Camera goes "black" in night mode w/ first snowfal

I have 3 of these cameras outdoors: http://www.intellicamusa.com/G4-SH18DN.htm

Up until now they have performed very well.

But then something strange happened with the first snowfall of the season. With my cars and driveway under a blanket of snow, my driveway camera blacks out in "night" mode. When I turn on my driveway light, the image is back. When I turn the driveway light back off, the camera switches to night mode, is ok for about 5 seconds, then fades/warps to black.

The other two locations I have this camera (back deck and backyard) are OK with the snow, but they don' t have the same flat surface as the driveway cam.

Is this an over-exposure problem (reflection of the IR light off of the snow)? What can I do to correct this? Could the camera be defective?

I gave the camera another 250mA of power and that fixed it. The IR array was drawing too much power for the camera to transmit in night mode. Cameras are still top notch in my opinion, especially for the price.

Not sure why it needs 500mA of power when it is listed at 210mA, but I'm thinking maybe because it is completely exposed to the elements (cold).

When using 12VDC it will require more amps when the IR comes on, if it was 24VAC it wouldnt matter. Plus make sure your cables are the correct gauge.

Example would be the Extreme CCTV EX82, specs 1amp power supply required, but if you use 12VDC it requires 2amp when the IRs come on. I Learned this the hard way too.

Rory