A video surveillance system has to be functional 24 hours a day in order to aid in the prevention of crime and the perpetrators prosecution. While designing a security system, it is important to consider lighting conditions as a factor that significantly affects camera image quality. Poor lighting conditions can compromise an entire system. Adding AXTON white or infrared (IR) security lighting will increase the effectiveness of your camera in adverse lighting conditions.

Infrared Light

While visible or white light is easy to understand, IR light is a concept that is hard to grasp by many. IR light behaves and functions the same as white light, without being visible to the human eye. This is THE ONLY DIFFERENCE. Therefore, for site layout/design purposes it should be treated the same as white or visible light. The amount of visible light around us, also known as ambient light, is measured in lux (e.g., 0.05 lux or 0.1 lux). Because IR light is not in the visible light spectrum, it cannot be measured in lux. The most common way to measure IR light is in watts/M² or Ft². It tells us the IR energy saturation produced by an IR light source over a specific area.

Cameras & Light Sensitivity

Most camera manufacturers do not test or specify camera sensitivity to IR light. They only define the minimum amount of VISIBLE LIGHT in lux necessary for adequate camera performance. Day/night security cameras typically have a minimum visible light rating ranging from 0.1 lux (a crescent moon on a starry night) to 0.001 lux (an overcast night in a very remote location). Those numbers are often overly optimistic when it comes to providing a dependable/usable image in such low light conditions. Oftentimes these numbers are confused with, or incorrectly interpreted as, sensitivity to IR light. IR light can only be measured in watts/M² or Ft². From manufacturers’ data it is impossible to tell how well an IR illuminator will work with a particular camera without actual lab or field testing. At Axton we have worked very hard to build ongoing relationships with most of the major security camera manufacturers. This has given us the ability to test our products in varying types of lighting and weather conditions.

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