The Mystery of Night Vision

night vision

The term night vision refers to the ability to see when there is not enough light. Usually, night vision is made possible by a combination of sufficient intensity range and sufficient spectral range. Sufficient intensity range refers to the ability of seeing objects in low light condition. It has been observed that humans have poor night vision as compared to most animals. This is largely because of the differences in the anatomy and morphology of their eyes. On the other hand, the spectral range techniques can sense the radiation that is invisible to a human observer. Their vision is restricted to a certain range of electromagnetic spectrum that is called visible light. In order to ensure improved vision in low light conditions, companies like Axton Technologies offer a wide range of IR illuminators.

The light spectrum is measured in the inverse or in the wave length, whichever is frequent. The wave length of light is measured in nanometers and one nanometer is equal to 1 x 10^-9 meters. The visible portion of this spectrum is between 380nm to 750nm range. The day/night optical cameras are manufactured in a way so that these can observe a wider spectrum than the human eyes. These optical cameras perform better with the assistance of IR illuminators. In case there is very low illumination from the street lights or the moon, an IR illuminator can be used as a spotlight to use these cameras.

There are different types of IR illumination devices including LED light, laser type and filtered incandescent lamps. These are high power lamps that are covered by an infrared filter. It lets the infrared radiation pass and blocks the visible light component. LED illuminators utilize a group of standard infrared emitting LEDs. The laser types are the most efficient among IR illuminators. These devices are based on an infrared laser diode which produces near infrared energy.

As IR illuminators have several advantages over other night vision technologies, they have merged as the most in demand among a wide range of industries and businesses. Apart from being cost-effective as compared to other options, IR illuminators also offer better quality as they can perform high-speed video capture; see through darkness, mist, fog, rain and snowfall etc; and eliminate the inconsistency of ambient light. As the market has a growing demand for these, Axton Technologies brings a range of IR illuminators along with LED light and other professional lighting solutions for security and surveillance.

 

How to determine the best price for Your Security Camera System?

Protecting the assets of your company is one of the most crucial tasks that you have to do while running a business. Probably, one of the best ways to do the same is to install an IP camera as this ensures that all your property is looked after well, round the clock. Although an IP camera alone may not be sufficient to ensure complete security of your business, it can nevertheless play an important role. By installing an IR illuminator or an IP camera, you can prevent damage, intrusion and theft, monitor all your employees, and build entrance security. Keeping all these in mind, Axton – a leading name when it comes to IR illuminators, IP cameras, blaze white lights or other kind of power supplies, is offering a wide range of IP cameras at an affordable rate.

There are a lot of factors that determine the price of a security camera system. IP cameras are available within a price range of $100 to $1000. Based on the price tag, the features of these cameras vary and the pricier versions come loaded with several top-of-the-line traits that their less expensive counterparts don’t have. Basically, quality and functionality are the two factors that determine the price of a security camera system. Cameras that are available at a lower cost are ideal for people who want to install a security camera system at their home. These are not designed for commercial surveillance and security applications.

On the other hand, the more expensive the camera is, the longer it will last. Cameras that are expensive are equipped with better video processing circuits and better sensors, and offer better visibility. They also ensure better light handling capability. Moreover, these cameras are equipped with faster internal computers that come loaded with the best possible compression algorithms. This way, customers using them get to benefit from video at higher frame rates. With a good quality IP camera that has quality lens, you can notice all the minute details, necessary to keep a close eye on your assets and employees.

Experts at Axton advise considering the surveillance objectives before buying an IP camera. If you are planning to buy one, remember these pointers to make an informed decision.

Myths About Video Surveillance Systems

Gone are the days when people were first dependent on people and the other machinery that promised security of life and property. With the improvement in technology, it is now seen that the criminals are using better methods to break through some secured areas. This is where one needs advanced security measures. You cannot just rely on the preventive security measures to protect life and property. You also need to keep some measures that will help you to track the criminals after the crime has been performed. This is when you might think of a Video Surveillance system.

