zebrock
Getting the hang of it
- Dec 3, 2016
- 160
- 90
I just reread the thread and your responses. Did you ever end up running openALPR or are you just having the NVR create snapshots every time its triggered?
IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 LPR from 137 feet
- Thread starter crc2004
- Start date
I just reread the thread and your responses. Did you ever end up running openALPR or are you just having the NVR create snapshots every time its triggered?
bigredfish
Known around here
Neither, I'm not that hi-tech 
We store about 30 days of full video for each of our 3 tag cameras in the neighborhood and only use it if someone reports a problem or we need video/tag# for LE. So we're not using it to create a database yet... now if my day job wasnt always in the way I'd like to try...of course each cam is recording 24/7 Plus on MD so its easy to go itno the timeline and see the motion events. With the overview cams right beside them doing the same thing, we can easily match a vehicle and location to the tag video.
We store about 30 days of full video for each of our 3 tag cameras in the neighborhood and only use it if someone reports a problem or we need video/tag# for LE. So we're not using it to create a database yet... now if my day job wasnt always in the way I'd like to try...of course each cam is recording 24/7 Plus on MD so its easy to go itno the timeline and see the motion events. With the overview cams right beside them doing the same thing, we can easily match a vehicle and location to the tag video.
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zebrock
Getting the hang of it
- Dec 3, 2016
- 160
- 90
Neither, I'm not that hi-tech
Ah I gotcha that makes sense. May have to do it that way with my buddy. Thanks for the response
I didnt read all 5 pages, but i Purchased this same camera and im having a problem with it focusing. any time a car goes by the focus moves around and doesnt want to home unless i zoom all the way out. Is there a way to lock off focus?
thanks
thanks
- Nov 25, 2016
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I just installed my own two IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 cameras (purchased from @EMPIRETECANDY), and so far I'm quite happy with the results. My two target areas are about 60 feet from my house, so I didn't have to push out the zoom to the point of dealing with random focus problems, although it was a bit tricky finding the best place to position the cameras to get good windows for viewing.
Daytime images are looking good with 1/2000 second shutter speed. Note that the car in the right hand corner of the LPR EAST image was parked, while the other two cars were traveling at ~25 m.p.h. I'll be trying crc2004's nighttime settings this evening.
Daytime images are looking good with 1/2000 second shutter speed. Note that the car in the right hand corner of the LPR EAST image was parked, while the other two cars were traveling at ~25 m.p.h. I'll be trying crc2004's nighttime settings this evening.
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I should be more specific, it looses focus at night when there is less light. During the day it's fine. So far I have not found a way to lock off the focus.
- Nov 25, 2016
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You might want to try this: Give the camera something to focus on at night. Perhaps a small reflector on the curb or the edge of the road? It will shine like a beacon in the IR light, which might be enough for the camera to work with, while causing no issues for passing vehicles.
- Nov 25, 2016
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Here are some nighttime images from my LPR cameras. As it turned out, I got the best results when I set the shutter speed to 1/2000 second, the same as the daytime settings.
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- Nov 25, 2016
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Having tweaked my system and integrated it with OpenALPR over the weekend, all I can say is ... wow.
I am extremely pleased with how well my LPR system is working. Accuracy is excellent, especially given the less-than-optimal viewing angles I am working with. My most recent tweak has been to adjust the shutter speed of a third camera so that the type of vehicle can be easily identified after dark, since the LPR cameras only show license plates and head / tail lights at night.
I now have the type of system I've wanted ever since my car was sideswiped last year by a hit-and-run driver to the tune of $4500. The next time it happens, I'll have a license plate for the police.
And yes, I am slightly obsessed .... but in a good way.
I am extremely pleased with how well my LPR system is working. Accuracy is excellent, especially given the less-than-optimal viewing angles I am working with. My most recent tweak has been to adjust the shutter speed of a third camera so that the type of vehicle can be easily identified after dark, since the LPR cameras only show license plates and head / tail lights at night.
I now have the type of system I've wanted ever since my car was sideswiped last year by a hit-and-run driver to the tune of $4500. The next time it happens, I'll have a license plate for the police.
And yes, I am slightly obsessed .... but in a good way.
