IPC-HDBW4231F-E2-M 'Boobie' Cam for License Plate reading?

RROONNBB

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Anybody have thoughts on using the dahua dual-camera (boobie) cam for LPR purposes? I'm trying to capture plates coming up and down the alley behind my house (see attached image) and ideally wouldn't have to mount TWO cameras there. I know it's available with a 3.6mm lens instead of the default 2.8 but will that be enough to give me a reasonable close-up on plates? (I'm just using the 3rd party LPR service available through BI).

Any other suggestions?

(Also, Andy's store shows it's not available - is that just temporary? US $179.26 5% OFF|New arrival 2x2MP Starlight IR Mini Dome Network Camera IPC HDBW4231F E2 M,free DHL shipping|Surveillance Cameras| - AliExpress )



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wittaj

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It is possible if the camera is right next to the street. 2.8mm no way. 3.6 mm will be cutting it close. What is the distance from the building to alley?

Also recognize it would be set up as dedicated LPR, so at night all you will see is a black image until a car comes by.

You would need another set of cameras if you wanted overview shots to see what is happening.
 
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I say it is possible being that, its very close. I think having the as low as possible would be even better. Even if you built something to hide them in. Build something from the ground like that thing across the street in the picture. Many possibilities considering you can get a cat5,6 cable there.
 

wittaj

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Good point - yes, it should be at plate level or just slightly above or the distance will be too great.
 

concord

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RROONNBB

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Hmm, yeah the photo I posted is a little deceiving... that mounting point is actually an overhang (above the garage) that's about 7 feet high. Sounds like even w/ the 3.6mm lens (thanks @concord for the direct link) I may be a little too far out.

Is there a rule-of-thumb lens/FOV/distance calculation that's ideal for plate recognition, given that most of the time I'm wanting to capture cars that are moving at probably 15-20MPH, at night?

Are there any other dual-camera-in-single-housing options out there? Just hate to have mount two camera back there. I mean it's not the prettiest alley in the world but I've already got one camera under the overhang near that same spot (looking at the garage door) so it would be a bit much.

to @wittaj, these would indeed be more-or-less dedicated to plate-reading but I'm using the platerecognizer.com hook through Blue Iris so they still function like normal security cameras as well.
 

Rebelx

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I find mine to be very wide angle view so watch out for that!
 

wittaj

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Yeah at 7 feet up and how ever many feet to get a shot of the plate will be problematic with that cam.

Now someone in a thread on that cam did a self-replacement of the lenses with a larger one.

This isn't perfect as it fits to plates, but I would probably cut the Identify distance in half for a plate ID.

The key to LPR is a tight zoom where all you see is the car.

I use Plate Recognizer as well - in daytime all I see is a pavement big enough for a car and at night it is a completely black image. There isn't a such thing as a plate reader camera and overview normal cameras. You either set up the camera to read plates or you set it up to be a normal camera - it cannot do both because of the shutter speed and zoom needed.


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I am not aware of any other dual camera like this one, but I am sure one probably exists.

I encourage you to look at this subforum to see what is possible and what isn't setting up a camera for plates:

 

chaosengine

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Are there any other dual-camera-in-single-housing options out there?
Beware, all are dome cams. They need some rain protection or you will see only blur.

Dual lens Hikvision:
DS-2CD6D52G0
DS-2CD6D82G0

Dual lens Hanwha:
PNM-7000VD
PNM-9000VD (Exchangeable 2 x 5MP lens module)
 

RROONNBB

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Thanks @chaosengine - SUPER useful! Looks like I can get longer lenses with some of these so that's great.

And I'm in LA so what is this rain stuff of which you speak? :)
 
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put the boobie camera right in the middle of the alleyway, facing opposite directions. Cover it with a baby plastic doll.
 
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