Article #6: How Far Does Infrared Night Vision Really Work on a Barn Camera?

Infrared range is one of the easiest camera specifications to misunderstand. A camera may be advertised at 100, 130 or 175 feet of infrared, but that does not mean it will evenly illuminate a square area that large in total darkness.

Think of Infrared Like a Flashlight

Stand in the yard and point a flashlight directly at someone 100 feet away and you may light that person very well. Now climb onto the roof and aim the same light downward to illuminate the whole yard. The light spreads over a much larger area, so the distant target is not illuminated as strongly.

Infrared works the same way. A camera may be capable of reaching a distant target, but spreading that illumination across a wide scene changes how much useful light reaches every part of the picture.

Why We Like a 60 x 60 Foot Working Area for Fixed Cameras

For critical livestock monitoring with fixed cameras, Riverwind generally prefers designing around an approximately 60 x 60 foot working area when the layout allows it. The camera can see farther, but keeping animals within a sensible working distance improves both nighttime illumination and the amount of useful detail in the picture.

If you only care about a specific gate, feeder or distant location, a longer infrared rating can be useful. The difference is between illuminating one distant target and evenly illuminating a large area.

Modern Low-Light and Starlight Technology

Older infrared cameras often created a bright hotspot in the middle of the image with dark edges. Modern low-light technology, often described as starlight by various manufacturers, produces a much more usable image across the whole scene.

Riverwind generally prefers strong low-light performance combined with infrared rather than relying on bright visible white lights simply to produce color at night. For livestock, a clear black-and-white image is often more useful and less intrusive than shining a bright light into the barn.

How Our Cameras Change From Day to Night

During adequate light, our cameras operate in color. As light levels fall, they automatically transition into their low-light/night mode and use infrared when necessary. The nighttime picture is normally black and white, which is exactly what we want if it gives a strong, useful image.

PTZ Cameras Use Infrared Differently

A PTZ camera is like carrying that flashlight around on the roof. You can turn toward the area you want to see, tilt and zoom. Our PTZ cameras use multi-stage infrared: a wider flood pattern for closer scenes and a more concentrated spotlight pattern as the camera zooms toward distant subjects.

That allows our standard PTZ to provide useful infrared performance approaching its advertised 175-foot range under appropriate conditions. During daylight, the same camera can see much farther because it no longer depends on its built-in infrared to illuminate the subject.

Do Not Shop by the Biggest Number

The right question is not simply, 'How many feet of infrared does this camera have?' Ask how high it will be mounted, how wide an area it must cover, how far away the important animals are, whether there is existing barn light, and how much detail you actually need at the farthest point.

A flashlight can light something a long way away or spread light across a large area. It cannot put the same amount of light everywhere at once. Infrared barn cameras work much the same way.

A side note, a little bit of barn light goes a long way. Sometimes a single light bulb in the barn or lot will illuminate areas much more than the naked eye. IR is great but helping it a little sometimes improves things dramatically, and many times keeps the cameras in color mode.