A night-vision camera sees in the dark only when something lights the scene with infrared. Chinneo's infrared light module for Raspberry Pi night vision cameras is a 3W 850nm infrared lamp board. It is sold as a single lamp or a pair. No camera is included.
Key specs
Specifications
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Light source | 3W 850nm infrared LED |
| Beam angle | 100 degree beam; two lamps are needed to cover a 160 degree camera field of view |
| Range | Illumination distance 3 to 5 metres |
| Power | Power through the screw mounting holes: 3.3V to 5V, 500mA to 2A |
| Automatic switching | Photoresistor and adjustable resistor: the lamp switches on in the dark and off in bright light once the threshold is set |
| Software control | EN pad for switching through the Raspberry Pi GPIO by software |
| Mounting | Screws onto the camera PCB through four mounting holes; two lamps on a camera measure 73.41mm x 26mm |
| Lamp size | Each lamp board about 27.87mm x 20mm, 14mm deep, 19mm lens housing |
Before you install
- Shipped with the adjustable resistor unset, so the lamp stays on whenever it is powered until you adjust it
- With a camera and two 3W lamps on a Raspberry Pi powered at 5V 2A, the Pi power chip and the lamps warm up in long use; the exposed copper area accepts a heatsink
What is in the box
- Choose one lamp or a pair in the product options
- Gives an infrared night-vision effect only with a Raspberry Pi night-vision camera; no camera is included
Automatic or software control
Each board carries a photoresistor and an adjustable threshold, so it can switch on by itself when the scene gets dark. Turn the threshold to set how dark it must be. There is also an EN pad for software control from the Raspberry Pi GPIO, if you want your own program to decide when the lamp runs.
One lamp or two
A pair spreads light more evenly across the scene and reduces hard shadows on one side. A single lamp is enough for a small, close scene.
Questions to settle before you order
- Which camera you will pair it with. There is no model-by-model compatibility list, so check the mounting and power arrangement on your camera board.
- Mounting hardware. It is not stated whether screws are included.
See the IR light module page for photos and options.
This guide is based on the published specifications for this part. Chinneo has not run hands-on tests of this part.