Improving Security Camera Footage (review of hardware after burglary)

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Improving Security Camera Footage (review of hardware after burglary)

timbosan

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#302321 14-Nov-2022 21:26

A while back I posted a question about my setup and "how to make it better" Security Camera upgrade time! Looking at options and feedback (geekzone.co.nz) - which in hindsight was a bit open ended. However now I have a real use case - last night someone entered my property, tried to get in downstairs, stole some washing on the line (WHY????) and some garden tools but I did get some footage.

But the footage isn't great, I suppose typical camera problems - its all from the IR LED's so black and white, hard to make out details, etc. Here's a capture from one camera (5MP Reolink PoE to XProtect)

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Camera would only be around 5m away, slightly elevated, he didn't seem to care about the obvious red LED's.

So questions:

* What would be the top 2 changes to make the picture clearer? As in being able to identify someone?
* Can I use the cameras I already have, or do I need a wholesale change, e.g. Starlight cameras?
* Is there an 'easy' fix, for example lots of spotlghts?

In the meantime I have beefed up security to try and make entering the property harder, but you know, some people......

MadEngineer

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#2996321 14-Nov-2022 22:44

Security lights. When ours go off the scene is like a bright day to the camera.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

dt

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#2996322 14-Nov-2022 22:52

Sorry to hear youve been a victim to these absolute scumbags

Youre right on the money with spotlights improving the quality of the image, but most importantly.. they're an even better deterrent.. if you light them up clear as day 9/10 they'll run away which is a far better result then having a nice clear image of them stealing from you again

If you still want to upgrade your camera, id highly recommend the Hikvision colorvu 2.0 cameras + supplemental lighting such as motion floodlights.. you can get genuine international version off ali express a lot cheaper than you can here in NZ

If you aren't keen on hikvision, hanwha[korean made] cameras are a decent option but be prepared to pay extra for decent non chinese made cameras!

neb

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#2996808 15-Nov-2022 16:50

Security lights can also be a right PITA if they get triggered at random by cats and other things, so make sure that's what you really want if it's outside a bedroom or similar. What I'd start with is add an IR illuminator closer to where the camera is pointing so it's well-lit by IR without having to rely on spot illumination from the camera.

Jase2985

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#2996815 15-Nov-2022 17:18

reolinks are pretty average at night, they have a really small sensor so just cant get the light/IR in enough to get a great picture, but are pretty good during the day.

a camera with good night performance will cost you probably double what your reolink cost.

I just brought 3 of these off amazon as they were highly recommended for both day and night on IPcamtalk. they are re-badged Dahua cameras.

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-IPC-T5442TM-AS-Starlight-Eyeball-Network/dp/B07S21FVC7/

timbosan

2159 posts

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#2996825 15-Nov-2022 17:36

neb: Security lights can also be a right PITA if they get triggered at random by cats and other things, so make sure that's what you really want if it's outside a bedroom or similar. What I'd start with is add an IR illuminator closer to where the camera is pointing so it's well-lit by IR without having to rely on spot illumination from the camera.

Good point - one of the two areas I want lit better (the one in the photo) is close to a neighbor, I am sure they don't want 1000 watts of multi-coloured Hue lights beaming in at 3pm when a moth flies in front of the camera! The other is the back yard, so less of a neighbor concern.

I have been thinking about this more, and will probably try a couple of different things:

1) Hue motion sensor (have another already, they are MAGIC for anyone with Hue lights), set in the area of the screengrab along with a Hue Discover outdoor light. Lets me set the brightness as needed

2) IR illuminator - haven't tried these so will do this first, always been keen to see how much they change things over built in IR.

Are there any recommendations on IR, anything to stay away from?

cshwone

1070 posts

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#2996829 15-Nov-2022 17:41

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/eufy-eufy-security-floodlight-2k-pro-white/626975.html

I installed one of the above. The lights really do turn night into day. Apart from a mains feed they are self contained with inbuilt storage, connect to wifi and controlled through the Eufy app. They can also be set to ignore animals of the four legged kind. It doesn't react to moths/insects.

Lights can also be adjusted for warmth and intensity.

The deterrence aspect is great.

There are some good videos on You tube for this.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

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#2996840 15-Nov-2022 17:49

timbosan:

However now I have a real use case - last night someone entered my property, tried to get in downstairs, stole some washing on the line (WHY????) and some garden tools but I did get some footage.

Your picture looks pretty good to me. We've got prosecutions with less clear images.

As for the washing, my guess is so he has a change of clothes so he's not caught wearing the same clothes he was seen in when acting suspiciously. That or some weird sexual thing.

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PolicyGuy

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#2996843 15-Nov-2022 17:59

SirHumphreyAppleby:

Your picture looks pretty good to me. We've got prosecutions with less clear images.

As for the washing, my guess is so he has a change of clothes so he's not caught wearing the same clothes he was seen in when acting suspiciously. That or some weird sexual thing.

