About Dahua Starlight Technology
Specifying a security camera for low-light environments isn’t a one size fits all solution. Each application has its own set of challenges, lighting constraints and budget requirements. Dahua understands this dilemma and offers four low-light technology tiers, Basic Starlight, Enhanced Starlight, Starlight+, and Night Color Technology to make it easy to choose the correct camera that fits your needs and your budget.
Sensor
Many Dahua cameras offer low-light technology using a Sony STARVIS™ CMOS sensor. This back-illuminated pixel technology offers a set of optical features to balance light throughout the scene, resulting in clear images in dark environments. A back-illuminated structure moves the photosensitive surface closer to the light, increasing the amount of light that enters each pixel. It also utilizes Smart Image Signal Processing to convert an image into digital form while performing operations that enhance the image or extracts useful information
Optical
Lens aperture controls the amount of light that passes through the lens and into the body of the photosensitive surface of the camera. Dahua cameras with low-light technology feature a maximum aperture of f/2.2. This is to allow as much light as possible to pass through the lens and hit the sensor. A large aperture coupled with advanced ISP technology, Dahua’s propriety image processing algorithms, and STARVIS™ imagers allow these cameras to produce identification-level images in near-dark conditions.
Image Processing
Image Signal Processing (ISP) identifies and corrects imperfections caused by the lens, color filter, or sensor. The Dahua cameras with STARVIS™ sensors offer two times the definition of Exview HAD CCD sensors and are capable of illuminating dark environments and incorporating near-infrared light for clear recording at night.
Basic Starlight
Dahua’s Basic Starlight technology offers good low-light performance for applications with a minimum illumination of 0.008 to 0.009 lux. This option offers a more affordable price for low-light technology that is ideal for moderately dark areas.
Recommended scenarios: parks, stadiums or parking lots with some ambient lighting such as street lights.
Enhanced Starlight
Dahua’s flagship low-light standard, Enhanced Starlight technology produces clear images in near-dark conditions. With a minimum illumination range between 0.005 lux to 0.007 lux, details stay in color longer for enhanced video quality.
Recommended Scenarios: Applications with little or no ambient lighting.
Starlight+
Dahua’s Starlight+ technology provides the best low-light performance requiring a minimum illumination of only 0.004 lux. Cameras with this technology use a large sensor, smart imaging algorithms and a set of optical features to balance light throughout the scene, resulting in rich colors in the dark with no noise or color distortion. The lens is a key component of any security camera and one that directly effects the quality of the image.
Recommended scenarios: rural or public areas with little or no ambient lighting.
Night Color
Night Color technology works differently than the technology used in Dahua Starlight cameras. Cameras that incorporate Night Color technology use a high-performance sensor and ISP, and an achromatic large aperture lens, to produce crisp, clear color images in low-light environments. This light-sensitive technology allows the camera to remain in Color Mode and to capture more available light to reproduce color images with superior detail and contrast in applications with at least 1 lux of ambient or artificial light.
Night color lenses
Unlike Dahua Starlight Technology, Night Color Technology does not utilize an IR Cut filter. This results in an image that remains in color 24/7 without switching to black/white. Night color also utilizes an Achromatic lens. This type of lens is a combination of concave and convex pieces of glass that focuses the different color wavelengths of light into a single plane. An Achromatic lens eliminates the problematic chromatic aberrations and is the most cost-efficient means for good polychromatic imaging. Dahua Night Color cameras also have an f-stop of 1.0 on 2MP models or 1.2 on the 4MP models to deliver crisper and clearer full-color images in all environments with at least 1 lux of ambient light.
Similar to Dahua Starlight Technology, Dahua’s Night Color Technology utilizes Back-illuminated CMOS technology. STARVIS™ sensors offer a set of optical features to balance light throughout the scene, resulting in clear images in dark environments. A back-illuminated structure increases the amount of light that enters each pixel and moves the sensor’s photosensitive surface closer to the light. It also utilizes Smart Image Signal Processing to convert an image into digital form while performing operations that enhance the image or extracts useful information. ISP identifies and corrects imperfections caused by the lens, color filter, or sensor.