The fact that these systems have proved to be the best among all those that are used for the purpose of security, has brought about many companies working to improve the methods and machinery being used in them. Even though, everything looks promising and good enough, there are a few myths that have resulted in many people doubting the actual working of the security systems. A few myths and the respective facts are as mentioned below.

MYTH : Searching for the Footage is difficult.

FACT : There are a number of Video Surveillance systems that store the footage for future reference. It is true that it seems to be difficult to search a small clip from the entire footage that is being recorded since hours. But, technology has brought out a solution for this too. We can now use the date and time to search a particular clip within the entire video footage.

MYTH : You will never get the clarity in images and videos taken at night as compared to those taken in broad daylight.

FACT : You can avail night/ day cameras if you wish to capture images both; during the day and the night. A White Light Infrared Illuminator will help you get a clear image. The camera should be fixed with an infrared corrected lens that solves the problem of switching between the day and night modes.

MYTH : The IR Illuminators usually have a fixed range of illumination that needs to be compared to that of the camera before it is bought.

FACT : The Illumination distance of an Infrared Illuminator can be increased by simply increasing the output power of the light source. If you want to increase the distance twice, you need to increase the distance thrice, the output power should be increased nine times and so on.

It is therefore seen that nothing is possible in this advanced world of technology. One can surely make use of the advanced settings that most of these devices have, to make sure that they work well and give the expected output.

How to choose a Video Surveillance System for Your Home?

The need for security at home and office and the monitoring over the employees at the workplace are the main reasons why people are looking up to a video surveillance system. Every individual wishes to keep their goods, property and his dear ones safe enough. These security systems not only capture images and videos, but can also be used to watch the live footage of any suspicious activity taking place.

But, are all the surveillance systems the same? Like every other technology, here too there are a number of factors, one would need to consider before investing in the entire system. These factors are the basic ones that will help people to know what they really need. Its only after you are clear with this, that you can move on to the next advanced features you wish to consider about the camera. Let us take a look at all these basic features one by one.

1. The Place where the Cameras would be installed: This is extremely important as you need to know the kinds of cameras that you will have to invest in. Indoor cameras are quite simpler as compared to the outdoor ones as they are used for normal capturing of images and videos and come without weather proofing. The indoor cameras are also quite cheaper as compared to the outdoor ones.
2. The Kind of Camera you want: There are two basic kinds of cameras; the Black and White and the Color ones. You can select any of these as per your requirement. The Black and White cameras allow you to install a surveillance system at a lower cost. Moreover, these cameras give excellent results in dim light. They are best used at restaurants and outdoor night monitoring. They also respond well when IR Illuminators are being used along with them. However, it is good to have at least one colored camera around as it is ideal for positive suspect recognition.
3. Stationary or Potable Cameras: You need to decide whether you will need to move the cameras now and then, or you would simply let it remain where it is being installed. The wireless cameras offer great portability making sure that the camera can be uninstalled and reinstalled easily. The Wired cameras add in a little more complexity in the process of installation. The wired ones are cheaper than the wireless ones.
4. You wish to watch it Live or just Record it: You will want to take the live footage of the activities taking place in areas where immediate response is required. The examples are hospitals and child care. Whereas, in places where you need not respond immediately, you can prefer the recording of videos.

Apart from these, you can also consider the points such as the range of the cameras, the lens used, the image quality, etc. There are many more such factors that one would like to consider. But, those factors would only keep adding to the cost of the system. If you just need a simple

IP Surveillance Systems as compared to CCTV Systems

The introduction of newer ways of performing things, and different techniques involved in making things work has now started affecting many fields. The field of security is no exception to this. A few years ago, we saw the sensor alarms being famous which then gave rise to cameras being used to monitor the movements in an area. With change in technology and the demand for better and sharper images, people came up with cameras that delivered high resolution images and worked efficiently in broad daylight as well as the minimum amount of light that they get at night.

Since most of the crimes are performed during night time, night vision became a very important part of security systems. Here is when the companies came up with night vision cameras and the IR Illuminators that can be installed with the basic CCTV cameras or the advanced IP cameras. This shows how the devices used for security have gradually changed. But, is this enough? A CCTV camera captures images and Videos that are stored in the memory that is limited and can be seen later. But, is there anything that will help you watch the video live; while it is being captured?

