Night Vision

[Cperry0716]

Night vision on 3 of my 5 cameras show lot of black and cant see anything. The white in picture is the wall cameras are mounted next to. Can anyone give advice I just put them up today

[st_shaw]

Don't aim them at a wall. The reflected light from the wall will affect the exposure and make everything else black.

[brh]

@Cperry0716

If you must mount them there, consider turning off the Night Vision. You will probably get a better picture. @st_shaw is correct. The cameras are exposing to the light on the walls due to the IR LEDs. If the cameras are in an entrance way with available lights, consider replacing them with ones that will turn on when motion is detected. That is what I did on both of my porches.

Brian

[AncientGeek]

I have found that all cameras that have a wide field of vision and IR LEDs, have this problem.  If I place a camera with 130° FOV in a corner that is 90°, the camera will pick up the walls or exterior trim...or whatever is in the FOV and closest to the camera.  As a result, the objects in the distance will not be visible.  Even something like an Arlo Pro silocone cover when placed on and Arlo Pro 2 camera (don’t do this) will cause IR scatter and decrease night vision.

The cameras need a clear view to the area and distance you want to monitor.

You also have to be careful about placing two cameras in the line of sight to each other.  The night vision of one can be blinded by the IR LEDs of the other.  Conversely, if you do it right, you have gain night vision by leveraging the IR illumination of other cameras.

[Cperry0716]

So by turning off IR o night get a better picture in dark? Other than that, moving them further from wall may reduce my problem? I have 2 of the camera shooting down either side of my house, and the 3rd is over back yard. Very dark out there (no lights at all.) Any other ideas would be great

[AncientGeek]

I don’t believe Arlo allows us to turn off the IR LEDs independly from turning off night vision.  The only camera system I’ve personally seen that does that is the Logi Circle.   So turning off night vision may not maintain IR sensitivity and would therefore not help.  Even with IR sensitivity, you’d need IR (or visible light) from another source out there.

The trick is to be sure the Field of View of the camera does not include any objects closer than those you want to monitor.  If the camera is in a 90° corner, that will be a problem.  If it is on a flat wall and tilted left or right so that it picks up the wall or if it is close to a perpendicular wall even though it isn’t right in the corner...that can cause problems.  Even if you have a car or generator or something like that in the foreground and you wanted to monitor the background...that will be problematic.  Overhanging house trim or eaves is also an issue.

The other possibility would be to add a remote IR illumination source out in the area you wish to monitor.