Need advise on camera to be able to (see)READ LICENSE plates on cars DAY n Night

anakimatu

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Hello all im new and looking to buy camera thats able to SEE license plate on cars day and night in SUPER CRISP 10million pixle etc.... 8k 10k u name it nice and crisp u know what i mean AT NIGHT

whats the BEST camera for that ?????

I need some advise from ppl that ACTUALLY OWN one and know what they are talking about

let me know your thoughts
 

sebastiantombs

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Have a look in the LPR thread. It's more about zoom, focus and, especially, shutter speed at night. Current preferred, if memory serves me right, is a Dahua B5231-Z12. That's only 2MP but with the right zoom and angle of attack it works very well according to the experts in LPR.

 

wittaj

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The go to camera is the Z12 @sebastiantombs suggests.

Don't chase MP, especially for plates. Most are 2MP and many commercial businesses still use analog.

Also read up on LPR subforum for tips on how to set up LPR. In short, you want the image to be just about only the car in the frame. Anything bigger and you lose the plate.

At night the image will be B/W and an all black image and all you will see is head/tail lights and plate and nothing else. This is accomplished with a 1/2,000 shutter speed - you need a fast shutter to capture plates and unless you have a TON of light at night, the image will be black.

Further, you cannot use this camera as an overview cam - that is people's biggest mistake is to try to do too much with one cam. If you want to also be able to see color and make of car, etc., then you need an overview camera in addition to a camera just for plates, at least for night time.
 
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Welcome to the forum.

It will all depend on your specific criteria. Distance, lighting, angle of attack, vehicle speed, etc.

But asking for a 10MP cam for LPR is like asking for a Bugatti for delivering pizza. It will take quite a lot of cash to get a 10MP cam that gives you what you want.

Now if you are asking for 90% plate caps after dark with some lighting and about 60-75 feet out head on, the Dahua B5442E-Z4E is a 4MP cam that does well. It has an 8-32mm varifocal lens. I am not using this cam specifically for LPR. I am using it for vehicle ID of color, make, model, and description. But it does very well at picking up plates in this install. I have not optimized it for LPR. I have other cams for LPR.

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My two LPR cams are the Dahua IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E which is the newer version of the cams mentioned above. This is a 2MP cam with a 5-60mm varifocal lens. I am in the process of installing these. Other folks here have had good success using these cams for LPR.
 

anakimatu

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great thanks for all your help, on amazon the price is same for 4mp 4e or the 12e 2mp, i bought the 12e 2mp will see how it goes......

Ill assume any nvr will work with this cam?


ps. (some one stole my trailer off my driveway with generator on it, pulled in and off they went )
 

mat200

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great thanks for all your help, on amazon the price is same for 4mp 4e or the 12e 2mp, i bought the 12e 2mp will see how it goes......

Ill assume any nvr will work with this cam?


ps. (some one stole my trailer off my driveway with generator on it, pulled in and off they went )
Welcome @anakimatu

Sorry to hear that.

Plan to have a lot more than just one camera to do what you are attempting...

Please see the various threads on this topic and see what other members have been doing.

For example:
 

anakimatu

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Hi, sorry, does any one know what wavelength the camera uses IR 850? 920 ?nm

if I were to supplement with an IR blaster or an Array would it help ?
 
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if I were to supplement with an IR blaster or an Array would it help ?
It depends. The only real way to find out is to test. It will depend on the distance, angle and other things in the field of view that could reflect the IR back at your cam.

The Dahua that you bought is an 850nm.
 
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anakimatu

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hello, all

Got my camera today... gotta say this ant your typical joe blow setup experience. etc.... dont have my nvr yet but able to log into cam via network pc etc.... so far just had in in a room while testing , tomorrow will try to mount outside or over weekend
 

anakimatu

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hi all,

few questions. whats the SD card slot for ?

and is there a flaw with the camera to adjust the up down mounting position. it seems like i can bend curve it 90 deg. down mount but cant do the same for top mount unless i UNSCREW or loosen the main mount ??????
 
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few questions. whats the SD card slot for ?
For a micro SD card. You can have video or stills written there by the cam that you could access via the web browser. It is a good way to ensure that you might still have data if the NVR or BI PC were to die.

What cam did you get? Can't answer your mount question without that info.
 

wittaj

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I am assuming you got the Z12 as it is kinda pain to adjust that in my opinion - I ended up loosening the screws on the inside part of the support to move it to the approx position I thought it would need to be in when I mounted it.
 
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