Ahoy fellow pirates!
We’re expecting a baby soon, and I’d like to make my own baby monitor using a Raspberry Pi zero W and the camera module (plus some environmental sensors).
However, I have some doubts about what PiCamera to buy : the standard one or the one without the IR filter. Ideally, I’d like the camera to be able to work in low (almost none) light conditions as well as normal indoor daylight.
Some questions:
- would the camera without IR filter fit the bill?
- do I need to trow some IR-Light leds in the mix to grant visibility in low-light?
- is there any other option?
Thanks a lot in advance!
I’ve done a bit of work with the NoIR Camera, and it isn’t what you’d really expect from “night-vision” cameras, although it definitely gets the job done!
During daylight, the NoIR camera has a slight purple hue from the IR light it receives, so things like trees etc seem a little odd, but nothing too detrimental to the image content.
You will also most likely want a few IR LEDs in there somewhere to provide an Infra-red light source during the night, since the amount of IR emitted by objects naturally is minute in comparison to an LED.
Here’s an example of the different views from the two cameras during daytime (thanks to http://raspi.tv/2013/pinoir-whats-it-for-comparison-of-raspicam-and-pi-noir-output-in-daylight):
You could also always use something like a USB webcam, which has the advantage of a built in microphone, though you wouldn’t have the NoIR capability.
Hope this helps! :)
Maybe even try an IR LED? Using that wont cast any visible light into the room.
