Short answer
In winter, the most common problems with outdoor cameras are fogging inside the glass, spider webs attracted by infrared light, and water getting into the cable connections. Fogging mostly indicates that the housing's seal has failed. Spider webs are prevented by regular cleaning, and water problems by keeping the cable splices in a closed box and running the cable with a drip loop.
What does a Şanlıurfa winter do to a camera?
Winter in Şanlıurfa is mild compared with summer, but there are rainy days, morning fog, and occasional frost. The camera is worn down by heat and dust all summer; in winter, the first rains reveal the gaps this wear has opened. Gaskets that dried out in summer, covers that loosened, and cable conduits that cracked in the sun begin to let water in.
The temperature difference between day and night also matters. A camera housing that cools at night condenses the humid air inside on the inner surface of the glass. That is why the image is foggy in the morning. Also, days get shorter; cameras stay in night vision mode longer, and the effect of infrared light becomes more noticeable.
Fogging: inside or outside the glass?
First work out where the fog is. Moisture or a raindrop on the outer surface of the glass dries when the sun comes out and the image clears on its own. Fog inside the glass stays for hours and sometimes does not clear all day. Inner fog shows that moisture has entered the camera housing.
Moisture usually enters through a worn gasket, a cover that was not closed well, or the cable entry point. A gasket that did not seat fully after an installation or maintenance where the housing was opened and closed is a common cause. Some cameras contain small moisture-absorbing packets; these become saturated over time.
You cannot remove inner fog by wiping the outside of the camera. The housing must be opened in a dry environment, its inside dried, the gasket checked, and the camera closed properly. The person doing this must make the gasket and cable entry watertight again.
Expert note: Do not open the camera housing on a rainy or humid day. The humid air that gets inside comes back as fog on the first cold night after you close it.
Spider webs and insects
The infrared light used for night vision is invisible to the human eye, but it attracts insects. When insects come, spiders build webs around the camera to catch them. The web reflects infrared light and creates bright, flickering lines in the night image. When the web sways in the wind, the camera takes it for motion and keeps sending false notifications.
The solution is simple but needs repeating: regularly brushing the camera and its surroundings. Installing a camera very close to a corner of an eave creates an ideal environment for spiders. With models whose infrared light is separate from the camera body, or cameras that use color night vision, this problem may show up differently.
- Brush the camera and its sunshade surroundings once a month.
- After cleaning webs, wipe the glass with a damp cloth.
- If false notifications increase at night, look at spider webs first.
- Move the motion detection zone away from the camera's vicinity.
- Look at each camera's night image
- Check whether there is fog inside the glass
- Clean spider webs with a brush
- Check the junction box covers
- Look at the sealing of cable holes
- Make sure the drip loop is in place
- Repair cracks in cable conduits
Water getting into cable splices
The weakest point of outdoor cameras is often not the camera but the point where the cable connects to the camera. If connectors and splices are left exposed, wrapped in tape, they oxidize in one rainy season. The symptom is the camera dropping out after rain, the image coming and going from time to time, or PoE the camera not turning on at all.
In a correct installation, the connection points stay inside the junction box under the camera. Before entering the camera, the cable makes a small downward sag. This is called a drip loop: water running down the cable drips from this lowest point and does not reach the connection.
The cable hole in the wall must also be sealed. If the hole where the cable comes in from above is left open, water can travel through the wall into the building or the cabinets.
Raindrops, fog, and the night image
Raindrops on the glass reflect infrared light at night and create blurry spots in the image. Cameras under a sunshade or eave are less affected by this. If the camera looks upward, drops stay on the glass longer; a position tilted slightly downward helps the water run off.
On foggy mornings, infrared light bounces back off the fog and the image turns white. This is not a fault, and it clears up when the fog lifts. Heavy rain and snowflakes can cause the same effect. Where fog is common, supplying the infrared light from a separate illuminator instead of the camera, or strengthening the ambient lighting, can improve the image.
Wind, vibration and mounting
Winter storms put strain on the pole and bracket the camera is attached to. A loose bracket shakes in the wind and the image wobbles. At night this vibration is more noticeable, because the camera uses a longer exposure in low light and the movement is recorded as blur. Over time the camera angle also shifts, and one morning you may find the camera pointing at the wall or the sky.
A camera mounted on a pole made of thin sheet metal or on a long arm sways more than a camera mounted close to a wall. At installation, making sure the pole is sturdy and the bracket screws grip the wall well saves you from fiddling with the angle all winter. After a storm, compare each camera’s angle with the screenshot you saved at first installation.
A short check before winter
Setting aside a day to go over the outdoor cameras before November, before the first serious rain, is the easiest way to get through winter without problems. Quickly playing back the last week’s night recordings on the recorder also shows fast which camera has a problem. Look at each camera’s night image once, check the covers of the junction boxes and the cable holes, and clear away cobwebs.
For cameras that have been affected by dust and heat in summer, the condition of the gasket and cracks in the cable conduits are also important. For cameras at heights you cannot reach yourself, or cameras with fog inside, you can request a maintenance visit from Desa Bilişim.
Frequently asked
Why does the camera glass fog up in the mornings?
If the fog is on the outside of the glass, moisture has condensed on the surface that cooled during the night, and it goes away when the sun comes up. If it is inside the glass, moisture has entered the camera housing; the gasket, cover, or cable entry should be checked and the housing dried in a dry environment.
Why do I keep getting false motion notifications at night?
One of the most common causes is a spider web in front of the camera. A web that shines in infrared light and sways in the wind is detected as motion. Cleaning the camera and its surroundings and moving the motion detection zone away from the camera's vicinity often solves the problem.
Why does the camera drop out after rain?
Most likely, water is getting into the cable connection point. Splices left exposed or only wrapped in tape oxidize over time. The splices should be placed in a closed junction box and the cable run with a drip loop.
Let’s get your cameras ready for winter
If you have fogging, a lost connection or a night image problem, request a maintenance visit through the quote form.
