Color vs B&W - VMS3230

[rodj44137]

Just got my 2-camera system yesterday.  Love it!  When I first set up the system both cameras were color.  They're both set up with IR turned on but now one of them is black & white.  First question is does the color use more battery and if so, how can I change the color camera to black & white  Thanks.

[Schorschi]

I don't really know, but I would guess that black & white uses more power, since that's when the IR LEDs are turned on to provide illumination for the scene.

If you activated Night VIsion for a camera it merely means that you allow for the IR LEDs to come on when ambient lighting is insufficient to light the scene. If you leave Night Vision turned off, and a motion event occurs when there is not enough ambient light to illuminate the scene, you will have footage that is most likely pitch black and you can't see anything.

I would think there are very few reasons to justify keeping Night Vision turned off. One would be if your camera is pointed through a window and its IR LEDs would cause a reflection in the window, blinding the camera. But in that case the camera's sensor wouldn't work anyway, because it doesn't work through glass. So, in that scenario, you would almost certainly have to have a second camera outside the window acting as a trigger camera.

[TomMac]

Agreed as above... it's more important to keep your usage down to spec levels for battery life.

Tho I will say in the 2 car garage( 400sq ft), I always have a 100w bulb on in center... it's enough light to run the camera with good results.