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christ0089
n3wb
Amazing work so far! I have some questions regarding your setup at night doest the frontal light of the cars prevent the plate recognition? And in your test at what speeds do you estimate cars that went by your camera and where not recognized?
djborden
Getting the hang of it
- Jul 19, 2017
- 51
- 26
Has anyone tried to disassemble the camera and see if you can unplug the stepper motor for the focus? If its possible, you could get focus where you need it, remove power and then pull it apart and unplug the focus motor.
I have two of these cameras. I just installed the 2nd one and it appears much better at taking the manual focus commands via script. It appears to hit its mark each time. Not sure what I can use the first one for since I bought both for LPR and the first one is useless at night due to the focus issues.
Andy, do you have any contacts at Dahua? If so, have you inquired whether or not they are looking at adding an option to disable auto focus?
I have two of these cameras. I just installed the 2nd one and it appears much better at taking the manual focus commands via script. It appears to hit its mark each time. Not sure what I can use the first one for since I bought both for LPR and the first one is useless at night due to the focus issues.
Andy, do you have any contacts at Dahua? If so, have you inquired whether or not they are looking at adding an option to disable auto focus?
tibimakai
Known around here
Somewhere on this forum, I have some pictures with the guts of this camera. I had an IR issue and I had to take it apart, but I don't remember how it is connected the motor.
djborden
Getting the hang of it
- Jul 19, 2017
- 51
- 26
Thanks, I appreciate it. You have two user accounts so it took a bit to find. Here it is for others that may be interested, post #14 in this thread: fine tuning assistance with IPC-HFW5231E-Z12
I can see you pulled the front off and its held on by 4 screws. Do you remember how you got access to those screws?
tibimakai
Known around here
Sorry about that. Back than, I was signing in with Google.
If I remember well, there is a black "sticker" in front, that is "siliconed" there.
Make sure, that you keep clean the front glass, from inside and the actual lens.
Not the easiest job, to clean them properly.
If I remember well, there is a black "sticker" in front, that is "siliconed" there.
Make sure, that you keep clean the front glass, from inside and the actual lens.
Not the easiest job, to clean them properly.
Attachments
I am thinking about getting one of these cameras. When using the free version of OpenALPR. Is there a max speed it will detect cars at? Or if a car blows by my place at 40mph will it still pickup the plate?
Thanks!
Sent from my ASUS_Z01BDC using Tapatalk
Thanks!
Sent from my ASUS_Z01BDC using Tapatalk
if your camera gets a clean image of the plate to the point it can process it , the software will find it. be it 4mph or 40mph.
getting clean image of a car moving at speed might be a challenge. but the challenge is usually in getting the image, not processing it.
Just wanted to contribute and share the success I had on the first few hours of the cam, thanks to this forum and the people sharing their settings. Big thanks to @crc2004 for his contribution in particular. I still have a lot to do like, securing the cameras to be on different WLAN, tweaking the settings, the focus, add a schedule, trim the leaves on the tree, etc. but my first few hours are working fairly well.
The following pics are from OpenALPR during day and night.
I am planning on using OpenALPR webhooks with Zapier to send the data to a google sheets for further analysis and retention.
One thing, is that OpenALPR is not very accurate with the car models or license plate states. Does anyone know how they define that info and if there is anything I can do on my end to improve it?
The following pics are from OpenALPR during day and night.
I am planning on using OpenALPR webhooks with Zapier to send the data to a google sheets for further analysis and retention.
One thing, is that OpenALPR is not very accurate with the car models or license plate states. Does anyone know how they define that info and if there is anything I can do on my end to improve it?
- Nov 25, 2016
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My own experience has been that car makes/models and the originating state are pretty hit-and-miss with OpenALPR, but I don't worry too much about it. As long as you get the plate number, and an image of the vehicle, the authorities can quickly figure out the rest. OpenALPR may not get the make/model correct, but a human being almost always can.
As for the originating state, the proliferation of vanity plates along with the use of dealer frames that block the edges of the plate make reliable state ID problematic even with high quality plate images. Again, I leave it up to the police / insurance company to figure out the details. They have access to databases that can narrow it down very quickly.
One thing that is useful is if you can add a second camera for nighttime viewing that is set to capture the vehicle rather than the plate. As you have already learned, optimizing for nighttime plate capture leaves only the tail/headlights visible. With images from a second camera, the police can at least verify if the plates match the vehicle, or if the vehicle has stolen plates.