StarDot Technologies net camera manual Imaging Tips, Outdoor Lighting

Chapter 4 Imaging Tips

As is the case with any camera, whether digital or film-based, steps can be taken that will great improve image quality. NetCam is no exception to this rule. The following tips will help you achieve the best possible images with NetCam.

4.1Lighting

Lighting is the single most important factor in quality photography. Proper lighting makes the difference between an amateur-looking snapshot and a professional-looking image. Lighting for a live still camera such as NetCam can divided into two categories: outdoor and indoor.

Outdoor Lighting

In most outdoor imaging situations, you do not have much control over the lighting since most of your lighting obviously comes from the sun. However, you do have control over the lens settings and the positioning of NetCam. If you have a motorized zoom lens, you can ignore the iris section, since the iris is controlled automatically by NetCam.

The Iris

The first thing to consider with outdoor lighting is the lens iris. The iris is an adjustable ring that controls the size of an aperture inside the lens barrel. The smaller the iris, the less light that reaches the CCD sensor. The bigger the iris, the more light that reaches the CCD sensor. It is critical that NetCam’s lens iris is set properly when pointing NetCam outdoors. The reason for this is twofold -- it provides much better image quality and it prevents permanent damage to the CCD sensor. If your lens has iris markings on it, adjust the iris to ƒ16 (the larger the ƒ-stop, the smaller the iris). If your lens does not have numerical iris markings, look into the lens and visually watch the aperture change size as you turn the iris ring. You want to adjust the aperture until it is roughly the size of a pinhole.

Precisely Setting the Iris

•With NetCam in its permanent outdoor position, set the iris to the size of a pinhole.

•In the Overlay Properties page, add $e to the Text string.

•Monitor the live image. In bright daylight, the exposure should read between 100 and 500.

•If the exposure is less than 100, close the iris more. If the exposure is more than 500, try opening the iris slightly.

•Note: Make sure “Auto Exposure” is enabled. The iris setting is a one-time procedure.

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