Low-light conditions or night vision with D415
I just started with the D415 and I have been able to use the RGB and depth cameras, however, I need a camera that can also see at night.
From the tests I've done the camera does not see well during the night, somehow it sees the IR dots from the projector but it does not see anything beyond a couple of meters, even if I support it with additional IR flood LEDs.
Am I doing anything wrong, perhaps the settings? or the fact is that this camera does not see well at night?
If this is the case, are there any other cameras that can give me depth, RGB, and IR cameras?
Thank you for your help!
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The D435 model should be able to cope better with low-light / dark conditions, because it has a wider IR imager that lets in more light than the D415. This can be a detriment in higher lux conditions, but an advantage in low-light / dark.
The RealSense SR305 can see in 0 lux level. As its technology is a couple of years older than the 400 Series though (the SR300 inside the SR305 debuted in start 2016, whilst the 400 Series came out in start 2018), its capabilities and supported resolutions are more limited. The SR305 would not suit your needs anyway as its depth sensing range is only about 1.5 meters and it is also unsuited to outdoor use.
The forthcoming new RealSense L515 lidar camera works best in indoor or controlled light conditions, so that too may not be suitable if you are using the camera outdoors. And its data sheet says that its depth sensing capabilities in regard to lux levels are: < 500 lux sunlight (0.4uW/cm2/nm)
Multiple sources say about the 400 Series cameras that they have low light performance with < 1 lux minimum sensitivity, though I have not seen confirmation of this figure in official documentation - just that they can work well in low light conditions.
The 400 Series cameras do not have IR Cut filters on them (filters that exclude the higher nm light bands such as 900 - 940) so they should be able to see your LED light sources, and you confirm as much (albeit with a limited range).
The discussion about low-light use in the link below may be of help to you.
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Hello, I continue to test the D400 series cameras in low light conditions.
The depth sensor works perfectly out of the box in dark conditions, however, I cannot manage to get the RGB sensor to see anything in dark conditions.
I read the resources you sent above and the do say that it should be able to see at night with any IR LED. However, I am not getting them to work.
I am using standard IR Lights to illuminate the scene but the D400 or D435 do not manage to see anything at all, it seems like it is filtering that IR light since it doesn't really makes a difference whether the IR light its on or off.
Any ideas on what might be happening here? Thank you in advance for any help.
Here are some sample images:
Image 1: RGB on lit conditions.
Image 2: RGB on dark conditions.
These are the IR LEDs I am using to illuminate the scene:
https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Camera-Vision-IR-Cut-Longruner/dp/B07R4JH2ZV
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Although the left and right IR imager components on the 400 Series cameras do not have an IR-Cut filter that blocks out high-range light frequencies, the built-in RGB imager component does have one.
Could you try enabling the camera's IR Emitter if you do not already have it active, to see if the light projected from it helps to brighten the image?
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Hi!
I have the same problem as Mau! Do you have any camera recommendations for low light? -
Hi Bessmagsm If your problem is that your camera cannot see in low light in RGB mode, if you have a D415 or D455 camera model then you could try capturing color from the left infrared sensor instead of the RGB sensor. This can be done on those camera models by selecting RGB8 as the infrared format for Infrared instead of Y8. This generates a color image that is overlaid with the infrared dot pattern if the IR Emitter is also enabled.
The images below were captured from a D455 in a low-lit area with IR Emitter enabled (upper image) and disabled (lower image)
A couple of limitations of RGB8 infrared mode are that you cannot use Y8 infrared on the left imager whilst using it for RGB8 color, and you also cannot use the Infared2 right-side infrared stream.
Also, to access the left infrared sensor's RGB8 mode on D455 the firmware version 5.12.8.200 or newer should be installed in the camera.
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Hi MartyG
Thanks for your prompt response! Another question I have for those who have used the D435, D455, or L515 is which one gives a better result in low light vision? According to my research, the D435 is the best solution but I'm not sure.
Thanks.
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L515 is best suited to indoor use under controlled lighting conditions.
Page 7 of Intel's Specification Clarification PDF document (a link to which is available at the top of the firmware releases page for the 400 Series cameras and is also provided below) provides a comparison between D435 and D455 in regard to RGB.
https://www.intelrealsense.com/download/13629/
It states that whilst the D455 RGB sensor may over-saturate in bright sunlight, under low light and high-speed situations its fast global shutter (compared to the slower rolling shutter of the D435's RGB sensor) works better.
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MartyG Thank you! I'll check it.
Regards.
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