Technology explained · 6 min read
What is Hikvision
ColorVu?
Infrared CCTV gives you a grey silhouette at night. ColorVu gives you the colour of the jacket and the car. Here's how it does that, what changed in ColorVu 3.0, and where it actually earns its place on a property.
The short version
ColorVu cameras keep recording in full colour at night. Three things make that possible: a very wide-aperture lens (F1.0 on most models, letting in far more light than a standard F2.0 lens), a larger, more sensitive image sensor, and a soft white supplementary light that comes on when there's genuinely not enough ambient light.
Why colour matters
Identification. A grey infrared image tells you someone was there. A colour image tells you the red hoodie, the white van, the blue bag. That's what the police and your insurer can use — and it's what deters, because the light makes it obvious the camera sees clearly.
ColorVu 3.0 and Smart Hybrid Light
Newer ColorVu 3.0 cameras improve the sensor and processing so colour holds up in lower light with less noise. Smart Hybrid Light adds a choice: the camera can sit in infrared (invisible, no white light) and switch to white-light colour only when a person or vehicle is detected — so you get the deterrent and the colour at the moment it matters, without a floodlight on all night.
Where to use it — and where not to
- Use it: driveways, front approaches, entrances, shop fronts, yards — anywhere identification matters.
- Think twice: a camera pointing at a neighbour's bedroom window all night with a white light on will not make you popular. Smart Hybrid Light or an AcuSense infrared camera is the better tool there.
- Don't bother: a rear garden with nothing but a fence; infrared is fine and cheaper.
What the spec sheet doesn't tell you
Mounting height and angle change everything. A ColorVu camera at 4 metres looking down a drive works; the same camera at 2.2 metres above a door gets faces. Ambient street lighting helps; a pitch-black rural lane relies on the white light and its reach. That's why we survey before we specify.
Most current Hikvision cameras offer both. The real decision is per position: colour where you identify, AI detection everywhere. See ColorVu vs AcuSense.
Your property decides. Not the logo.
Questions
Good to know.
Does ColorVu work with no light at all?
It uses its own white light when ambient light is too low, so yes — with a reach that depends on the model. In near-total darkness a Smart Hybrid Light model that starts in infrared is often the better choice.
Is the white light on all night?
On standard ColorVu, only when ambient light drops below a threshold. On Smart Hybrid Light models, only when a person or vehicle is detected.
Is ColorVu worth the extra cost?
On the two or three cameras that matter for identification, yes. On the rest, usually not.