Over time, you may notice the surveillance video coming from one or more of your cameras will acquire a hazy quality that will not go away by simple cleaning of the lens. When this happens, you can eliminate the haziness by taking down the camera and cleaning the interior parts of the lens.
The camera can be removed by unscrewing the ring on the back of the camera. You’ll want to leave the other fastening ring at the base of the bracket alone, because loosening that ring will change the positioning of the camera. Refer to the video above if you are unsure which ring needs to be loosened.
Once the ring is loosened, you will have to disconnect the data cable by depressing the clip to unplug it. Now you have the camera free to take to a workbench for cleaning. It may feel pretty warm to the touch when you first take it down; this is normal.
The most difficult part of this operation is removing the black bezel that holds the assembly together. It has 3 slots into which a tool such as a blade screwdriver can be placed (carefully!) for leverage if necessary, but you may be able to unscrew the bezel with just your fingers as shown here.
The outer white piece can then be removed, allowing access to the edge of the lens cover. This lifts off, giving access to the optics inside. You can now clean all optical surfaces with a moist lens cleaning cloth. The areas most benefitting from a thorough wiping are the small black lens in the center of the camera and the inside of the lens cover.
To re-assemble, align the small cylindrical appendage on the lens cover with the cavity that it fits into on the camera body. This is the microphone assembly, by the way. Nest the cover securely into place. Next return the white ring to its place, noting the alignment of the non-conforming cutout with the lens features as shown here. Screw the bezel back on with moderate torque, and the camera is ready to be returned to its mount.
Click the data cable into place and slide into position. Screw the ring back on and you are done.