Yes, there is! You can go in for the IP Surveillance System that will help you capture an image or a video footage and move it to a computer or a network where it can be viewed live. This surveillance system is nothing but the advanced version of security measures applied using the concept of an IP network and the CCTV cameras used together. The factors that make this surveillance system better than the CCTV cameras are as mentioned below:

1.    Wide Range Networking: You can connect these cameras to a large network that covers, indoor as well as outdoor security. Known to have a wide range of video servers that we can select from, the system also allows you to make use of the analog CCTV cameras and still get the benefits of the complete digital system.

2.    Two way Audio Communication: Apart from the special footage that you can watch on a remotely placed computer, the advanced IP cameras also allow you to perform two way communication over the network. This means that you cannot not only hear what is going on at the site, but you can also question intruders from where you are sitting.

3.    Recording and Storage: This is the most important factor that we all are worried about. There are times when we need to refer to a footage taken a few days or months back. But, this footage may have been deleted because of the limited storage memory that is available. With the use of IP Surveillance Systems, you can be sure that you have all the data stored on the hard disk of the computer that is connected to the network.

Surveillance Systems

4.    No Separate Power Cable needed: Unlike the other CCTV cameras that need a separate power cable to be connected to make sure that they are working, the cameras connected to an IP network do not need one. You do not need to call an electrician to install your cameras anymore. The Ethernet cable that is used for data transmission, it acts like a power cable for cameras connected in a network. You can therefore relax as your camera will keep working even when the power is off.

These are the few main factors that make IP Surveillance systems, superior to the CCTV systems that make use of simple analog CCTV cameras. You can instead make use of networked cameras that require less maintenance and still work efficiently to deliver the best quality images and video footage that one would expect.

How does an IR illuminator work?

We all know that technology is improving in all the fields. Whether it is the equipment, the techniques or the final product, we can see the effect of this improvement in all the phases of living. People are now looking forward to ensure that this can be made use of in their day to day lives as well. As we all know, security has become a great matter of concern in today’s world. We need to protect people and property from criminals.

Here too, we can see that the use of advanced technology like the surveillance systems and the CCTV cameras is on a rise. People are now installing these systems around their homes, offices and many other public places too. But, do they capture everything that you wish to catch? Are these cameras useful even when it is pitch dark outside? No, even the most powerful CCTV cameras need at least some amount of light that will help them see through the dark and capture clear images. Therefore, scientists came forth with the concept of Infrared Light or IR light. This IR light is generated using an IR Illuminator that can be attached to the camera.

How does an IR Illuminator work?

Before we move on to this, we must know that the human eye can see the light that is present between a certain range. If the light exceeds the frequency, it is called an ultra violet light. Whereas, if the frequency is lower than the standard range, it is considered to be an Infrared light.

The IR Illuminators thus generate this Infrared light that is actually invisible to the human eye. The light is generated and passed on in the region that lies in the range of the camera. The cameras are made with the capability to catch this light and thus help in capturing clear images. We have thus seen that the IR Illuminator illuminates light that can only be distinguished by the camera, but cannot be seen by the human eye.

Working of the IR Illuminators with CCTV Cameras

As mentioned above, the IR Illuminators can be used well with the CCTV cameras for surveillance systems. But, since all the CCTV cameras are not the same, you need to check whether the camera can be used along with an illuminator.

It is usually observed that the black and white CCTV cameras are more sensitive towards IR light and give sharper and brighter images. But, not all the CCTV cameras that give colored images can get along well with these illuminators. The filters present in these cameras usually cut off the effect of the IR light in order to make sure that they get a clear and a sharper image or a footage. Thus, one needs to be sure of the camera, he will be pairing the IR Illuminator with. There is no use buying a good IR Illuminator when the camera itself won’t support it.

Types of IR Illuminators

There are a number of IR Illuminators that are available in the market. You can select them depending on the application you will be using it for.

