Hikvision settings for better night-time performance?

[rkg]

I have a DS-2CD2185FWD-I camera. And by day i'm happy with it, but at night I have a small light on just a few meter away. When that is on I have trouble with my night vision. I can only see clear a few meters. Is there a guide or something that could help me get the best off my camera with the light on? Or should I switch to a different type of camera. Any tips? There is a person left in the picture, but he's very hard to see. I don't think its good enough with light off and only night vision as well..

 

[Dan]

Hi @rkg

It looks like the security light you have there is stopping the camera from automatically switching to black & white IR mode, which would give you clearer images at night.

If you login to the camera with a browser and go to Configuration > Image > Display Settings > Day/Night Switch and click the Day/Night Switch dropdown to change it from auto to scheduled-switch, once this is selected you can set when the camera switches in and out of IR mode and once you have those times set to what you want you can click save and wait overnight to see if you get improved low-light results while in IR mode.

 

[rkg]

Thank you for these tips, I will test them. But my problem is that I live in Norway so the lights is changing a lot, so if I could have different times around the year it would be better.

 

[Dan]

There is no way on this older camera model to schedule the IR switch to happen at different times throughout the year.

The simplest solution as you already have the white light in the scene would be to use a ColorVu camera instead, they have improved hardware (bigger sensor, larger lens aperture) to achieve clearer colour images at night.

 

[rkg]

Could you recommend a camera for me? I need to see clear in the night around 15meter. Would any colorvu camera be good?

 

[Dan]

Yes, any ColorVu model should work fine to cover 15m.

Turret cameras are the most popular style, but it obviously depends on your install location and your own personal preference.

 

[cymruchris]

Additionally - if you were able to rotate the camera a few mm to lose a little more of the white wall - you may find the camera would switch to b/w automatically. It depends on how important it is to see that sliver of wall. It's the well illuminated white that's keeping you in colour. I'm not sure on your model - maybe @Dan might know - but under Configuration > Image > Display Settings > Day/Night Switch - There might also be the option to change the sensitivity as to when the b/w switch happens. I gather the higher the number - the easier it'll switch. I might play with both of these suggestions before changing the camera.

 

[Dan]

Yes, what @cymruchris says is something else you can try with the 2185FWD-I

 

[rkg]

Thanks for the help so far! I think I will have a problem with rotating the camera, At least I have to give up some of the areas I want to cover. I have added a photo when I have night vision on, and I think it's way too blurry. So I need a ColorVu camera I guess?

 

[cymruchris]

That looks to me as if you're getting some infra red blowback from the inside of your dome. Although it might look fairly clean in daylight - I might take the dome apart and make sure both the internal and external surfaces are absolutely spotless. It only takes a thin layer of grime to cause issues. The turret style camera would be easier to maintain as there's a single glass lens that needs a wipe down from time to time - but domes do have a habit of getting dirty, and then giving you an image like this at night (from what I've experienced so far anyway).

 

[CQR-View]

Personally i am not a fan of dome cameras installed in an external application, due to the IR Reflection, extremely difficult to eliminate especially with older models.
I agree with Dan 100%, replace the 2185 Camera with a DS-2CD2347G2-L(U) ColorVu Turret Camera, your problems will be solved

 

[Mart68]

I had this problem with one of my dome camera's. So I set the BLC Area to "Auto" and turned on "Smart Supplement Light" then set the Light Brightness Control to "Manual" and set the IR Light to "8". This improved the image and made the dark areas lighter. To much IR is not always a good thing.