Hi

My name is Trev and I am new to the forum.

I have recently purchased the above camera, and would like to permanently remove the IR cut filter from this.

I was wondering if anyone could give me any information on how to go about this please?

Many thanks

I would also like to point out, I am a total newbie to CCTV products.

I have bought this camera as an experiment, for a project that I am working on.

I have removed the camera board from the front housing, and taken off the motor cover.

Underneath, we have this
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l493/funkedupRapid/e6e86254.jpg

One filter is slightly magenta, the other is slightly cyan.

Could you please give me any info on what each of these filters are for please?


Many thanks

The blue one is the IR filter. The clear one probably does nothing, its just clear. This camera appears to have a mechanical ICR filter which means it lets in IR at night but blocks it during the day. Why would you want to remove this?

Because I am only using it in the dark.
Also, I am stripping the camera back to basics. I would like to make it smaller.

Thank you for the information though.

I have another question.

Can anyone recommend any Hi-res 2.5-3" LCD test monitors.
Or even something like this?
https://www.esdsec.co.uk/CCTV/Service-Monitors/Psg-Pro-Focus-Cctv-Set-Up-and-Focus-Monitor-3440

I am sure this is a trade customer only item, but I would like something along these lines if possible.

Cheers

It would work fine then. There would be no IR filter in the way.

Default operation of this camera would be to move the filter away and switch to B&W mode in the dark. Removing the filter completely will only affect its daytime (color) image. Entering the camera settings and locking it in "night" mode would have the same effect.

You will have to forgive my ignorance on this, as I am totally new to this sort of technology.

I am intending on making this camera a NV spotter, with the assistance of a small DVR screen and some IR light.

This is to be used for hunting, possibly as an add on to my rifle scope.

This is a big thing, here in the UK at the moment.

If you google 'Nitesite' this is similar to what I would like to achieve.

As it will only be used in the darkness, am I correct in thinking that I could just remove this complexity altogether, by just removing the filters?

If I wish to use this add on to record during the daytime, then the filters would have to be left in the camera.

I have never used one of these before, so bare with me

Thanks for the information.

Well, yes... but at the same time, it could just be left alone - in the dark, the camera will automatically switch to B&W mode and move the filter out of the way. The camera should also have an option to lock it in night mode all the time.

If you've already got it apart, then no harm done, but in the future, disassembling the camera to remove this isn't necessary to achieve your goals. I understand you're also trying to shrink the size of the whole assembly, but keep in mind that to be able to focus properly, the sensor should maintain its relative position to the lens mount - removing the ICR may allow you to place the sensor closer to the lens mount, but then you may not be able to focus properly, or depending on the lens, the back end of the lens may contact the sensor, damaging one or both.


Not necessarily. These sensors are sensitive to IR; however, IR light on a color sensor can adversely affect the white balance, resulting in odd color tints, and in some cases could adversely affect the exposure. IR cut filters are implemented on color cameras to counter this, but are not needed on B&W cameras, which is why the latter usually tend to have better low-light performance. Cheap "day/night" cameras are simply color cameras with no IR cut filter... "true day/night" cameras use the movable filters like you have there, to achieve the best of both worlds.

So yes, you can still use the camera day or night with the filter removed, the color will just look a little strange in the day.

Excellent, thanks for your reply.

I have looked at the front mount of the Camera, and the circuit has a cover, which encased the filters and the little motor for this. when the lens (16mm Fixed Iris, manual focus) is screwed into the housing, it touches the cover that held the filters.

So, I could possibly, mount the lens ring onto that cover.
This will reduce a lot of weight as the front and back of this camera is cast and quite heavy.

I am not too bothered about the colour, but I will try it without the filters first, then maybe put them back for some further tests.
Thing is, it may take a knock or two whilst hunting, so the less there is to go wrong, the better.

Does anyone have any experience of some tiny DVR's with screen, that can cope well with low light cameras?
It would be nice to be able to record my trips, but not necessary.

Ideally I would like a viewfinder (with Hi Res can be B&W) as this would reduce glare.
It would be nice to get the unit set up with a separate output jack, to add a DVR (without a screen).

We use PAL over this side of the pond too.

im still having trouble understanding why you needed to take a camera to bits only to find out it can work in night mode via settings in the cam menu. seems a bit pointless destroying a camera and spending money as a waste. but hey ho your curiosity i guess!

Less to go wrong when I am out in the field.
It may take a bang and shift a filter, or the function may malfunction.
So removing the filters, will eliminate the chance of this happening.

I may add them back in, if I decide to use the unit in both daylight and dark conditions.

Also, the box is quite long, for what is inside, what is from stopping me, cutting the box and reducing the overall length of the unit by about half?

Along with ditching the cast front and rear ends and and remaking these out of delrin, or some other light weight material.

Please bare in mind, this will be hanging off the ocular lens end of a £500 riflescope.

Any weight saving and shrinking is a positive.

Your best bet, really, would be to look for a small B&W camera, since you really don't need color for this purpose, and a B&W camera would reduce a lot of the additional electronic complexity as well.

Edit: something like this might be better suited - it's small (4-1/4 x 3-3/4 x 4-1/2"), light (about 10oz), and still gives you a C/CS lens mount: http://www.pelco.com/sites/global/en/pr ... ge_id=2859

That looks ideal.

As this camera I have, is only my test bed, I am always keen to learn about other possibilities.

I see that is smaller, so could be what I am looking for, but what lux does that work to?
Ideally something around 0.0001 would be perfect, but I understand this type of camera comes with a price tag $$$$$$$

I would also like to try a board cam, but again, I am still on my first project, to see if I wish to invest any more time and money into it.

I understand that I am going to need some form of IR illumination, as I am going to be shooting out to around 60yds and scanning fields at around 90-100yds.
I do not wish to use lasers for the illumination, although some do over here, but this tends to be less advantageous of say an 850nm IR Led.

Does anyone have any recommendations of a good small (PAL) compatible viewfinder or screen?

Pleeeeeeeease?

That one says 0.4lux color, 0.08 B&W.


I was going to suggest that, but the catch with a board cam is that almost all of them use M12/M13 lens mounts which greatly limits your lens options, and I'm guessing you probably want something with a pretty substantial focal length.

As the focus of the camera will actually be on the reticule of my rifle scope, the lens I have is a fixed iris 16mm lens. The F stop plays a factor in the amount of light transmitted, so the lower f stop the better.

I then use the focus wheel on my scope to bring the target into focus.