• Filtered Incandescent lamps: These are Incandescent lamps that are usually covered with an Infrared filter. The filter is responsible to hold back the visible light, making sure that it is not passed on to the outer world. Heat is a major issue in such lamps as the visible light that is held back generates a lot of heat inside.
• LED type Infrared Lights: These are known to be the convenient and efficient IR illuminators as they are made using arrays of LEDs that emit infrared light.
• Laser type: These IR Illuminators make use of laser diodes to produce Infrared energy. These are the most efficient IR Illuminators.

We have thus seen the general working of an IR Illuminator. But, again, it still depends on the material and the equipments being used. You can take a look at the above mentioned types of IR illuminators and compare the material and the working to select the best one that suits your purpose.

Buying Tips for Infrared Illumination

There are a number of things that we might wish to purchase to make life much simpler or to make the place around us a better place to live in. People are spending lavishly when they are concerned about security. CCTV cameras and surveillance systems are often seen installed around homes and offices. With the need of a more advanced security system, there are many security system providers who have come up with the IR Illuminators that help customers to get a better coverage of the area in the dark as well. But, are you among those who simply selects things without judging? If you are paying for a certain thing, it is important to make sure that you make sure that it is worth the price you would be paying. Therefore, while purchasing an IR Illuminator too you need to think about various other things that might affect the quality of the footage and affect the effectiveness of security.

Frequency: This is the most common factor that is often ignored by the buyers. Although the infrared light that is emitted through the illuminators enables night vision, the light emitted cannot be seen by the human eye. Thus, it is a safe device that keeps the criminal unaware of being recorded. The common IR Illuminators that are available in the market, operate at 750nM and 840nM or 880nM. These devices display a small red light when looked at it directly. One must prefer buying an IR Illuminator that operates at 950nM or higher.

Select the Co-Location: The devices and the equipments used for security are not as cheap as we might think. Therefore, we need to think of ways and means to save the cost without compromising on the quality. IR Illuminators are often placed close to the camera. But, seldom do people realize that if the illuminator is placed close to the subject, it will give a much clearer picture with the least power.

Weather Rating: A security camera or an IR Illuminator will not necessarily be placed indoors only. There might be many different places outside your home too. Thus, it is important to see whether the equipments are weather resistant. The term that determines the weather resistance of electronic devices is the Ingress Protection rating. The higher this rating is, the more resistant the device is towards weather. Select an IR Illuminator that has more than IP65.

The Range: This is another important factor that one would have to consider before selecting an IR Illuminator. It is obvious that a person would prefer to purchase an Illuminator that has the longest range. But, the other factors we will have to consider are the power consumption and the larger dimensions that will not be suitable for battery operated systems. Thus, you will have to manage all these constraints depending on the system that you wish to use.

The Kind of Camera: Cameras are produced with different features making them suitable for different applications. Not all cameras can work with all kinds of parts that are attached to them. This means that you need to check whether the camera that you already have or the one you are planning to buy can work with an IR Illuminator attached to it. The black and white cameras with low Lux ratings can prove to be the best for such applications. But, the day and night cameras that people usually prefer are the ones that might give trouble.

These are the five main points that you will have to look into before selecting the appropriate IR Illuminator. If you are about to install the entire security system at home, make sure you purchase all the devices and equipments that complement each other. This will help you in obtaining a clear image and a better video footage. If you already have a camera installed, select an IR Illuminator that works best with it. You can thus be sure of a good security system at the most reasonable price.

The need for even illumination for Network Cameras

We all have known the importance of installing night vision network cameras to obtain better images and footage during the dark. It is during this time that the cameras are capable to capture things that are not visible to the human eye. Images are better captured with the use of the IR Illuminators installed along with these cameras. These illuminators are mainly used for the Infrared light that they provide so that the cameras can capture a clear image. This light is invisible to the human eye and thus does will not give an idea about a camera being installed in a place.

 

The clarity of the image or the video footage obtained highly depends on the kind of IR light emitted by the IR Illuminator. You will rather prefer buying a camera that provides high resolution images. But, higher the resolution of a camera, more evenly distributed the light has to be. These cameras will not be able to capture an image if the IR light from the illuminators is focused in a single direction. The light emitted by this device needs to be focused evenly throughout the range of the camera.

