DESIGNING CAMERAS AROUND NIGHT AND GLARE IN SOUTH FLORIDA

The basic idea

Light changes what a camera records

The same camera can record very different footage at noon, late afternoon, and midnight. Strong sun, bright backgrounds, passing headlights, and dark corners all affect how much detail ends up in a recording. In South Florida, bright daylight and low afternoon sun are part of almost every property, so lighting conditions are worth planning for from the start.

This guide covers the conditions that most often affect footage on residential and commercial properties, and the planning choices that can help. Results depend on the camera, the system, and the site.

Glare and backlight

When a camera faces a bright area, such as the open sky, a sunlit street, or a light-colored wall, the scene behind a person can be much brighter than the person. Faces and details may turn into silhouettes. This is often called backlight.

Low sun in the late afternoon or early morning can shine straight into a lens that faces east or west, and reflections off pavers, water, or glass can add glare. Depending on the camera and system, settings intended for bright backgrounds can help, but placement usually matters more: angling a camera so it looks across or away from the brightest part of the scene, rather than straight into it.

For storefront glass and parking lots after dark, see retail storefronts after hours.

IR reflection off eaves, walls, and glass

A camera’s IR light can bounce back off nearby surfaces. Reflections from nearby surfaces can wash out parts of a night image or create haze. When a camera’s built-in IR illuminators reflect off nearby walls or eaves, the effect can be especially noticeable. Glass can also reflect IR light, so recording through a window at night may produce glare or reflections. Spider webs and small insects near the lens can show up brightly at night for the same reason.

Allowing suitable clearance from nearby walls and soffits can reduce reflections. For cameras using IR illumination, mounting outside the window is generally preferable to recording through glass at night. A covered back patio or porch ceiling is a common spot where this comes up.

For more on planning cameras around a covered back patio and pool, see covered back patios, pools and back yards.

Placement, angle, and mounting height

• Look at the property at different times of dayWhere does the low sun fall in the afternoon? Which areas go dark at night?
• Angle away from bright backgroundsWhere possible, aim across a driveway or entry instead of toward the street or sky.
• Choose a mounting height that fits the purposeHigher mounts can show more of an area, while lower mounts may capture more detail of faces. The right balance depends on the site and the camera.
• Plan around headlightsConsider where cars approach and park, and avoid pointing cameras straight into them where practical.

For more on choosing camera positions, see how we plan camera placement, and for how driveways change from day to night, see daylight driveways and night approaches.

Lighting planning

Existing exterior lighting can help or hurt. Steady, even light along a walkway or entry can give a camera more to work with at night. A bright fixture aimed toward a lens can create glare instead. When planning cameras, it helps to look at where lights are, how bright they are, and whether they turn on with motion or stay on through the evening.

Lighting can affect video analytics and the detail visible in recorded footage. Depending on the camera, settings, and scene conditions, darkness or glare may make people or vehicles harder for an analytics system to detect and details harder to distinguish in a recording. See how intelligent video alerts work and reviewing recorded video.

Even with careful planning, night and glare conditions can still limit what a camera records. Planning can help, but it cannot promise that footage will be clear or usable at every hour.

Tell us where sunlight, headlights, or low light affect your property.

Tell us which areas get strong sun, which go dark at night, and where cars come and go. We’ll discuss camera placement and angles based on how the property is used.

Contact us to request a quote — Sales 954-667-9594 for new projects, Service 954-408-2918 for existing customers — or explore Solutions.