Hikvision ColorVu Cameras – Capture Vivid Chromatic Images in Darkness

Around 11 p.m., police got an emergency call and rushed to the scene. An assault had happened in a park. According to the victim, the attacker looked like a beggar in ragged clothes and smelling of alcohol. The victim was heading home from the park at the time of the incident, when the attacker suddenly ran out of nowhere and attacked her, took her purse, and fled. The police investigated the scene but found no useful information about the attacker. Because it happened at night, the security cameras in the neighborhood could not effectively record any usable footage. When reviewing the surveillance video, the image was blurry and full of visual noise, which is bad for detection. 

Neighborhood parks should be a peaceful place where you can take a break from the hustle and noise of the city. However, an urban park at night is often synonymous with danger. At night, passersby have to be vigilant to stay safe. Although security camera systems are becoming more commonplace in urban parks in recent years, there are still many security requirements that cannot yet be met, such as high-resolution night vision and recording in color. 

Today, to effectively solve this problem, cameras equipped with Hikvision ColorVu Technology extend and enhance surveillance capabilities into the dark, lifting the cover of night to capture vivid chromatic images – leading to the prosecution of criminals like the one described above and ultimately enhancing safety. 

As a video surveillance manufacturer, Hikvision has long developed products equipped with innovative new features based on video surveillance technologies that have been refined and improved over previous decades. 

Hikvision ColorVu Cameras’ powerful ability to capture details in low lighting comes from two specific breakthroughs in hardware technologies: advanced lenses and high-sensitivity sensors. In contrast to conventional lenses, ColorVu lenses are equipped with a super-aperture, reaching up to F1.0, which allows more light to enter the lens so that imaging brightness can be increased.

 The amount of light entering the F1.0 aperture is four times that of F2.0.

Hikvision ColorVu Camera lenses also feature Broad-Band Anti-Reflection (BBAR) Coating and Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) Optical glass, to reduce light flare and efficiently reproduce an image’s sharpness and color saturation. These technologies effectively overcome the kind of key information that gets blocked by a light flare. 

The ColorVu Cameras’ high-sensitivity is designed for surveillance applications where high resolution color images are required even in ultra-low light environments. Hikvision ColorVu Cameras sensors demonstrate an extraordinary photovoltaic conversion efficiency. They employ an advanced sensor technology – a new light-collection structure that vastly improves the utilization of light. Tests show ColorVu cameras continually provide colorful, sharp images right down to the lowest light levels. At the same time, their self-adapting 3D DNR algorithm on ISP guarantees high imaging quality. 

In addition, extreme light conditions are taken into consideration in the design process. ColorVu cameras are equipped with warm supplemental light, so when there is no light source whatsoever – even starlight or street lights – they can guarantee colorful imaging. This feature provides environmentally-friendly, soft, warm lighting, reducing any harsh discoloration of the object being illuminated. 

* Comparison test in a darkroom (0 lux), with self-equipped, supplement lighting.  

As a result, Hikvision ColorVu Cameras provide bright color video images 24/7 in low illumination conditions. They excel at capturing vivid chromatic images in a multitude of application scenarios, such as public places with no lighting, night security at industrial parks, traffic intersections in low light environments, and many more – everywhere color information is particularly important. 

As an example, in general, license plate information of a suspect’s vehicle is crucial in traffic accident investigation. However, when the vehicle is non-licensed or the license plate is deliberately obscured, the vehicle can only be investigated by its features – brand, model, and especially the color. So, though external lighting conditions are poor, even completely dark, Hikvision ColorVu Cameras still capture valuable color information. 

Hikvision ColorVu Technology is being used in the Turbo HD 5.0 and Easy IP 4.0 series. More details can be found in the link or on the official Hikvision website.