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Silarius Academy / Smart AI detection

Get the best camera picture for AI

Set up your camera's picture, angle and light so the AI can see people and cars clearly.

7 min Intermediate

By the end you will know which camera picture settings help the AI most, and how to fix dark, bright or blurry video.

What you need

  • Access to your camera's own web page
  • A few screenshots from the camera, day and night

Step by step

  1. Take test screenshots

    Grab screenshots at the farthest spot you care about, in daylight and at night.

  2. Check object size

    Measure a person or car in pixels. If its smallest side is under 30 pixels, change resolution or lens until it's at least 40.

  3. Fix contrast

    Turn on WDR if you have it. If not, set exposure, brightness and contrast by hand.

  4. Set the shutter

    Set the slowest shutter to 1/120 if you have enough light, or 1/60 if it's too dark.

  5. Tune sharpness and noise

    Raise sharpness until noise appears. Raise noise reduction slowly until the grain goes away without blur.

  6. Check again day and night

    Look at new screenshots in rain, evening, night and full sun. Pick settings that work for all of them.

Why the picture matters

The AI can only find what it can see. The most common reasons it fails are low contrast, low resolution, a bad camera angle and plants in the way.

Is the object big enough?

Resolution is how many tiny dots (pixels) make up the picture. There's no one right resolution. It depends on how far away things are and what lens you use.

Here is a simple test. Take a screenshot. Find a person or car at the farthest spot you care about. Count how many pixels its smallest side takes up.

  • Less than 30 pixels: too small.
  • Aim for at least 40 pixels.

If it's too small, use a higher resolution or a narrower lens (one that zooms in more).

Contrast: the number one problem

Contrast is the difference between light and dark parts. Light changes a lot from day to night and from sun to shade.

  • Decide which part of the picture matters. Sky and far background usually don't.
  • Use WDR if your camera has it. WDR (wide dynamic range) helps when part of the picture is very bright and part is very dark. Hardware WDR works better than software WDR. Too much WDR can make the picture blurry, so find a balance.
  • If WDR doesn't help, set exposure, brightness and contrast by hand. Sharp, high-contrast pictures work better than soft ones.

Exposure and shutter speed

Exposure is how much light the camera lets in. Auto exposure is a good start.

Shutter speed is how long the camera takes for each picture. A slow shutter lets in more light but makes moving things blurry.

  • Use 1/120 of a second or faster if there's enough light at the darkest time of day.
  • If it's too dark at 1/120, you can go to 1/60. Expect a bit of blur.
  • Some cameras have a low-motion-blur mode that lets you set the slowest shutter allowed. It works well in low light.

Too bright (overexposed): the AI can't see things in the washed-out parts. Too dark (underexposed): dark things blend together, and the AI can miss people.

Other picture settings

  • Sharpness: Turn it up until you start to see grainy noise, then stop. Soft edges make detection worse.
  • Contrast and saturation: If the picture is dark, raise contrast and sharpness. Keep brightness in the middle. Lowering saturation (color strength) can help the AI tell things apart.
  • White balance: Makes colors look natural under different lights.
  • Noise reduction (2D and 3D): Cleans up grainy video. Too much makes things smooth and blurry. Raise it slowly. 3D usually cleans better than 2D.
  • Defog: Helps in fog or haze. If Defog is grayed out, try turning off WDR. Some cameras can't use both at once.

Camera angle and placement

  • Don't let trees or bushes block the main path people walk on.
  • Don't mount the camera too high looking straight down. From above, a person doesn't look like a person, so the AI has trouble.
  • Avoid harsh lights and direct sunlight in the picture when you can.

Good to know

  • Don't overdo picture boosts. Too much can add strange marks to the picture and hurt detection.
  • A darker sharp picture is better for the AI than a bright blurry one.

Learn next

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