Non-InfraRed CCTV style camera

[Stuart91]

I've got an installation customer looking to add a fixed camera to allow them to do basic live-streaming.

 

The two main challenges are that the only suitable mounting point is quite far away, and the room is rather gloomy at times. It's lit by quite old chandelier-type fittings.

 

Budget is quite limited (certainly hundreds rather than thousands) and my usual inclination would be to look at the higher-end CCTV offerings. This has worked quite effectively on previous jobs, but one problem we've hit is that standard CCTV cameras will drop into infra-red mode when the light level drops below a particular point. I'm pretty sure that this place is gloomy enough to make it an issue.

 

They're well aware that the lighting needs an upgrade, but don't have the money for that just now. It doesn't help that nobody attending "in person" is particularly bothered about it.

 

So what I'm looking for is a relatively affordable camera, that can cover an area 5m wide from about 25m back, and won't drop into an IR mode. I spent a fruitless hour or two looking through various CCTV distributors and resellers and so far can't find anything.

 

Does anyone know of a product out there that's likely to work, or am I looking for something that just doesn't exist?

[Brian]

The coverage is just down to choosing the right lens. As for IR, I'm sure the JVC units I have can be switched into non-IR mode. I'll try to remember the model number when I'm at the store in the morning. I have a pile of them bought S/H on eBay.

[ImagineerTom]

Surely this is a situation for a gopro or clone - they're available with a range of lenses / focal lengths and over the past few months the software and cables to patch them in to streaming / broadcast systems have become very common.

[alistermorton]

Our Samsungs can be told, via the interface, not to switch to IR, too. Once set as such they have to be manually forced from daylight to IR via an external signal (which we sometimes do via a cue in the lighting plot). I'm pretty sure some of the generic Hikvision cameras have the same capability.

[Stuart91]

Our Samsungs can be told, via the interface, not to switch to IR, too.

 

Do you know which model numbers you have? I thought I'd found a Samsung that would suit, but from digging through the manual it would always drop into IR mode irrespective of any other settings.

 

Surely this is a situation for a gopro or clone -

 

That hadn't occurred to me - good idea.

 

The camera is going to end up mounted in a fairly inconvenient position so needs to either stay permanently on, or be ready to operate as soon as power is applied. Would GoPros do that, or do they need switched on at the unit itself?

 

I'll try to remember the model number when I'm at the store in the morning.

 

That'd be really handy Brian, thanks.

 

JVC still seem to be making cameras but I can see any that explicitly advertise this function, I'll probably have to dig through some manuals or spec sheets.

[alistermorton]

It appears I may have got out of sync with our cameras :-) We have used Samsung cameras in the past, the last time I asked our tech director about model numbers it appears we had installed a DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZHS which is already superseded. They're about 300 quid, and you set them up via the IP interface, even though they also output analogue (not such high quality but much less latency)..

[J Pearce]

Gopros and most gopro alikes usually have super wide lenses for FPV.

Not seen any with a focal length suitable for the spec above, though would be interested to discover such products.

[ImagineerTom]

Gopros and most gopro alikes usually have super wide lenses for FPV.

Not seen any with a focal length suitable for the spec above, though would be interested to discover such products.

 

I don't have specific data but in my experience there's a wide range of units and lenses with different angles available, also their compact size means they can be mounted in places and ways other cameras can't.

 

There's SO MANY different units and apps out there now I couldn't give a definitive answer on how they last longterm self booting but I can confidently say there's literally thousands of people trying to do what the OP is doing and creating app's and interfaces to make it happen with micro-cameras that my instinct is that this sector is more likely to have the answer off the shelf than the relatively sedate world of CCTV?

[Jivemaster]

All my old composite cameras were either colour or low light black and white, couldn't get low light colour done well.

[adam2]

Or simply upgrade the lighting, with chandelier type fittings this can be done very cheaply. Simply replace the existing lamps with higher output LED lamps. Or obtain a couple of cheap LED floods, plug these into existing socket outlets and direct them upwards to give an indirect light reflected from the ceiling.

[abbotsmike]

https://www.hikvision.com/uk/products/IP-Products/Network-Cameras/Ultra-Series-SmartIP-/DS-2CD5A46G0-IZ-H-S/

 

Look at something from Hikvision's darkfighter range. They'll be noisy as in super low light, but they will remain full colour in low light scenarios, and you can definitely force them to not drop into IR mode.

[Stuart91]

Or simply upgrade the lighting, with chandelier type fittings this can be done very cheaply.

 

That was my first suggestion - but it's mired in politics and will have to be dealt with separately. That of course won't stop people complaining if there's an issue with the cameras in the meantime. <_<

 

In this case, the roof is a bit on the high side for indirect light, but it's a trick I'll remember for other scenarios.

 

Look at something from Hikvision's darkfighter range.

 

That's excellent, thanks. They do a box camera model that can take a range of lenses, so it looks like that'll do the job perfectly.