IR cameras indoors but pointing outdoor

[jaysta]

Hi there,

This maybe a daft question but I've got to ask.

Will the infra-red on a CCTV camera be effective at night when situating the camera inside the house but pointing to my back yard for example?

Thanks

Jay

 

[jaysta]

Just to add insult to injury...

The reason I'm asking this is because I'm wanting to fit a couple in my house and being able to see what's going on in the dark is important but I would rather just situate them in the corner of my window on the inside and point it outwards. I don't know why but the double glazed window is what is concerning me and hence the daft question...

 

[unseen]

Afraid to say the chances are they wouldn't work too well.. Based on trying this myself (just to see if the kit I'd purchased worked initially), everytime it went to night mode the IR just reflected off the window making the images pretty useless.

What I ended up doing was mounting them externally about 9ft up. Seems to work well, with an external waterproof box mounted next to it to hold the cat 5 balun.

Hope that helps..

 

[PJF]

What you need to remember is that IR light is the same as any other normal light its just much higher up the spectrum. If you got a bog standard torch & held that up to your window the light would bounce back at you. Its exactly the same for IR lamps except you can not see the IR light but your camera can.

Paul.

 

[jaysta]

Ah,

Thanks guys for your replies. I'm glad I asked now.

Will have to go back to the drawing board I think though now.

Jay

 

[JohnD]

you could put the camera inside but the IR illuminators outside, I suppose. You do not have to use the little LEDs supplied with the camera.

Long ago I used Tabby Infra-red binoculars, the light source was car headlight bulbs with an IR filter over the lens.

 

[mattylad]

I tried this once, had a crap picture because of the reflections.

 

[TicklyT]

Two technologies fighting each other!
Double glazing designed to minimise heat loss by reflecting infrared transmissions versus a camera designed to be sensitive to infrared sources.