Distance to the plate is around 136 Ft (41 meters) according to Google Maps estimate. There is another camera that might be helping with IR, it is Dahua IPC-HFW5231E-Z installed just behind the left front of the house and it is pointed directly at our mailbox (you can see it at the start of the video clip in the upper right of the screen). Also, there is a streetlight at that corner so it may be helping too. I don't have an ideal angle for the capture, but it seems to be working out okay the way it is installed.
Yes, camera is run in color most of the day. I force it to the night profile about 45 minutes to an hour before sunset. It stays in that profile even after sunrise. I generally switch it to the day profile about 30 minutes to an hour after sunrise. Seems to be working okay by following this procedure. I like running the day mode in color as I can also get a closeup of anyone walking up or down that street. Here is a frame capture from a little while ago. You can see I zoom out slightly for the daytime capture. You can also see it was raining during this capture.
Yes, as I stated I change the zoom setting manually each day and let the camera auto focus. By following this process the camera seems to stay in focus even during the transition from daytime to complete darkness and vice versa. This is how I get around IR switch focus issue.
Post your exposure settings and a sample nighttime image.
I wasted 2 hours playing with that firmware version with my Z12. I couldn't get the plugin to work with Safari and ended up reverting back to the original (IPC-HX5X3X-Rhea_Eng_P_Stream3_V2.460.0000.15.R.20170907.bin).
ouch, you can use with the firefox one.
I forgot to screenshot the exposure settings but it's full manual. I can get it tomorrow or Sunday. Take special notice to the car in pictures ending in 11, 12, and 13. That is an example of a plate that is simply dirty from what I can tell. That car and plate looks fine in person and in daylight.
This may be my issue. This one is zoomed nearly all the way out. The other 3 are not.
But does it only run once, or does it send focus commands repetitivley 24/7? I already have the dahua sunset utility off this forum running and it corrects the focus. But it will shift its focus again throughout the day and night
Yes mine will shift on its own. If I stop and restart my sunrise / sunset utility the focus will return where it should be (sends out focus command again). These cameras are always in autofocus mode from what I know. Your just isnt zoomed in tight enough to have the shift issue I guess. My other 3 do not have the problem