Choose PTZ camera for weather station

wittaj said:
I hear ya, the last thing you want is buyers remorse LOL. Like I did chasing MP and buying the 49425 first and then going and buying the 49225 within a few months LOL.

Sometimes we need to learn the hard way LOL. We can tell you not chase MP and blah blah blah, but sometimes we have to experience it ourselves.

If it were me I would look at putting together the list of cameras on the proper MP/sensor ratio or better (like in that case of the 2MP on the 1/1.8" sensor) and then from that pick the one that will give you the best range of motion for what you are trying to accomplish.
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OK, I'm going to look for the nearest bridge.

It's just that I also think that the 2 Mpx camera without the IR illumination at night will be a complete mess of pixelated image.

At the moment the only thing I can fall back on is the experience I've had with the Reolink cameras (a complete disaster) and the camera I currently have, the Hikvision DS-2CD2087G2-L which, day or night, the images are very good, and its hardware configuration is very similar to the SD8C845FG-HNF.
 
Yep my moon picture was a pixelated mess without IR illumination lol (hint it was in color) ;)

Keep in mind that once you optically zoom in a camera (as opposed to digital zoom) the MP count isn't as critical and the ratio of MP/sensor size becomes more critical as the f-stop gets larger the more you zoom, so you want as much light hitting the sensor as possible.

3rd party license plate readers can read a license plate of a D1 resolution when the camera is optically zoomed appropriately.

Yeah Reolink are less than ideal MP/sensor ratios and the algorithms are set up to favor nice bright static images at night resulting in any movement being a complete mess.
 
@wittaj Well, I don't think I can abuse you any more with all the information and help you have been giving me, I can only thank you.

I'll have to think about the choice of camera, but I think in the end it will have to be a positioning camera, mechanically it's more versatile than the standard PTZ hanging from a mast. And in my case, I don't want it to look at the ground, because all it will find are tiles.
 
If I was previously willing to buy this SD5A425GA-HNR, I think buying the PTZ85448-HNF-PA would be the most reasonable, it even works better in low light conditions.
 

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@wittaj Since I have already made up my mind, I will purchase PTZ85448-HNF-PA. But I have a doubt, this type of position camera model, do they have any kind of maintenance as they are articulated? In the specifications of the camera I can't find anything related to the disassembly or greasing of any component.
 
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Nope there is no maintenance that needs to be done, except an occasional cleaning of the lens, but since that one has a wiper, you may not have to manually clean it too often.

Please post pics when you get it running!
 
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It will be next to it, quite close to the solar panels. It will most likely shade the solar panels a little bit during some hours of the day, but it will only shade the solar panels in summer (a lot of electricity is produced and it would not disturb) and in winter the sun is low and does not shade the solar panels.
 

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@wittaj Hello again! Is there any way to know which Sony sensor model is in this PTZ85448-HNF-PA camera? I'm anxiously waiting for Andy's message telling me that he's going to send me the camera
:lmao:
 
@Robertomcat already get the big monster cam,let's wait him to install it and show us some wonderful videos. Maybe world 1st one use this one.
 
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EMPIRETECANDY said:
@Robertomcat already get the big monster cam,let's wait him to install it and show us some wonderful videos. Maybe world 1st one use this one.
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It's really big, for people who like monsters and put them on top of the house, it's perfect. I really like the angle at which it works with Tilt, it has a lot of range.

Now I'm going to get used to the Dahua software, as it's the first Dahua camera I've had, the other three cameras I have at home are Hikvision.

I'll post a picture later so you can see how big it is compared to some everyday household product.
 
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I skimmed through the thread, but I didn't read every single post completely.....

I will say/reiterate that IR is going to be completely useless for a weather camera. If the camera has IR capabilities, you will certainly want to turn it off. IR is simply an built-in light source with an extremely limited range. Expecting the camera's IR to help illuminate the sky or those distant mountains is as silly as expecting a light bulb on your front porch to illuminate the sky or mountains..... Not only is it not going to help, it can actually often causes issue (like you experienced with your first camera).
 
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The Automation Guy said:
I skimmed through the thread, but I didn't read every single post completely.....

I will say/reiterate that IR is going to be completely useless for a weather camera. If the camera has IR capabilities, you will certainly want to turn it off. IR is simply an built-in light source with an extremely limited range. Expecting IR to help illuminate the sky or those distant mountains is as silly as expecting a light bulb on your front porch to illuminate the sky or mountains..... Not only is it not going to help, it can actually often causes issue (like you experienced with your first camera).
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Yes, in this case they do not work. I have a Hikvision fixed camera with lighting, and obviously I have never used it.

And although this camera has a range of 400 m, and there is a very big mountain in front of it, it is not going to reach that range either, so I will rarely use the IR.
 
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