Doc XCAM190
NiteDevil Traditional Wide Dynamic
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Last Revised: 03/011/2010
Adjusting the inner focus ring
- Once you have fitted the lens, if you have a picture on the monitor but cannot
correctly focus the lens by the fine focal adjust on the lens itself, you may need to alter the inner adjusting ring that is
screwed into the end of the camera. To do this you will need a small Allen key.
This ring enables the lens to either “sit” a little closer or a little further away from the camera to get a sharp focused
image when using lenses from different manufacturers. To adjust the inner focus ring you will need to slacken the ring
by loosening the grub screw(s) with an Allen key. This is a trial and error process by moving the ring in or out say ½
turn then locking it again and trying to refocus the lens. It is possible (with common sense!) to work out whether the
lens needs to be nearer or further away from the camera by watching for improvements in focus at each attempt.
NOTE
– If it appears that the lens will never be in focus then it is possible that you are trying to fit a
C-mount
lens on
the camera, not a
CS- mount
lens. If this is the case you will have to add the spacer ring to the lens that was provided
free with the camera.
The spacer ring looks something like this:
Using a C Mount Lens
If you are using a C mount lens you will need to add the C-CS mount adapter ring. This ring effectively moves the C
mount lens an extra 5mm away from the camera body to achieve the correct focusing of the lens. Once you have fitted
the adapter ring you can carefully screw the lens to the camera. If the picture is out of focus, try focusing it in using the
focus adjust on the lens itself. If you can nearly get the focus right but not quite (because the lens runs out of
adjustment) then you probably need to adjust the inner focus ring with the Allen key. See
Adjusting the inner focus
ring
above.
It is important that you never force a lens when it becomes tight on the camera or you may damage one or the other
device. A
C-mount
lens fitted on a
CS-mount
camera may protrude too far into the camera and cause irreparable
damage.
Setting Up an Auto Iris Direct Drive Lens for different Light Levels
The brightness setting in the menu determines when the IRIS of the lens opens and closes. It is important to set this
correctly as if the brightness level is set too low, you may get satisfactory pictures during the day but at night not
enough light can enter the camera giving poor quality pictures. The trick to setting up the brightness level is to set it up
in the brightest possible conditions, i.e. midday on a sunlight day and keep the IRIS open to its maximum without a
too bright picture. This means at night in low light, the IRIS will be open as much as possible and give the
best results.
To do this, follow these steps:
With the camera in the brightest light conditions that it will be expected to work,
1- Enter the LENS menu and set to MANUAL. The enter EXPOSURE menu, increase to 100% and then reduce level
until the picture is okay. Do not adjust further. This will ensure that the iris is set to its widest setting.
2- Now return to the LENS menu and select DC. Then exit the menu. Once you have done the above the lens will
restrict the light sufficiently in bright sunlight but open up to its maximum in low light giving the best night time
performance.
Further details on the menu setup and operation are covered below.
Connecting Video
The video out from the camera is provided from the BNC connector located at the rear of the camera. The camera’s
video signal is carried by a suitable cable (usually RG59 or similar) to the monitor or other video input, ie, of a
switcher, quad, DVR etc. Remember that the Video out from the camera is like any other electrical circuit and requires
two wires to complete the circuit. When using a co-ax type cable such as RG59 or similar, the outer braid of the co-ax
provides the “0V GROUND” connection and the inner core provides the “Video” connection. A typical connection is
shown as follows:
Video Out
(BNC)
Video Cable
RG59 Cable – Outer braid to body of BNC plug
Solid centre core to middle pin of BNC plug
Video Input on DVR,
monitor, etc