Need Help tweaking HFW5231E-Z12 for night @ 240ft

wittaj

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AHA - I thought this was the Z12E lol, but now I see you have the camera in the corner.

Carry on and get the Z12E out already LOL.
 

wittaj

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The Z4Emay respond different than the Z12E - but just based on the one sample, the previous setting looked better.
 

Flintstone61

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That tree is a blessing and a curse....it shades the right headlight sharpening the plate read, but then blocks the whole shitaroo...then it pops out the other side.
 

Flintstone61

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Looks like it depends in the direction of travel, and the specifics of the vehicles plate illumination...etc...Crumples , and what not....
same setting within minutes of each other some readable some not....'1665630433969.png
1665630611935.png

1665630481328.png
 

wittaj

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Yep, plus the tighter the zoom, the tighter the focus range is. That is why the Z12 will be better with double the zoom so that you can make the field of view a lot tighter.
 

blazin912

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Don't know if this is going too far off topic for this thread but i'm seeing some serious oscillation/flickering right around sunset. Definitely related to high gain greater than 50. Anyone else seeing this?
 

wittaj

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Don't know if this is going too far off topic for this thread but i'm seeing some serious oscillation/flickering right around sunset. Definitely related to high gain greater than 50. Anyone else seeing this?
I have not seen that, but we do usually get some trouble with certain sunrise/sunset conditions.
 

blazin912

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I have not seen that, but we do usually get some trouble with certain sunrise/sunset conditions.
My bigger concern on this is that I can see the behavior if I flip over to night mode as well. I assume this means using the high gain may be causing my plate clarity issues. Anyone have a recommended firmware revision I should use?
 

wittaj

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My bigger concern on this is that I can see the behavior if I flip over to night mode as well. I assume this means using the high gain may be causing my plate clarity issues. Anyone have a recommended firmware revision I should use?
I guess wait a half hour or so for it to get dark and then see if the problem persists. I don't think it is a firmware issue but rather the chipset that is requiring higher gain.

Those of us that have been doing LPR for awhile know that the sunset and sunrise times can be a 30-45 minute window where it is harder to catch plates, so even without the flickering, it would probably still have issues.
 

blazin912

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I guess wait a half hour or so for it to get dark and then see if the problem persists. I don't think it is a firmware issue but rather the chipset that is requiring higher gain.

Those of us that have been doing LPR for awhile know that the sunset and sunrise times can be a 30-45 minute window where it is harder to catch plates, so even without the flickering, it would probably still have issues.
Right, but if my night gain is set to 60-80 and this range causes flickering with the same shutter speed, why would I expect things to get better when it gets.. darker?
 

wittaj

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I am guessing that there is too much light with that much gain it is "blinding" the sensor and once it is dark the higher gain will work. As a test drop the gain to 30 and see if it stops during the sunset time. One of my cameras (not the Z12) will actually shut the lens down under scenarios like that and then will pop open every couple of minutes to see if the conditions changed.

Another thing to look at is your FPS and iframes - maybe they are off and causing a flicker that you don't notice during the day.

A video snip would help.
 

blazin912

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I am guessing that there is too much light with that much gain it is "blinding" the sensor and once it is dark the higher gain will work. As a test drop the gain to 30 and see if it stops during the sunset time.

Another thing to look at is your FPS and iframes - maybe they are off and causing a flicker that you don't notice during the day.

A video snip would help.
It's actually extremely dark, I'll try to grab a clip tomorrow
 

Bitslizer

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What's the iframe set at, too short and you get these fast flicker, too high you get a big "pop" type change. Usually I think 1x FPS is ideal

Lower the gain to 30 if your ir fill light is working. How are you turning that on anyway? Programmable plug switch? A build in light sensor?

switch over to IR mode early helps in my case
 
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