What is a LUX Rating?

CCTV Camera Pros very often gets the question from our customers “What does LUX rating mean?”

Low-lux surveillance generally refers to cameras that are able to capture images of viewable quality in low-light conditions without the need for auxiliary lights.Security cameras usually have a LUX rating.In the world of CCTV and security cameras the term LUX is used to describe how well a camera can capture video on low light.

A LUX, abbreviated lx, is the International System of Units (SI) measure of the intensity of light. One LUX is the amount of light cast by one candle at one meters space. It can be thought of as the strength of light as determined by the human eye.

The LUX rating of a security camera is based on several factors, three of which are the lens, sensor chip, and “F stop.” The lower the LUX rating of a security camera the less light is needed for the camera to produce a usable picture (video).Here are some examples of common light sources expressed in LUX.

 Full sunshine 10,000 LUX

 Well- lit office 500 LUX

 Comfortable reading 300 LUX

 Cloudy 100 LUX

 Twilight 10 LUX

 Dusk 1 LUX

 Full moon .1 LUX

 Quarter moon .01 LUX

 Complete darkness 0 LUX

It will be quoted in Lux, usually something like 0.1, 0.01 or even 0.001 Lux. Most day/night cameras are labeled as colored 0.1 lux and IRC on black/white 0.01 to 0.001lux. In theory the lower the minimum lux level the better a camera performs at night or in low ambient light conditions.

A rating of 0.0 LUX means there is no available light and therefore an image can not be captured, unless it is through infrared imaging.These are called night vision or IR (infrared) cameras. All IR equipped cameras can film in 0 lux but we are interested in how sensitive the electronics are.

If the lens has any special filter technology, if it is unusually large, or if it is shaped in a unique way, these factors can all increase the LUX rating of the camera.

Talk with us about your particular requirements.

 we can help you choose the right LUX rated camera for your specific application.

Tel: +9821-88535400