Cameras Breaking Or Malfunctioning In The Cold?

Related, new report:

I have reports in the last couple of days regarding -40C/F rated cameras with lens focus freezing. It has been down to -18 F the last couple of nights (up to 10 during the day) - Maine. The cameras are rated to -40C/F. Is the standard rating with or without wind chill. it seems to me that wind will more quickly exchange heat from the metal enclosures of PTZ cameras (I have never seen one that was insulated), and I assume that manufacturers test this is a static non-wind environment. The cameras reported are ds-2df8223-AEL with Hi-POE 60 watt injectors.

We have experienced this for years.  It is not so much the camera that gives us problems as it is the lens.  Like most "systems", you have to account for all parts of the system.  The camera operating temp may or may not be the most limiting factor.  More often than not, the lens is. Lenses open up at night, they freeze, and early the next morning the sun comes up and they are still wide open from the night before.  Around 10am the sun hits the housing and the shutter can operate.  Heaters, more than blowers, are still important.  Good luck to you.

We've seen a few poorly sealed/installed cameras where the warmer air inside the facility is getting inside the dome and causing frost buildup, overwhelming the capacity for the camera to heat it off.   No lens freezes yet, but we're not quote as cold as the Maine example above.  Our coldest night so far has been the single digit negatives.  We're in Michigan.

I have had doubts and concerns regarding the IR PTZ camera design regarding cold weather operation.  With a dome bubble (non-IR design), you have a form of storm door over your camera mechanics.  In Maine, we have mudrooms (non-insulated, non-heated) which are normally midway in temperature between the outdoors and the indoors.  I would bet that melting snow and ice on the IR PTZ can also drip down into the PT mechanisms.  Wind movement will only increase convection of the cameras heat to the outdoors. 

I have not heard of any problems with the -40C dome bubble PTZ design.  I have seen some of the -4F domes (you know, the ones put in when the spec does not say -40) go offline.  I have few of these, but most of the ones I have specified are -40.  I lose many bid specs to other integrators that use the value type domes (-4 F at best) on specs that do not call for cold weather design.  Roll the dice during the warranty period I would bet.  I live near Portland, ME where the temperature every night for the last 2 weeks has been 0 to -20 F. 

Does anyone know what the specifics are of the -40 C/F rating.  Maybe this means that the camera will continue to operate (but mechanics will not on PTZ designs). 

Had a dealer in Maine switch to a very low cost line of "exterior grade" dome cameras years ago to save money.  After about 50 winter service calls for auto iris lock ups, he admitted that he had to pay closer attention to deploying IP cameras in cold climates.  Not all exterior grade cameras function well in extremely low temperatures.

A related topic is the newer breed of IP video intercom door stations, which often don't have the luxury of being located under overhangs.  We advise our dealers to always install a back box with a heater and thermostat for all exterior stations, and to run an extra 2/18 cable along with the CAT-X, as the heaters are not generally PoE powered. We have just started to experiment with a hardened PoE splitter to solve the extra conductor issue. 

Another related topic is the rising trend to add audio paging to exterior cameras.  Although most paging horns can tolerate cold temperatures, we advise running low level background music through them if they are being installed in very cold environments.  This is an old trick from the A/V industry, long used when installing speakers in food freezers, lockers, etc.

John, it's winter in the NORTHERN hemisphere, not the Western hemisphere per se (ie., Argentina is in the Western hemisphere, but it's summer there) 😜

Scott

The surface back box with heater & thermostat is made by TOA Electronics, for their line of IP video door intercom stations.  Model number is YS-831H-AM. 

Disclosure:  I work for FLIR

While it is absolutely necessary to test and validate in temperature chambers in a lab, it is equally important to test in a real world environment.  Here are a couple pictures I took this morning of one of the FLIR test towers in Montana. 

Yes buy is it a "dry cold"?  Sorry... a little humor!

When dealing with outdoor cold environments, I try avoid domes or non-sealed cameras. If units aren't sealed perfectly, they are prone to accumulate moisture and fog up. We used to try spec cameras that were good to -40, which we will see now and then during the winter. Not too many cameras are rated down to that temp. Now, we pretty much install anything, and don't worry about heaters. I can't even remember the the last time a camera failed in the bitter cold.