I need THIS kind of security camera

[whatsthat3425]

So.. I need a special kind of camera for surveillance, this is what I need in it:

• Must be able to zoom in on a license plate from about 200 feet away.

• 
  Has to be waterproof.
  Should not rely on Wi-Fi, but if not possible then Wi-Fi might be ok.
  Cannot drain a car battery (but if so then what kind of external battery should I use?).
  Must have the ability to be controlled remotely from a smartphone app or something similar.
  Will be inside of a car as well as mounted outside.
  

 

[nayr]

Something like this should work: http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/sdzw2030s-n-691.html

Runs off 12v, 30x Zoom, Long Range IR for night time..

If your going to run it off a car battery and dont want it going flat you put in an automatic cutoff relay.. I got one in my Camper Bus that shuts off all accessories when the voltage drops below an adjustable value.. got it setup so we can run stuff throughout the night without worrying about having to push start it in the morning..

How much recording space are you going to need? A 64GB SD Card will hold a few days of optimized lower resolution streams tops.. You can get portable storage NAS's and give it terabytes of storage if you need long term use.

 

[Del Boy]

Something like this?


Website says IP66 and <15W / 12V DC, so I expect if IR turned off it will only be using a few watts to just record. But I'd still attach it to a secondary battery.

Even though it's a mini speed dome it's probably too big to be installed in a car?

 

[alastairstevenson]

IR inside a car will be unlikely to give good results unless it's pointed out of an open window.

 

[Del Boy]

IR inside a car will be unlikely to give good results unless it's pointed out of an open window.

Very good point! You'd be better off with a dash cam I think.

 

[tangocharlie]

Just a note - that Dahua cam is huge! And heavy
[FONT=segoe_uiregular]404mm×164mm×132mm and 4KG

[/FONT]

 

[whatsthat3425]

Thank you all for the great ideas. That dome thing looks cool. But I think the camera I found might be a better idea. I do wish they made Dash Cams like that dome camera, but the BlackVue New 2 Channel DR650GW-2CH has some of the best features you can find in a Dash cam and is about the same price of a Go Pro. I did want a Go Pro but there is a special case for the iPhone I can order for my phone that turns it into a Go Pro.

The thing about Go Pro, versus traditional dash cams is, you have to turn on the record button in order to start recording. With the BlackVue however, you can actually view the camera from your iPhone or tablet by connecting to the unique wireless network created by the BlackVue, up to around 100 feet or more away from the camera, and with my model I can see the front or back of my car at all times. When I see something while watching on the tablet, I can press record. or even download recordings to my tablet or computer. Even when the car is parked, I can use the cameras. So I am happy with this investment, I just can't wait to install it now . It also has very wide viewing angles in the cameras.

So anyways, I'll let you guys know how this camera works for me and, just search for "BlackVue YT on Gooogle" and you will see for yourself on how wewell this cam perform.

 

[fenderman]

@whatsthat3425 In your original post you said you wanted to be able to zoom in on a plate 200 feet away...you wont get past 20-30 feet (maybe) with the blackvue...

 

[nayr]

less than 20ft, it has a super wide angle.. for 200' you need > 60mm lens to read a plate, that has like a 1.8mm.. my 2.8mm 3.0MP cant read the license plate on my car in the street 30ft away.

he wont even be able to tell what make and model car it is from 200ft away, maby the color.. but I doubt it.

 

[steve6690]

I'm afraid I smell spam.

 

[Del Boy]

I'm afraid I smell spam.

Oh, we fell for that one hook, line and sinker. "has some of the best features you can find in a Dash cam and is about the same price of a Go Pro"... definitely spam.

Good luck convincing people they can get 200ft clear number plate image of your product. I've with nayr and fenderman thinking that 20ft will be lucky.

 

[steve6690]

"has to be waterproof" - then gets a dashcam ??

 

[whatsthat3425]

"has to be waterproof" - then gets a dashcam ??

My car is not a convertible, the cam is UNDER the window .

But yes, the dash cam here (the BlackVue) is perfect for reading license plates, from the video recordings I've seen. Here's a few just so you guys can see for yourselves:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=blackvue+recording (though many of those recordings are made with different models, mine I just got the other day is one of the highest end models available with dual-views).

Once I get this thing installed I'll take it for a spin, and let you guys know if it was what I was looking for. Aside from that, I hope this post helps some other people out. If your looking for a dashcam, always get the dual-view, because there is alot of stuff going on behind you in your car that needs to be recorded too.

The camera that was first mentioned near the top of this thread is meant for being mounted in a home or building of some sort, and is too revealing, thanks for the suggestion though, again. Dashcams are built to be low-profile and are perfect for being in your car, with or without you, and to be accessed remotely which is the best part.

I am not advertising anything, I just found the BlackVue by accident. A friend of mine bought the GoPro and, he showed me what he has with his and it doesn't compare. I really don't care if no one buys a BlackVue I am just saying it worked for me. Now all of you give me your credit card numbers. RIGHT.

 

[alastairstevenson]

I had a look at some of the sample videos from the link above, and to be honest I wasn't particularly impressed, even with the YouTube resolution set at max.
A key aspect of a dashcam, as you say, is the ability to clearly identify a licence plate. Pausing the videos to check plates generally showed loads of compression artifacts, with poor clarity making it hard to pick out those numbers and letters.
If that's typically of the BlackVue products then I'm glad I bought a Dome Technology G55 last year, where I've been easily able to identify licence plates when reviewing recordings.
Check out this sample video here, pause it when a car approaches, and compare how clearly the number plates can be identified, and the general clarity of the image:

 

[ruppmeister]

I agree that this might not be the clearest dash cam video I have seen, but it also might be YouTube that is causing some artificial pixelation with their algorithm for compression.