topic Benefit of front light when evaluating resolution in Arlo Ultra

Benefit of front light when evaluating resolution

STTH — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 23:22:15 GMT

Enabling the front light upon motion detection at night allows the camera to record in color. But does doing so have a cost? For instance, does enabling the front light disable the Infra-Red LEDs? Further, what impact does it all have on the resolution of the picture? While the IR night vision might not be as pretty (since color-less), does it provide better resolution than if the front light is enabled and color is used? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each, specifically as it relates to resolution and subsequently to the distance of the capture (how far the camera can pick up details)?

Re: Benefit of front light when evaluating resolution

st_shaw — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 23:56:31 GMT

In my experience, the resolution at night is better in B&W, with the built-in light disabled. The built-in light doesn't put out enough light for a high quality color night picture. If you have floodlights, then you can get a better color picture at night.

Re: Benefit of front light when evaluating resolution

STTH — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 17:30:00 GMT

In general, visual accuity is better in grey than color. So your comment makes sense.

Is it correct to say that at night, either the IR Leds or the flash light will be used, but not both?

Is there a way to have the picture taken in grey while the flash light is used?

Finally, I noticed that it is possible to adjust the intensity of the flash light. Why not always force it at the max power? Is it solely to preserve battery life? Or is there some other reason, perhaps relating to video processing or else?

Re: Benefit of front light when evaluating resolution

STTH — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 17:32:19 GMT

Oh and also... why would Arlo default the flash light setting to on, rather than off, if they know that the output will be of higher quality in grey (which is usually a benefit for security through post-crime analysis)? Is it perhaps because they figure most people prefer to use that flash light as a deterent (rather than for hi-fi video capture)?