looking for something that can see license plates at night

[sdiamond808]

have a 4mp hik vision bullet camera now, but at night, the headlights drown out the license plate. I am looking to purchase a hik vision ds-2cd4a26fwd-izs to read plates. Question is, will a 2.8mm-12mm varifocal lens read plates at 100 feet away? or do I need an 8mm-32 lens? and will the 8mm-32 give me enough side coverage if it is mounted on my porch looking out?

Thanks,

 

[shieldsy]

Hi,

Installed a Hikvision ds-2cd4a26fwd-izs, go for the 8mm - 32mm. I was sent the 2.8mm - 12mm by mistake and it did not pickup the plates. 8mm - 32mm works great.

Mine is 30 meters at 40 degree angle from the capture area with a hit rate of 90% not ideal setup for the camera but does a great job. This link was invaluable when setting up mine How to set up Hikvision ANPR

I get around 2500 vehicles passing past each day, has been installed for over 2 weeks and hasn't missed a beat, I have mine connected to hikvision NVR which gives you the ability to have a short video with each snapshot of each plate. I wish hikvision would release firmware so some of their other cams like turrets could have the same functionality.

Only thing extra I wish it had was speed detection out of the box.

Spent many hours looking for ANPR camera this is the cheapest hassle free out of the box system I could find that works with my existing Hikvision equipment or in a standalone situation with SD Card.

 

[sdiamond808]

The camera I am looking to replace is on my front porch facing the street. The street is somewhat angled so I have a good view of the cars license plate. Is the camera going to give me a wide enough view to protect my whole yard or will I need to keep my current camera to get the wide angle?

 

[shieldsy]

The camera I am looking to replace is on my front porch facing the street. The street is somewhat angled so I have a good view of the cars license plate. Is the camera going to give me a wide enough view to protect my whole yard or will I need to keep my current camera to get the wide angle?

No it won't be wide enough.

You can't really do both with one camera in this situation having wide angle and focus on number plate you need a minimum number of pixels to reliably pick up the number plates too wide or zoomed out it will not automatically pick up the plates.

You need the ANPR Camera to be dedicated to just picking up the plates unless the vehicles come really close and I mean within a few meters.

I would have two cameras one wide angle and the anpr camera. I have done this with mine I have two separate cameras covering the front as well as the ANPR camera.

 

[sdiamond808]

how does the camera work at night? do headlights and tail lights white everything out or can you still see the license plate?

 

[shieldsy]

how does the camera work at night? do headlights and tail lights white everything out or can you still see the license plate?

I have attached some images for you.

 

[sdiamond808]

wow that's real good. that is almost the angle I am at too.

 

[shieldsy]

Yeah works well

 

[Gamma]

Questions, when you bought the cam, was ANPR enabled or did you have to load the ANPR enabled firmware?

 

[pozzello]

for plates at 100feet, you'll want at least a 25mm lens, 50mm better.
resolution and lens such that you get ~100 pixels per foot or better.

also, you must reduce the 'exposure' (to 1/500 or 1/1000th or higher) in order to see license plates at night.
(daytime will not be affected by such a setting, unless your cam is lame and doesn't adjust shorter as needed, like LongSe's don't)

That and some decent IR out there. 100 ft requires quite an IR cannon...

Of course, then ALL you see is license plates and head/tail-lights, so that's the trade-off.

 

[shieldsy]

Questions, when you bought the cam, was ANPR enabled or did you have to load the ANPR enabled firmware?

Firmware came pre-loaded.

Still working great setup was easy highly recommend.

 

[pozzello]

pictures look clear enuf, yet both examples above (the ANPR cam) are missing the leading 1 in the captured plate numbers.

 

[Gamma]

Firmware came pre-loaded.

Still working great setup was easy highly recommend.

Mind if I ask who you order it from?
I want to get one but I want to make sure its the right one (with the pre-loaded firmware).

Thanks for the reply!

 

[shieldsy]

Mind if I ask who you order it from?
I want to get one but I want to make sure its the right one (with the pre-loaded firmware).

Thanks for the reply!

Got it from here

English version DS 2CD4A26FWD IZ 2MP Low Light Smart Camera Support 128G on board storage POE-in Surveillance Cameras from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

Just message them for the 8mm - 32mm. I would confirm they have it in stock ready for dispatch before you order.

Note there is a newer version of this camera though has this Hikvision USA

Free shipping English version DS 2CD4A26FWD IZS/P 2MP ANPR Ultra Low Light Bullet CCTV Camera LPR POE 2.8 12mm 8 32mm IP67-in Surveillance Cameras from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

One I have works great no regrets, just works out of the box no messing around setup in 10 mins after installed highly recommend.