Folks,
Recently, I was able to help the police catch an attempted child abductor using the recording from my analog video surveillance system. Never expected that to happen in a million years, but was happy I could help!
The attempt was made on one of my neighbors, and I really wanted to be able to hand them a license plate - was not gonna happen with a consumer camera recording at D1 resolution and a 4 mm lens at 80 or so feet.
So... Time to upgrade. Want to move up to an IP camera setup with a variety of camera resolutions depending on location. One of the cameras needs to be a 5 mm likely with 4mm lens. I also would like to have IR and a low lux for the camera for night use.
The problem - I don't know exactly the resolution or focal length I need - all I know at the moment is that a 3MP doesn't quite do it as I tested a camera that I can easily return. Are there any calculators out there that will take the MP of the camera, focal length, distance and provide an expected perspective of the view? I could see a web based UI where you could set the various options and see what a license plate (at an oblique angle, because cars are rarely driving directly at a house) would look like. Obviously, compression will play into this as well, but at least someone could get an idea. Are there any tools like that?
Having said that, what's the best bang for the buck on higher res outdoor IP cameras with IR? I likely will use 3 MP for most cameras and 5 MP for a few.
Any suggestions on tools I can use to emulate what's seen, or the best bang for the buck on outdoor higher res cameras with a reasonable level if IR blasters?
Cheers,
SK
Recently, I was able to help the police catch an attempted child abductor using the recording from my analog video surveillance system. Never expected that to happen in a million years, but was happy I could help!
The attempt was made on one of my neighbors, and I really wanted to be able to hand them a license plate - was not gonna happen with a consumer camera recording at D1 resolution and a 4 mm lens at 80 or so feet.
So... Time to upgrade. Want to move up to an IP camera setup with a variety of camera resolutions depending on location. One of the cameras needs to be a 5 mm likely with 4mm lens. I also would like to have IR and a low lux for the camera for night use.
The problem - I don't know exactly the resolution or focal length I need - all I know at the moment is that a 3MP doesn't quite do it as I tested a camera that I can easily return. Are there any calculators out there that will take the MP of the camera, focal length, distance and provide an expected perspective of the view? I could see a web based UI where you could set the various options and see what a license plate (at an oblique angle, because cars are rarely driving directly at a house) would look like. Obviously, compression will play into this as well, but at least someone could get an idea. Are there any tools like that?
Having said that, what's the best bang for the buck on higher res outdoor IP cameras with IR? I likely will use 3 MP for most cameras and 5 MP for a few.
Any suggestions on tools I can use to emulate what's seen, or the best bang for the buck on outdoor higher res cameras with a reasonable level if IR blasters?
Cheers,
SK
