I was never under any illusion about the limited effectiveness of an infra-red image for the purposes of recognition at night. However, now that my 4MP Hikvision dome camera (with an IR range of 30m) has actually captured an image of thieves attempting to break into vehicles on our driveway, I am faced with the reality that it is pretty much useless. All I now know is that 2 individuals, probably male, entered the driveway and checked to see if the doors were locked and viewed the contents of the cars, presumably to assess whether a quick smash and grab was an option. And that's about it.
The quality of the relatively bright but ghostly images at a range of approx 6m is so poor that not only could the faces not be recognised, I can't even be sure whether it is a long haired male or a female that comes closest to the camera, which is mounted in the eave of the garage at a height of about 2m. Prior to a security light bring triggered (which fazes the thieves not one bit - they go about their task unhesitatingly and swiftly), the image is totally useless, beyond identifying the number or persons involved. Even with that extra lighting, the improvement in image quality is not meaningful.
The discreet nature of the camera means that the thieves obviously do not see it. So it's not a deterrent. However, nor is it a potentially useful crime solving tool, because the image is so poor (short of a thief standing still and posing for the camera).
So I'm left with the conclusion that when I find my property broken into, the added benefit of several hundred pounds worth of expenditure in video surveillance will tell me only how many thieves were involved and whether or not they had long or short hair (always assuming they didn't cover their heads with their hoodies - and my thieves didn't bother!). Not very helpful.
I know I could tweak some settings on the camera to improve the likelihood of capturing a better image at night and I have experimented with these in the past, but realistically the improvement required to get a useful result is far beyond those minor software tweaks.
I conclude that I either accept I have an excellent, but daylight only, surveillance system. Or I indulge in a significant technology upgrade for nighttime?
If the latter, can any IR solution, no matter how well illuminated, actually be useful in identification of people who are not going to consciously pose for the camera? Or is the answer to provide "daytime" equivalent security illumination? Is that even practicable?
The quality of the relatively bright but ghostly images at a range of approx 6m is so poor that not only could the faces not be recognised, I can't even be sure whether it is a long haired male or a female that comes closest to the camera, which is mounted in the eave of the garage at a height of about 2m. Prior to a security light bring triggered (which fazes the thieves not one bit - they go about their task unhesitatingly and swiftly), the image is totally useless, beyond identifying the number or persons involved. Even with that extra lighting, the improvement in image quality is not meaningful.
The discreet nature of the camera means that the thieves obviously do not see it. So it's not a deterrent. However, nor is it a potentially useful crime solving tool, because the image is so poor (short of a thief standing still and posing for the camera).
So I'm left with the conclusion that when I find my property broken into, the added benefit of several hundred pounds worth of expenditure in video surveillance will tell me only how many thieves were involved and whether or not they had long or short hair (always assuming they didn't cover their heads with their hoodies - and my thieves didn't bother!). Not very helpful.
I know I could tweak some settings on the camera to improve the likelihood of capturing a better image at night and I have experimented with these in the past, but realistically the improvement required to get a useful result is far beyond those minor software tweaks.
I conclude that I either accept I have an excellent, but daylight only, surveillance system. Or I indulge in a significant technology upgrade for nighttime?
If the latter, can any IR solution, no matter how well illuminated, actually be useful in identification of people who are not going to consciously pose for the camera? Or is the answer to provide "daytime" equivalent security illumination? Is that even practicable?
