So with the camera position being so close to the road, does it make sense to get the less-zoomy IPC-HFW5442E-Z4E?
There does not seem to be very many folks giving you help here. Personally, I believe that you can get a lot of information from this forum, but the ultimate decision has to be yours. Giving you specific directions on settings or procedures is one thing. But telling you to purchase one cam over another, when both are really good, that is something only you can decide.
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@wittaj has tried to steer you towards a standard varifocal (at least 13.5mm), I would say that any of the Dahua varifocal cams would PROBABLY work for you.
As far as the zoom is concerned, the only way to figure out how much zoom you need is to test it. Do you have a standard varifocal cam you could test with? Something along the lines of the 2.7-13.5mm? You are trying to get enough zoom to just get the width of the street, and even a little less maybe, but at a good angle to not foreshorten the plate to the point it can not be read, and the plate is in view long enough to get enough frames recorded. Also, the distance needs to be within the IR range of the cam or if you install a separate IR source, within it's range.
If you test with a 2.7-13.5mm or something similar, you should be able to tell if that cam has enough zoom for you. If it is not enough, the Z4E is 8-32mm and the Z12E is 5-60mm.
Thought process: When I was contemplating LPR, I spent a lot of time on my front porch and in the street taking pictures and thinking about possible cam locations. The first consideration for me was angle of attack. Where could I place cams that would not give me too high an angle. Once I found a good location, I used a DSLR cam to test the angle and approx zoom needed. I used a laser range finder I have for shooting to get decent distances for IR info. It looked like to me that I could used the 5241 Z12E cams for that job. So I bought one to test it out in both positions. I knew that if It proved not to work, that I could sell it here and recoup most of what I paid for it. It worked and I purchased the second one. I have constructed a garden box to house the cams. I am waiting for cooler temps to finish the install.
As far as testing the position for my overview cam for the LPRs, I used an old 5231 varifocal turret that I had replace with a 6mm 5442 turret on my driveway. That cam told me that I needed a little more zoom than the 13.5mm. I also tested with a 5442 2.8mm turret that had not yet been installed on my front porch. That cam told me that the 5442 series would give me good enough night color performance to get color, make, model etc. So I ordered the B5442E-Z4E for that job. It will get installed at the same time as the LPR cams once the temps get cooler.
Hope this helps.
