Subscriber Discussion

Does Your IR Illumination Advertise Your Blind Spots To Criminals?

U
Undisclosed #1
Nov 24, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Noticed that my cell phone easily detects infrared without any special modification.

Assuming that the IR power cone is roughly matched to the camera FOV, isn't this a dead giveaway to camera placement?

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(1)
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Joseph Marotta
Jan 13, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Well....probably. If one fears a bad guy will check the property for IR transmission in order to map out a safe route to avoid detection, one could blanket all areas with IR, not just at the camera FoVs. That's assuming one has a sizable budget.

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U
Undisclosed #1
Jan 13, 2016
IPVMU Certified

...one could blanket all areas with IR, not just at the camera FoVs. That's assuming one has a sizable budget.

If one does not have a sizable budget, one could keep the blanket illuminators but swap out the real cameras for decoys. Who would ever suspect there was IR but no camera?

*just kidding

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Scott Bradford
Jan 13, 2016
IPVMU Certified

I think that's a reasonable idea. I think we can all agree that there is no security that is 100% fool proof if the bad guy is properly motivated and equipped.

I thought this thread would lead into a discussion of 850nm vs 940nm LEDs, which I have experience with in the LE arena. I found it funny myself when I went through a haunted house that I could tell there were cameras inside by the glow of the LEDS.

Also, to address the original post, while your phone might be able to 'see' the IR, it's not going to be sensitive enough to give a highly accurate 'map'. So yes, if someone is smart enough to scan the area with their phone (or any other sort of camera/monitor) they may be able to pick up some IR hot spots that they might not be able to directly see with their eyes, but I don't think that seeing a glowing dot in the distance is going to give a whole lot of specific information that will allow them to step around the camera's FOV ninja style.

I suppose if you were really worried about this, use a camera with digital slow shutter and no IR, or one of the new starlight IP cameras.

So, I think you are making an accurate observation about your phone's abilities, but I wouldn't be worried about it.

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U
Undisclosed #1
Jan 13, 2016
IPVMU Certified

...but I don't think that seeing a glowing dot in the distance is going to give a whole lot of specific information that will allow them to step around the camera's FOV ninja style.

True. The glowing dot would just reveal the location of the cameras. To see the blind spots, one would do best to look at where the light was reflected from, i.e. the driveway or the back fence.

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