IR135 Infrared Weatherproof Bullet Camera Demo

A Hands On Security Camera Demo - Part 8

A Series by Camera Security Now Featuring Bryan Wood

POSTED 11/12/2008 by Andy Wendt

Infrared (IR) cameras are an example of product that is often asked about but little understood. And from my experience they are a product to which people often assign an unrealistic level of expectation. I have seen lots of quotes from other vendors who use low cost IR Bullet Cameras as a catch all for a low budget install. Knowing the circumstance for many of these bids I can only imagine that the vendors quoting these low end products are doing so because of their deceptively attractive sounding specs or their ability to sell them at a high margin. You might think these are harsh words but I have spent countless hours over the years talking with people who have no more need for an IR camera than Eskimos have a need for portable refrigerators. That being said lets talk about a top quality IR Bullet Camera and how it can be used.

When looking at the IR135 the first thing you will notice is that it is a full sized bullet camera with 36 "super powered" LED's capable of of providing IR light out to 100 feet. The size of an Infrared camera is important because even in today's high tech world if you want to throw out a lot of Infrared light you need a lot of IR emitters and you can't do that with a small bullet camera. An analogy I often give is that when thinking about an IR camera imagine walking into the space you want to watch on a cloudy moonless night with a flashlight. If you could walk into that space with a flashlight designed to fit in your pocket protector and be happy with your lighting then you won't need a very large IR camera. But if this is the sort of space you would want to light up at distance out to say perhaps 100 feet away then you would most likely want to take a larger lantern style flashlight. The same analogy of course applies to Infrared light and the size of your camera or it's bank of IR emitters.
 

The IR135 is also weatherproof and boasts an IP66 rating which is a must for any camera designed to spend it's life outdoors. IP in this context stands for "Ingress Protection" and is the measure by which all quality camera housings are rated. If you are considering a outdoor camera that does not list it's IP rating then you are most likely looking at a very low end product and you should do your best to protect it from direct exposure to the elements. For more information on this code see the Wikipedia Ingress Protection Chart.

The next major feature of the IR135 is its varifocal lens that can adjust from a setting of a wide angle 3.3mm all the way up to a much more zoomed in setting of 12mm. This as you will see in the video is easily adjusted and taking advantage of this feature should help ensure that you get the proper field of view with your IR135 no matter how far or near to the subject area you mount the camera.

Now when it comes time to ask yourself if you really need an IR camera here is my advice. If at all possible install lighting and use a standard camera. Lighting helps deter unwanted activity and allows for more flexibility with your security camera choices. If your space has no light and adding light is for what ever reason just no an option then my next advice is to consider using IR cameras to watch your space from the closest distance possible. That is to say IR cameras are best used in small or even confined spaces. If none of these recommendations will work for your situation then my advice is to buy the largest IR camera your budget can afford and keep your expectations realistic unless you intend to spend well over a thousand dollars on an IR camera the size of a shoe shine box.

So we hope you enjoy the video and remember the secret to a great security camera system is using quality cameras in an environment where they can perform to meet or exceed your expectations and give you the level of surveillance you need for your situation.

Should you have any questions after watching the video feel free to contact us with any of the methods listed below or at the bottom of the page.