Teams from Raytec, Tavcom and leading camera manufactures braved one of the year's coldest nights to demonstrate the different images captured by some of the industry's most popular cameras and raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges of night-time CCTV.

The cameras were focused on rotakins and other targets at a range of distances, from 75m up to 300 m, and in a wide variety of lighting conditions including ambient low level light, metal-halide floodlighting, energy-efficient white light LED illuminators, and with both semi-covert and covert IR illumination.

"We wanted to show the importance of dedicated CCTV lighting in delivering effective night-time images, and the real advantages that the latest Raytec LED technology delivers over general ambient lighting or traditional security floodlighting," says David Lambert of Raytec "This was an excellent opportunity for those attending to improve their understanding of camera and lighting performance, as well as to network and share practical knowledge of night time CCTV in the field"

One clear lesson from the test was the ineffectiveness, and costliness, of general-purpose floodlighting. When turned on the 4000 watt floodlights took several minutes to reach full illumination output. In contrast both the 40 and 80 watt Raytec illuminators produced effective white-light on the scene instantly - meaning they can be used as an immediate deterrent, to deliver full colour CCTV images, and targeted in a way that does not waste energy or money.

On the night Raytec also showcased its new Platinum range in IR and White Light. The company also took the opportunity to launch its new Voyager 2 dedicated ANPR head, which reliably captures vehicle numberplates 24 hours a day.

"The test night highlighted the importance of camera set-up, and ensuring optimum switching between day and night conditions. Most cameras can deliver very good images if used and set-up correctly with suitable illumination, so it's well worth experimenting and finding out the best setup for your camera before you go out on site, especially if it's as cold as it was on our test night," adds Shaun Cutler.

The next test nights, will take place on February 5th and 7th in the Birmingham and Manchester areas, these will give installers and manufacturers a chance to explore the performance of cameras in detail. Manufacturers participating in the latest test included CBC, Bosch, Dallmeier, Envisage, JVC, Panasonic, Pelco, Samsung, Vicon, Videotec, and Vista.