new LPR install with Dahua - look ok? (IPC-HFW5231E-Z12)

[Andrew F]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to IP cameras and definitely LPR. I posted in the Dahua forum about my overall plan, and they suggested the LPR guys might have tips for that part of my plan.

We live on a very busy street with a fair amount of traffic. Speed limit is 25, but average speed is probably 30 mph.

I plan to install an ornamental lamp post near the road and put two IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 cameras on it, facing opposite directions. The cameras would be mounted 5-6' off the ground.

Here's the plan for the left-facing camera:

Left LPR camera

• Andrew F
• Mar 30, 2019

And here's the right one:

Right LPR camera

• Andrew F
• Mar 30, 2019
• 3

Do the angles and distances look workable?

I got the idea from this excellent post: IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 LPR from 137 feet. His angle is more straight-on than mine.

Thanks for any tips!
Andrew

 

[bigredfish]

Generally speaking at 90-100ft the Z12 will perform fine.

Two caveats:
1- The Z has a known problem with maintaining focus past 80% zoom (you'll be less so ok) and when switching from B&W to color and back. This can be overcome with a couple of different techniques but will take a bit of work. Search on the Z12..
2- You may need some supplemental IR at 100ft. Its worth mounting the cams and seeing if the onboard IR is enough first though.

 

[Andrew F]

Thanks! Is there a cam that's more recommended for this purpose? I have seen the focus issues and B&W<->color issues discussed here.

 

[bigredfish]

I'm sure there are, but at the price point its slim pickuns. HiK makes a good one, but if I recall correctly its limited to a 32mm lens, 1/2 the zoom of the Z12. The other option some here recommend is a lower end Dahua PTZ with 25-30x zoom. I cant speak to that from experience but some here have had good success.

The Z12 will get the job done, focus warts and all, but you have to be willing to put in some time to find the sweet spot regarding the day/night shift.

 

[bigredfish]

Here's two snaps from tonight, one from each of my Z12's at 120ft. I use supplemental IR at one location, camera IR only at the other, but it has gobs of ambient light from the street lamp.

 

[Andrew F]

Thank you! Our street is fairly dark at night, but our new lamp post should help with that some.

I think I'm going to pull the trigger and try the Z12. I gotta do something.

 

[DLONG2]

I use the IPC-HFW5231EZ5 camera, and although the zoom isn't as large as the Z12, it still collects plates just fine in the OpenALPR software. Plus it will show the full vehicle and its surroundings.

 

[bigredfish]

Thats simply a function of how much you zoom. The Z12 can zoom to the same focus as the Z5, as well as a lot further.

 

[DLONG2]

Thats simply a function of how much you zoom. The Z12 can zoom to the same focus as the Z5, as well as a lot further.

Correct. I mentioned the Z5 in case cost might be a factor, and also to point out it can collect plates okay. Having a fuller zoom capability would be great for framing a scene as needed, though.

 

[pb11186]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to IP cameras and definitely LPR. I posted in the Dahua forum about my overall plan, and they suggested the LPR guys might have tips for that part of my plan.

We live on a very busy street with a fair amount of traffic. Speed limit is 25, but average speed is probably 30 mph.

I plan to install an ornamental lamp post near the road and put two IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 cameras on it, facing opposite directions. The cameras would be mounted 5-6' off the ground.

Here's the plan for the left-facing camera:

Left LPR camera

• Andrew F
• Mar 30, 2019

And here's the right one:

Right LPR camera

• Andrew F
• Mar 30, 2019
• 3

Do the angles and distances look workable?

I got the idea from this excellent post: IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 LPR from 137 feet. His angle is more straight-on than mine.

Thanks for any tips!
Andrew

Hi Andrew. Im considering a similar set-up. Just wondering if you plan on disguising the cameras?

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[Andrew F]

Hi Andrew. Im considering a similar set-up. Just wondering if you plan on disguising the cameras?

