you could tell it was me. Any further away and you could tell it was a person, but that's about it. These IR-LED's are only good for a very short distance.

                          I also had this camera mounted next to an X-10 "nightwatch" camera and it was a lot clearer image at night with only a streetlight in the background providing light. (Don't have that camera or pics and already have camera mounted so I can't repeat above tests).

                          Here are some sample images taken of the camera in its outdoor location. There is a 60 watt outdoor light above the garage door which is about 20 feet away from the camera.

                          It really depends what kind of quality you want. I wanted to be able to tell when I got deliveries, family members coming and going, etc... I feel I got what I paid for.

                          Another interesting thing about this camera is that it comes with 80 feet of cable, but its standard 28 awg, four conductor wire (i.e. in theory this could run over standard Cat5 cable you may already have installed in your house).

                          Hope this helps, if you need any more info let me know.

                          BSR

                          [This message was edited by Brave Sir Robbin on Mon, 22 September 2003 at 09:56 PM.]
                          Attached Files
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                          **** Do You "Cocoon"? ****

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                            #14
                            Images are not displaying? I dragged one of them into PSP and it stated it was not a valid gif?

                            -Rupp
                            Isn't Disney World a people trap operated by a mouse?
                            💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

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                              #15
                              I downloaded the file, unzipped the files, and they showed up fine in Microsoft Photo Editor.

                              I also went to another computer and did the same and they opened up fine there.

                              Wonder what is going on?

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                              **** Do You "Cocoon"? ****

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