Upgrading Your Security Camera Infrared Illumination | A Quick Guide

Seeing grainy, low-resolution footage on your security camera can be frustrating, especially when it prevents it from being useful. This commonly happens when the camera fights low-light conditions at night, while you might get a clean, noiseless image during the day. But why is this? The secret lies in your security camera infrared.

Security Camera Infrared: Not Enough

With all of the security camera options available on the market, customers are spoilt for choice. Modern cameras come with high-resolution 1080p or 4K capture options, two-way audio communication, and can even be wireless and solar-powered, requiring little to no maintenance. However, as far as technology has come, it’s always been a struggle for cameras to see at nighttime.

Most security cameras mitigate this by including automatic infrared illumination that is built into the camera’s body. However, even this might not be enough for demanding conditions – the camera’s sensor has to crank up the ISO (its sensitivity to light) to produce a clean image. This is not without its consequences, however – the higher the sensitivity, the noisier the image. Eventually, you might even miss out on a critical moment, preventing you from identifying a person or even finding out what happened in a key piece of footage.

But there’s a quick and easy fix to this problem, allowing you to see farther, have a clearer image, and even make night indistinguishable from day.

Dedicated Infrared Illumination

The answer lies in upgrading the tiny infrared illuminators that come built into cameras.

A lot of modern, commonly-available battery-powered cameras can’t house a large infrared emitter by design. As a result, they make a compromise that allows the camera to stay compact, remain affordable, and still maintain some nighttime visibility.

But, a larger, independently-powered LED emitter can blast an invisible ray of light that reaches much farther than the camera’s integrated LED alone can manage. Consequently, no matter what camera you have, it doesn’t have to struggle as much to maintain a clear, crisp image. Our website has numerous examples of what upgrading your security camera infrared looks like.

Conclusion: How To Get Started

So, how do you get started?

It’s quite simple. All you have to do is install an infrared emitter like you would any other light source. It won’t be visible to the naked eye, but the camera will show a dramatic difference in image quality. Modern emitters are maintenance-free and energy-efficient, allowing you to set it up once and enjoy the benefits.

Iluminar manufactures superior, professional-quality LED lighting solutions for license plate capture systems and surveillance cameras. To top it off, we offer unmatched customer service for all of our clients.

Our invisible and visible series of products all come in various form factors, with many angle choices, wavelengths, range, and power ratings available to choose from. All of our illuminators come with covert and semi-covert options capable of running off AC or DC power. Best of all, we offer weatherproof systems with exceptional build quality to survive even the most brutal deployment application.

Our product experts will personally guide you towards choosing the right product for your application. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at (281) 438-3500 today!