Yes. We plan to build little "birdhouses" to put the bullet cameras in. They will be on posts in a flower bed that surrounds the lamp post. Electrician is coming on Monday. I plan to take pics and document the setup as we go. I'll definitely post here.

 

[pb11186]

Yes. We plan to build little "birdhouses" to put the bullet cameras in. They will be on posts in a flower bed that surrounds the lamp post. Electrician is coming on Monday. I plan to take pics and document the setup as we go. I'll definitely post here.

Awsome. I look forward to seeing them. I was thinking of the light post idea or disguising them in the soffit or building a nice box around the hydro meter etc. The cameas appear to be large, not sure how easy it will be.

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[Andrew F]

DONE!

We still need to fine tune the camera settings and focus, but we have our setup installed.

We hired an electrician to run CAT6 and electric to a spot near our street. They put in a lamp post for us. I built two "bird houses" that hold the bullet cameras. We plan to make a nice iris bed around this setup so it looks even better.



Here's some shots from each camera day and night. Definitely need to fine tune more.



The only other thing is I can't run OpenALPR on our video machine because it requires a 64-bit processor - unless someone knows a workaround there. But I'm happy enough that we can review the footage if needed and get plates.

 

[DLONG2]

Curious about the placement of the cameras within the bird houses. I'd be concerned about critters filling in the voids, and would want to consider using steel wool or other. Or did you place a sheet of plastic over the opening?

 

[pb11186]

DONE!

We still need to fine tune the camera settings and focus, but we have our setup installed.

We hired an electrician to run CAT6 and electric to a spot near our street. They put in a lamp post for us. I built two "bird houses" that hold the bullet cameras. We plan to make a nice iris bed around this setup so it looks even better.

View attachment 42477 View attachment 42476

Here's some shots from each camera day and night. Definitely need to fine tune more.

View attachment 42472 View attachment 42473 View attachment 42474 View attachment 42475

The only other thing is I can't run OpenALPR on our video machine because it requires a 64-bit processor - unless someone knows a workaround there. But I'm happy enough that we can review the footage if needed and get plates.

Wow. Looks great!

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[Andrew F]

Curious about the placement of the cameras within the bird houses. I'd be concerned about critters filling in the voids, and would want to consider using steel wool or other. Or did you place a sheet of plastic over the opening?

The cameras are bolted to the back wall of the houses. I stuffed foam pipe insulation around the cameras to hopefully deter at least large critters from getting inside.

Once we're sure we like the angles, I think I'm going to try to cut out a thin piece of wood to fit around the cameras and seal up the front. I think it will look cleaner and keep out bugs.

 

[mech]

Any issues with the cameras losing focus at night? I was impressed with peoples' photos from this model, and was planning to get one to try out. But then I read reports here that they attempt to adjust their focus at night, and end up blurry, since a dark LPR-capture scene has no ambient details to lock onto. So I'm curious what the consensus is.

 

[Andrew F]

Any issues with the cameras losing focus at night?

Yes. It's a severe problem that can be quite frustrating. As others have reported, it's an issue when you zoom in super far (I think 80% is the reported threshold). I have these zoomed in about 90%.

There's two ways we are currently compensating, which seem to work well:

1. The Dahua Sunrise / Sunset switcher utility is running on the video server. It switches between Day / Night profiles AND sets the proper zoom and focus.

2. An AutoHotkey script runs for each camera every 2 minutes. It checks if the camera is focused properly. If not, it resets the focus.

Between those two things, I think we're good. What's really frustrating is when you're futzing with the camera settings and adjusting things, then you forget to update the focus settings in your AutoHotkey script, etc.

 

[bigredfish]

Two other low-tech methods...

1- Keep the camera in B&W Day and Night
2- Set schedule (Day/Night) to switch from color to B&W 1 hour before sunset and back to color 1 hour after sunrise.

Some have also had limited success with reflective tape giving the lens something to focus on, but it wasnt ever 100% for me

 

[mech]

Thanks, I ordered one to try out.

Going back to your custom installation, I wonder if spiders will be a problem. Is there such a thing as spider repellent, maybe mothballs or ???