CCTV through windows

[suniks]

Hi, I'm hoping someone call help, I know very little about CCTV.

I've just bought a Y-CAM IP camera (black) (http://www.y-cam.com/y-cam-black, which has IR night vision. We've had a spate of break-ins on our cars and I want to keep an eye on them.

Anyway, just tried to set this up, indoors, so the camera looks through a window, and watches our driveway, but I get appalling glare from the LCD illuminators, so much so, that it just doesn't work.

I know I can buy an external housing for this and mount it outside, but what I'm wondering is, if I could buy a separate illuminator, something like this, here, and just turn off the LEDs for the Y-Cam night vision?

Any help, including alternative camera's (can always try and return this one), is very much appreciated.

 

[nwatson6]

You are better off with seperate camera and seperate illuminator.

Cameras with integral illuminators will tend to attract spiders, who will spin a web accross the camera front. It is also likely that you can see some visible light from the illuminator.

Depending on which wavelength of illuminator you buy, you will get either good range, but some visible (red) light (850nm) or (940nm) poor range and no visible light.

Best solution is to use external illuminator (940nm), some look like a floodlight, so to the criminal he will assume it is a standard floodlight.

Then to get decent pictures on a camera, you would need to plan carefully the camera/s positions as I presume you do not want them to know they are being filmed?
As is always the case the more money you spend the better the results.

Take a look here http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk a bit expensive, but at least you can see what things cost before you try and cut prices by buying from Hong Kong. Also note that most of the claims about range etc you can cut that at least in half if not to a third.

 

[hornydragon]

I would externally mount the cameras and if you want the footage to be usable rather than just adeterent you will need to speak to the Local police on the regs for evidence CCTV (timestamps and certain framerates are required)