Infrared (IR) lights to illuminate car interior for B1W pointed inward?

[jdct]

I would like to use a B1W to record the interior of my car, and as I would prefer night video to be usable, it seems like a good idea to add some infrared lights.

So my question is this... Does anyone know if the lens of the B1W includes an infrared filter within? If I add an infrared light source inside the car, will it brighten the video?

Thank you.

 

[jokiin]

The lens will have an IR filter

 

[Nigel]

The sensor is a good one for IR use, not sure about the lens, and I've not seen what the IR filter looks like, but it would be best to remove it, or maybe carefully smash it and remove the pieces, then an IR lamp will work really well. It will still work in daylight but with the wrong colour and may be a little out of focus at the IR wavelengths. If you do this, let us know/see the results...

If you don't remove the IR filter then you will still get some improvement from an IR lamp with a wavelength close to red, however it will need to be a fairly powerful one which will drain your battery if parked and be dangerous to human eyes.

 

[Dashmellow]

@jdct, all dash cams have an IR-cut filter installed, usually on the back of the lens, but occasionally over the sensor itself inside the lens module. Removing the IR-cut filter will definitely help you create a night vision camera that you can use under infra-red illumination. Just don't do anything so foolish as smashing the filter and trying to remove all the pieces. You'll risk damaging the lens itself and you'll end up with little shards of glass stuck around the perimeter of the lens barrel and all-in-all a general mess.

A far better method for removing an IR-cut filter is to simply apply some heat using a hair dryer or heat gun being careful not to get the lens too hot. This will soften the UV cement that was used at the factory to attach the filter to the lens and it will pop right off with a little help using an appropriate tool such as a knife blade or spudger. Wearing nitrile gloves while working will allow you to avoid fingerprints as you handle the lens and filter. This way you can put the IR-cut filter away in a safe place and re-attach it if you ever want to return the camera to its original state.

Your IR-cut filter will look like this. It is a dichroic filter that will appear to change color depending upon how the light hits it and the angle you are viewing it from.

 

[kamkar]

As the guys say the lens have a IR block filter, as footage would otherwise look horrible, you can remove the filter and use a IR emitter for light source, but your night footage will then have a magenta hue to it, and daytime will be bad looking too but should otherwise be fine for capturing faces and items in the car.

In daylight the B1W work fine as a cabin cam, i have used in this way for a few months now.

you can find examples of photography and video without IR filter and with IR light as aid in low light on youtube.

This cam do seem to have auto IR filter like CCTV cameras and the ability to change to B&W mode to get the best out of night footage https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/auto-night-vision-dashcam-hr801.35331/

That should work fine with IR light, and let you have regular IR blocked footage in the daytime,,, so win - win i would say

 

[Dashmellow]

With the IR filter removed the footage will indeed have an overall magenta color cast during daylight hours but at night, under IR Illumination the footage will be essentially B&W.

Here's an example of a scene shot under IR illumination using a lens with no IR-cut filter installed (Mobius). The same set-up during the day with no color correction would yield an image with a magenta cast.

 

[jdct]

Thanks to those who offered up some ideas so far. I tried to keep my original message short so as not to splinter off into too many directions, but it seems I might need to add more details. And I was hoping the manufacturer might chime in with very relevant information, and perhaps they still might. I could just pop one open and pull it apart, but I'm more of a plan first then execute type of person.

I was looking at the B1W because they're unobtrusive and relatively inexpensive, but most importantly, they have WiFi. I want to perform auto-collection of video files on each of the cameras in the car, and after rigging a proper power source solution I can relatively easily write a script or program to copy those files via WiFi when I pull up to my home. Or I can leave a laptop running in the car with same type of setup, or even write an android app that copies video from cameras and uploads on demand, or based upon the phone's own g-sensor readings, or by geolocation, or whatever suits my specific needs and changing whims.

Of course I could go up-market and buy a Blackvue 750S-2CH IR model, or even mid-market with Vantrue N2 Pro, but the higher cost will only serve to irritate me more when the dashcams go bad down the line -- and they all will fail eventually. The HR801 appears to fulfill the requirements, except perhaps the form factor is wanting, and who knows how reliable it might be, or if it's even in retail channel yet, and what it might cost as I've messaged the op of the referenced post, but there's not much to be found about the model via google. Or I could simply install TWO B1W's above the mirror, one modified without IR-cut filter, and one unmodified, then just refer to whichever video is clearest at the time needed.

But none of those options are ideal which is why I ask for advice.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah the HR801 are a unknown, it is probably pretty small maybe a little bit bigger than a gopro camera, i have not tried to look at a price for it, but i do think its a fairly cheap camera looking at the hardware components.
The B1W are also a cheap camera in regard to components, yet it seem to do well for itself.
The B1W also have some size to it if you look at as volume size, but maybe a little bit smaller than the same gopro.

Regarded the automated offload of footage over wifi, maybe if you can modify the app in some way, but the SDK for the B1W i dont think are out in the open ( its not Novatek or ambraella ) or rather it is Novatek but some small SOC brand they snagged up.
But hey maybe, i have no skills myself in this regard i am more a beat on red hot iron with a hammer type of guy.

 

[Nigel]

I've no idea how you do your auto-collection on the B1W, I would be looking at a Viofo A129 for that, that also has a better lens that I would expect better focus in the IR from, but of course it costs more too!

The B1W also have some size to it if you look at as volume size, but maybe a little bit smaller than the same gopro.

I think it has bigger volume if you just do LxWxH than a GoPro, but it is a lot less visible when installed in a car, partly because it is not rectangular.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah. i also told blueskysea that if the moved the lens to the end where the button it it would be even better, i dont mind a camera having a visible side profile cuz most of the times they are always viewed head on from the front or rear.

 

[Nigel]

Yeah. i also told blueskysea that if the moved the lens to the end where the button it it would be even better, i dont mind a camera having a visible side profile cuz most of the times they are always viewed head on from the front or rear.

Then you need a much more visible mount so that it doesn't get in the image and it's not so easy to hide behind the mirror.
Might be nice to have a version with the lens like that, but I think the current version would be more popular.
You might expect the rear cameras on dual camera systems to be like you suggest, but they never are!

 

[jdct]

The B1W also have some size to it if you look at as volume size, but maybe a little bit smaller than the same gopro.

Would not the gopro cameras put me back up in a higher price range?

Regarded the automated offload of footage over wifi, maybe if you can modify the app in some way, but the SDK for the B1W i dont think are out in the open ( its not Novatek or ambraella ) or rather it is Novatek but some small SOC brand they snagged up.
But hey maybe, i have no skills myself in this regard i am more a beat on red hot iron with a hammer type of guy.

When you beat on a red hot iron with a hammer over and over again, you build knowledge and experience to perform that task effectively. I beat on computers to make them take the shape I prefer.

I've no idea how you do your auto-collection on the B1W, I would be looking at a Viofo A129 for that, that also has a better lens that I would expect better focus in the IR from, but of course it costs more too!

I like the Viofo A129. I've had other Viofos in the past and have been happy with them. But would not the Viofo put me in the same boat as the B1W with regards to external IR illumination? with IR-cut filter within and then needing another camera to record decent day time video?

 

[kamkar]

Yes the Gopro will, i just used that as a size example as most are familiar with those little cameras, i would never use a Gopro or a Gopro clone in my car, at least not for day to day use.
I have beaten on computers too, but only software wise with basic in the early 80ties, latest i have been deep into case modding, and a writer for one of the top Danish computer sites ( unpaid of course )

Yes the A129 will be the same issue as with the B1W.