Have you shown the picture to the Police?
It might be plenty good enough for a local police officer to say "My goodness me, good old Xxxx Yyyyyy must have been let out early, he's back to his old tricks. Thank you very much, sir, if you would just write & sign a short statement we'll have him locked up again in no time at all"

MarkM536

309 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2996941 15-Nov-2022 22:01

Flood lights are great for deterrence but, be careful when it triggers.

Bright flood lights cause the camera to switch from night vision. The sudden change in lighting can happen at just the wrong moment when a face could have been captured.

I would suggest extra IR lighting or buy a camera (like Dahua night colour) that can stay in colour video.

Audio warning works well to deter, record a voice yourself so it sounds as if you are watching them live.

cshwone:

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/eufy-eufy-security-floodlight-2k-pro-white/626975.html

I installed one of the above. The lights really do turn night into day. Apart from a mains feed they are self contained with inbuilt storage, connect to wifi and controlled through the Eufy app. They can also be set to ignore animals of the four legged kind. It doesn't react to moths/insects.

The imaging sensor inside those consumer grade Eufy cameras are just as bad as the Reolink one.

Review videos of that flood light shows it's worse when it comes to motion blur than Reolink.

timbosan

2159 posts

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#2996949 15-Nov-2022 22:51

Added an IR Illuminator to my next Amazon order, luckily I have external power points

AUTENS IR Illuminator, 850nm 12-LEDs 90 Degree Wide Angle IP67 Waterproof Night Vision LED Array IR Infrared Light with AU-Plug Power Adapter for Security Surveillance IP Camera CCTV Analogue (12LED 90° Grey) : Amazon.com.au: Electronics

neb

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#2996953 15-Nov-2022 23:18

MarkM536:
I would suggest extra IR lighting or buy a camera (like Dahua night colour) that can stay in colour video.

Note that those aren't what you think, they have white LEDs that throw a low level of light across a scene coupled with a low-light camera, so you've got permanent illumination of the area and a somewhat washed-out image, not a way of producing a colour image from a non-visible monochromatic light source.

timbosan

2159 posts

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#2996975 16-Nov-2022 08:53

PolicyGuy:

SirHumphreyAppleby:

Your picture looks pretty good to me. We've got prosecutions with less clear images.

As for the washing, my guess is so he has a change of clothes so he's not caught wearing the same clothes he was seen in when acting suspiciously. That or some weird sexual thing.

Have you shown the picture to the Police?
It might be plenty good enough for a local police officer to say "My goodness me, good old Xxxx Yyyyyy must have been let out early, he's back to his old tricks. Thank you very much, sir, if you would just write & sign a short statement we'll have him locked up again in no time at all"

So, this happened at 12:05am Monday, I filled out a report about 2pm on Monday online, on Tuesday MORNING I had a knock at the door and an 'incident responder' (I think that was their title?) came around, took notes and photos and more details, and emailed me a link to upload video.

I was VERY impressed, given how stretched the Police are that they responded so fast to a minor incident. Here is hoping something comes of it!

timbosan

2159 posts

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#2996976 16-Nov-2022 08:55

On a different part of the same topic, I want to make a strong recommendation for XProtect - I use Essentials+, the free version (limited to 8 cameras and no smart notifications) but it has proven to be a fantastic tool for multi camera playback with easy navigation across times and the ability to export footage out. Super stable, web, Windows and mobile clients.

One of the reasons for my move to Reolink (from older Dahua cameras) was to get person level notifications whilst still keeping XProtect. I did try Blue iris (since I know someone will raise it) but never liked it.

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#2996985 16-Nov-2022 09:39

We have a combination of Ring cameras - Spotlight on deck/back yard and another on front yard, Floodlight on driveway and Doorbell on front door plus some Wi-Fi floodlight on the garage corner (one pointing up the driveway another pointing to back yard.

We also have some Amazon Echo devices and all these three are linked through Amazon Alexa. If a person is detected on any of these cameras then an automation will turn on the lights on the driveway and the Wi-Fi floodlights. The automation counts 15 minutes then turn those off. Rinse and repeat.

Meanwhile if a person is detected on front yard or driveway, Alexa announces it to our Echo devices (or in case of our Echo Show devices it also shows the live video automatically). We have the lights come when someone is detected on back yard but no announcement via Alexa because we frequently go outside when the dogs go out through the deck door.

Also notice the Ring cameras have both "person detected" and "motion detected", the later mainly being cats so we only automate the lights with "person detected". You can also group the lights so we can easily say "Alexa, turn on (or off) outside) and the lights will switch on command.

Mother-in-law has a similar setup but she had Eufy installed instead of Ring.

MarkM536

309 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2997285 16-Nov-2022 21:58

neb:
MarkM536:

I would suggest extra IR lighting or buy a camera (like Dahua night colour) that can stay in colour video.

Note that those aren't what you think, they have white LEDs that throw a low level of light across a scene coupled with a low-light camera, so you've got permanent illumination of the area and a somewhat washed-out image, not a way of producing a colour image from a non-visible monochromatic light source.

Yes, some of them use white LEDs on constantly.

I'm referring to the one's that have no added illumination to produce a night colour image.

Motion blur is still an issue on them, but sudden change in lighting is less significant.