Recommended Scenarios: Night Color cameras are recommended for applications where full-color images are required in very low ambient light
environments.
Knowing how to correctly place CCTV in your home is important in order to achieve effectiveness that come with surveillance cameras. Placing CCTV cameras in the wrong position and areas is as good as not having them at all. Professional CCTV installers should be able to advice their clients on the best way to place CCTV cameras.
Cover all the entrances
Its important to cover all entrances because most of the time intruders access your house using the entrances. The cameras in the entry points should be placed on the sides as opposed to directly in front of the door to ensure that the person accessing the door does not block your view. To increase your viewing areas , use outdoor cameras to back up the view of the entrances . This will ensure that your view to your entrance is maximized and in case entrance cameras are blocked, outdoor cameras supplement. Also try to get a camera that has good angle coverage
Cover maximum distance with outdoor cameras
The power of outdoor cameras depend on the distance covered. They cover different areas and perimeters depending on the size of your compound or yard. For instance if your driveway is 40 ft. long, a camera covering 25 ft. will not be useful because you won’t be able to see the whole area up to the gate. Infrared cameras are recommended for outdoor cameras because they are more powerful and have their independent source of lighting.
Remember the outside areas of your home that have valuables and place cameras to monitor those areas. A good example is your outdoor air conditioner. This is a valuable that is attractive to thieves looking for copper wires. Consider placing an armored camera to cover this area of your home as well as covering the bushy areas around your windows. Most homes tend to have small flower gardens around the windows. Thieves use shrubs and bushed as their hiding place . The solution is placing cameras around these areas to monitor and view the area in case of anything. Before placing outdoor cameras consider the areas you would like to see and the areas susceptible to intruders.
Cover maximum distance with outdoor cameras Indoor cameras
Indoor cameras offer a great addition to home security. They are mainly used to monitor various areas of your home especially different rooms when you are away. These cameras come in different options but most interior cameras are small and unidentifiable. This is why they can be placed in any part of the room without anyone noticing they exist. These cameras are suitable for people who spent many hours away from home leaving baby sitters and nannies to take care of their home. These cameras make it possible to monitor activities around your home even when you are away.
Most indoor cameras have a memory chip that enables you to view activities that took place while you are away. The storage space will depend on an individual camera so this is may vary from one camera to another. Other indoor cameras offer you an option to view the activities going on over the internet. This means that you can watch what is going on around your home from any place with internet access.
Positioning of cameras
Many people prefer hiding their cameras keeping in mind vandalism is common and people might try getting rid of cameras. Technologically advancement has made it possible to find cameras that can be easily under the ceiling holes making it impossible for anyone to see them. People always feel safe when the camera is well hidden from thieves and burglars.
Positioning is important for CCTV cameras because apart from making them unidentifiable, they are sheltered from harsh weather elements. For instance cameras should be well protected from rain and excessive sunlight. These are external factors that are likely to interfere with the normal working of the cameras.
Cabling is another aspect of CCTV cameras that is greatly influenced by positioning. Cameras that are well hidden between walls and ceiling allow easy cabling. There is no point in installing good and quality cameras even the cabling system is seen by everyone. Cabling that is well hidden also boost the security of your home. This is because interfering with cabling system compromises the working of cameras.
Lighting
For CCTV cameras to work efficiently there must be proper lighting otherwise you will not be able to view anything. The cameras should be placed in areas that are well lit to allow clear viewing. Cameras with infra-red lighting do not need lighting to allow viewing so you should consider the type of camera that you need for your home. Consider infrared cameras for dark areas because they don’t need lighting and normal cameras for lighted areas to optimize effectiveness.
Camera placement is not a task that can be done by anyone. Professionals need to assess your home to determine the specific area where cameras will be placed. People who are trained and experienced on CCTV cameras are in a position to assess your home. They are knowledgeable enough to make recommendations and determine placement of cameras on different areas. Placing cameras in the right manner is helpful in improving efficiency of your home security system
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About Us
The average home owner or prospective user definitely lacks the technical expertise needed to properly identify and choose the CCTV cable that is most suitable for his needs. Consequently, the intervention of a consulting firm that is capable of guiding the prospective clients in making the right decision is therefore by all means necessary.
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