Camera suggestions?

[hawkeye217]

There have been some sketchy cars in the neighborhood lately and crime has been on the increase here in south Texas, so I'm looking at getting some more cams. I currently have two 5442s from Andy as overview cams (I've also convinced my neighbor as well, who currently has one 5442 and wants to get more). Overview cams are great, but as we all know, identifying a perp's face and vehicle/license plate is really what we're after.

With Andy's Memorial Day sale coming up, I'm wondering what you all would suggest might be good to pick up. I've been looking at the SD4A425DB-HNY mini PTZ.

My home is single story on a road with a cul-de-sac at the end. The 5442s are mounted at the corners of the home, about 12 feet off the ground. I've got good overlapping coverage of the street from one and of my driveway from the other one. So I think these would work well for spotter cams for the PTZ. I've also got a cheap 2MP doorbell camera that would identify any faces near the front door.

Would you all recommend the mini PTZ or something else? Should I pick up any other ones on the sale as well?

What's the best mounting height/position for a PTZ?

I can give more info about my current setup and street if that would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

[samplenhold]

The 5442 cams are great for ID also. You just have to mount them in the proper positions for that purpose.

For LPR, see these threads.

New to LPR? Considerations Before You Begin

Thought I would throw together a post on my experiences so far with LPR in an effort to help others that are considering running down that rabbit hole. There are some practical considerations you should know about LPR. I am approaching this from the position of using Blue Iris and Plate...

ipcamtalk.com

LPR Case Study: Scoping, Planning, Proof of Concept, Installation, & Results

Introduction This thread is about my journey into LPR (License Plate Recognition) after having about 18 months of experience with IP cams and having quite a bit of my system finished. I am not an expert on LPR, or IP cameras either. But I have spent a lot of time working with my system and...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[hawkeye217]

Thanks so much @samplenhold, really helpful!

 

[looney2ns]

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection | IP Cam Talk

 

[looney2ns]

It's almost always best to have fixed cams instead of PTZ's, PTZ's have a high probablity of looking in the wrong direction when something happens.
If you want reliable face id's, then don't mount fixed cams any higher than 8ft.
Don't try to cover too much with one camera.

 

[mat200]

..

What's the best mounting height/position for a PTZ?

..

"What's the best mounting height/position for a PTZ?"

Depends ..
1) How far away do you want to watch?
2) What do you want to watch?
3) Can you get a good angle to what you want to capture ?
4) Are there environmental issues ? hills? trees? houses?

In general most look to put under 1st story soffit .. some will put it on a pole or even 2nd story soffit ( for scenic views / wild life / longer range views ) ..

 

[hawkeye217]

It's almost always best to have fixed cams instead of PTZ's, PTZ's have a high probablity of looking in the wrong direction when something happens.
If you want reliable face id's, then don't mount fixed cams any higher than 8ft.
Don't try to cover too much with one camera.

Right. Between the two 5442s and 2mp doorbell camera I have, I'm happy with the coverage of my small front yard, entrance, and driveway. I can identify faces clearly at night in my driveway around my car, and I can clearly identify faces within 15-20 feet of my front windows and door at night.

The 5442s also have been working well as overview cams for the street. I definitely can't identify faces on the street, but I can identify people. There are some lighting concerns at night at the end of my driveway, but even a few steps up the driveway and the 5442 performs very well.

So the reason why I was considering the mini PTZ was two fold:

1) LPR at night down the street
2) LPR and/or person tracking during the day on the street

 

[hawkeye217]

"What's the best mounting height/position for a PTZ?"

Depends ..
1) How far away do you want to watch?
2) What do you want to watch?
3) Can you get a good angle to what you want to capture ?
4) Are there environmental issues ? hills? trees? houses?

In general most look to put under 1st story soffit .. some will put it on a pole or even 2nd story soffit ( for scenic views / wild life / longer range views ) ..

Helpful questions, thanks @mat200!

Under the first story soffit is probably the only viable place for a PTZ for me as I only have a single story house. Luckily there are no trees or hills obstructing the view of the road in either direction. I live on a street with a cul-de-sac, so there's only one entrance and exit that I would have to cover with the cam.

Angle should not be a problem, and would be flexible on detection distance too because I live on the straight portion of the road (not in the cul-de-sac itself).

 

[wittaj]

Right. Between the two 5442s and 2mp doorbell camera I have, I'm happy with the coverage of my small front yard, entrance, and driveway. I can identify faces clearly at night in my driveway around my car, and I can clearly identify faces within 15-20 feet of my front windows and door at night.

The 5442s also have been working well as overview cams for the street. I definitely can't identify faces on the street, but I can identify people. There are some lighting concerns at night at the end of my driveway, but even a few steps up the driveway and the 5442 performs very well.

So the reason why I was considering the mini PTZ was two fold:

1) LPR at night down the street
2) LPR and/or person tracking during the day on the street

Keep in mind that PTZs for plates can be problematic for plates. Some people have made it work, but focus can be a problem.

Unlike a fixed cam where you can manually set a focus (focus number in the camera GUI), you cannot do that with a PTZ.

So you would have to swing and set it to that location long before it gets dark so that it can focus and then hope it doesn't change during the night.

Remember we have to run fast shutters, so the image will be all black and it can't see anything to focus on and a vehicle goes by too fast to focus.

 

[hawkeye217]

Keep in mind that PTZs for plates can be problematic for plates. Some people have made it work, but focus can be a problem.

Unlike a fixed cam where you can manually set a focus (focus number in the camera GUI), you cannot do that with a PTZ.

So you would have to swing and set it to that location long before it gets dark so that it can focus and then hope it doesn't change during the night.

Remember we have to run fast shutters, so the image will be all black and it can't see anything to focus on and a vehicle goes by too fast to focus.

Right. I already automate a lot with my 5442s through Home Assistant, so setting a PTZ to a location to obtain a focus before it gets dark would not be an issue. And a 1/2000 shutter should be sufficient, right?

 

[wittaj]

Yeah 1/2000 shutter should be good and maybe even 1/1000 depending on field of view and speed of vehicles.

 

[samplenhold]

1) LPR at night down the street
2) LPR and/or person tracking during the day on the street

Really, if you are serious about running LPR, then choose a proper LPR cam that we have proven to work consistently.

Another word of advice we give here is a cam really needs to be tasked with a single job. Otherwise it will do multiple jobs poorly. You only get one shot at getting the cap you need in a perp situation. If you blow it then it is gone forever.