request : is it a insect or a laserpointer on a nightcam video. How to indentify ?

[Daves!]

I received 2 video's from a security video of a light "orb" in a back yard.
My question is: i think it is an insect but the movement almost suggest something else, maybe a laser, but that's a wild guess. So how can i indetify it if it's an insect ?
And how come insects glow up in video's so i can explain it if i receive more of these questions ?

Many thanks for your information !

 

[Mendel]

And how come insects glow up in video's so i can explain it if i receive more of these questions ?

Insects "glow" as they move through a brightly lit volume of space, typically close to the camera. Since the background appears dark, most people are not aware that such a well-lit space can exist in front of it. (Anyone who has ever done stage/theater lighting would know this.)
The deception is facilitated by people thinking the object is bigger and further away than it actually is. The closer you are to something lit, the brighter it appears to be.

If it was a laser, the motion would most certainly reveal that the objects it passes over are at wildly varying distances.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

First question - What is the frame rate of this camera? Security cameras typically record between 15fps to 30fps. A lower frame rate might explain some of the jerkiness of movement

The way this thing moves is odd, but bugs do odd things. This might be exaggerated by a low frame rate.

Alternative: there's a slim chance it's something drifting; fluffy seed pod maybe. I doubt it, though.

Whatever it is, I doubt that it's a laser pointer dot. I'd think the brightness would change if it were a laser pointer dot reflecting off such different objects; trees versus pool, etc. But it doesn't change in brightness. It might even change shape... but there's no sign of that either.

Best guess, a bug reflecting light from the camera's light source.

Security cameras turn on lights. These days the cameras themselves often have LEDs . Or it might be floodlights on a wall turning themselves on with a motion sensor.

The bug is relatively close to the camera. Light "fall-off" makes the nearby bug brighter than more distant objects. There's a lot of contrast. So the bug looks like it's "glowing."

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

Light fall-off, also known as the Inverse Square Law, is a fundamental concept in photography that describes how the intensity of light changes with distance from the light source.

High Contrast Images: If you want strong shadows and a brightly-lit subject for a dramatic and contrasty look, place your light source close to your subject.

 

[Yeta]

It's footage from a Blink Home camera system in best possible quality. 30fps.
IR intensity (no actual light) is set on Medium. Motion sensitivity on 6/10 (to rule out bugs!).

I'm using it for around 3 years now and at sometime you catch a bug, crawling over the lens. But never flying. And this seems to behave different in movement and is a very bright white dot.
Videos are more than 1 hour after each, so the thing was hanging around for a while. Unsure what this is.

Yes, it's my footage.
Yes, it's raw, unedited.

 

[Mick West]

Possible a highlight on some spider silk waving around a bit in the air.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

Does this camera have its own LEDs? I'd guess that it does, because in the first video there's an illuminated bug on the lens or lens cover.

In the second video it looks as if we are just seeing one leg of that same bug. Notice how bright it is. And notice how the brightness of the light "falls off" with distance. Window frame versus pool versus trees.

I think this is a gnat/mosquito sized bug just a few inches from the camera. There's an illusion that it's something bigger but farther away. Maybe just in front of the pool. That's why it looks so odd.

The jerky motion: That's the way gnats fly.

 

[Yeta]

Correct. There's a spider on the lens of the camera, and in the other video only the leg of it.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

It's footage from a Blink Home camera system in best possible quality. 30fps.
IR intensity (no actual light) is set on Medium. Motion sensitivity on 6/10 (to rule out bugs!).

I'm using it for around 3 years now and at sometime you catch a bug, crawling over the lens. But never flying. And this seems to behave different in movement and is a very bright white dot.
Videos are more than 1 hour after each, so the thing was hanging around for a while. Unsure what this is.

Yes, it's my footage.
Yes, it's raw, unedited.

IR is light. Just not visible light.

It acts just like visible light, though; in that there's still light fall-off and the camera lens can focus IR light. The human retina doesn't have sensors for IR light; your camera does have sensors for IR.

A note about the Inverse Square Law: Some people misunderstand. They think photons are pooping-out after traveling a certain distance. But it's really about light spreading out.

 

[JMartJr]

There's a spider on the lens of the camera

I was going to say a katydid or something, based on the antennae wiggling about -- but either way, we can be sure there are bugs in the area!

 

[Yeta]

Yes there are!

But unsure about that odd white dot dancing around.

 

[MonkeeSage]

I think Mick is right about spider silk blowing around. It looks like the Blink camera only has one IR emitter so it makes sense there would only be one reflection/highlight on the strand of silk.


Ring cameras have six IR emitters


And here is a video from a Ring camera showing a strand of silk with six reflections.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erhw2eceeZ8

 

[Daves!]

thanks everyone for the information.
Good to know that when an object is closer the IR light will illuminate it more - small insects ( on webs ) appear through an optical illusion further away.

Very infromative thanks!