Consider a situation that you are driving a car on a highway. It is pitch dark and you can only see the road and a little more because your headlights are on. Suddenly a car is coming from the opposite direction that also has its headlights on, will cause disturbance in your sight. This is because the light was quite evenly distributed while you were alone, but later as another car appeared, a flash of light coming from a single direction will suddenly prick your iris. This will affect your vision for a while. This is a similar case in cameras as well.

Cameras with a lower resolution give out images that are made of less number of pixels of larger size. Whereas, the high resolution images obtained are the ones that contain high number of pixels, each made up of a smaller size. The larger the pixel, the more it can capture an image. The smaller the pixel, the more amounts of minute details are required. Hence, the quality of lighting may affect these too. Larger pixels may not need even distribution of light, but the smaller ones will need enough of light to be distributed in each of them. Thus, even distribution of the IR Light is required while we expect a network camera to give out clearer images.

 

Advantages of using IR LED with CCTV Cameras

CCTV Cameras are a common thought when one thinks about security. IT is now becoming a common sight to see such cameras around homes, offices and also public places. Since these cameras need to work day and night and are supposed to capture all the movements that may occur within their range, it is necessary to make it efficient enough to capture things in the dark as well. The IR illuminators are devices that enable these CCTV cameras to capture images and videos that cannot otherwise be seen through a human eye. Let us see a few benefits of using IR illuminators and later IR LED lights along with CCTV Cameras.

• The term infra red specifies that it will help capture images even in the dark when things are not clear for the human eye.
• The infra red light is only visible to the camera and cannot be seen by anyone else. Thus making it suitable in areas where security is needed.
• Similar to the above advantages, an IR LED is also made up to help a CCTV capture images in the dark.
• The power consumption of these IR LED illuminators that are being used for CCTV cameras is comparatively low. Thus, it helps in saving the amount that would be spent on power bills.
• Although the LED lights are well known for their efficient light supply, the IR LEDs focus on maintaining security and hence one would not realize whether it is on or off.
• The use of IR LEDs with CCTV cameras is proved to be an efficient method that consumes less energy and is easy to be installed.

Thus, taking into consideration the other installation and power costs that you may have to bear while maintaining a security system; one can surely take the help of IR LED illuminators to save the further costs. Although this might not be the best solution to obtain security, this method proves to be better than simply installing a CCTV camera that will only record the movements during day time.

 

Explaining the working of security cameras

By now, we all know how safe it is to install security cameras to maintain security. People now prefer installing such network cameras in their homes and offices. It is found to be the most reliable method to keep your family and property secure. It is not only a solution for safety, but also a way to safe your property from theft or vandalism. Let us now see how these cameras work.

Each camera has a video transmitter that captures the image or the footage from the security camera and takes it along the network for further viewing. It captures all the movements that take place in the area that comes under its coverage. It does not actually matter of concern whether the camera is wireless or no. All these cameras need to do is capture images obtained during the surveillance and transmit them to the security monitor that is directly connected to the entire system. Some security cameras can be remotely operated, while a few others would have a person sitting at the monitoring end to keep a watch on the working.

There are other forms of cameras that can simply be used to record the movements in an area and keep them stored to be viewed at any point of time from anywhere. Security cameras that are installed in order to record movements at night, need a special add on that would help them in capturing sharper and detailed images or videos. Such add on can be in the form of IR LED Lights or IR Spotlights. This will help improve the night vision capacity of the cameras in order to deliver better results.

There are a variety of cameras available in the market that can be selected upon their working and the purpose they would be used for. The most complex material that would act as an obstruction for security cameras is metal. One would require high frequency cameras to be used for this purpose. Security cameras are available in all possible types and sizes. They can be as small as a button of your shirt or big enough like a camcorder. You can make a choice depending on what you are looking out for.

If you are buying a camera for personal use, you can buy the basic model. If you want to buy it for an organization, you can purchase a bigger one. If still you want the camera to have a clear vision during the night, you can opt for a camera that makes used of IR LED lights.