Hi, I live less than 2 city blocks from a railroad my son wants to set up a YouTube live railstream. I bought an anran 1080p pzt with 20 times optical zoom and it works pretty good, but when the trains go by fast and at night it gets pretty choppy. I spent $180 dollars on it, and I was thinking about returning it for something better if it exists. I've seen cameras with 36 times optical zoom and I don't mind spending more money, but would that help with the chopiness? Is there anything anyone recommends? Thanks
Railcam
- Thread starter Ffmike
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I am assuming this is the wifi version, if so, stay away from wifi as that will cause the choppiness.
We need to see pics of the area - how much ambient light, etc. as that comes into play as to how well any camera at night will work with moving objects.
Post some day and night videos from the camera so we can see what it looks like and then we can offer some suggestions.
We need to see pics of the area - how much ambient light, etc. as that comes into play as to how well any camera at night will work with moving objects.
Post some day and night videos from the camera so we can see what it looks like and then we can offer some suggestions.
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Common issues with camera image
Here is a quick guide to what might go wrong with the image of your cctv camera, and how to fix this. MOTION BLUR: This is probably the most common issue, new camera owners run into. Many times on this forum I've seen posts like: "I bought a set of cameras recently. The image looks great on...
aristobrat
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Thank you all. Here's a screenshot of it now ( it's at the full 20x zoom), I'll grab more when it gets dark. Gonna read the motion blur now. I don't know who feasible running an ethernet cable would be. The camera is mounted on the back of my detached garage and would have to cross my driveway then down into the living room. Any ideas on that? 
Does the garage have an outlet? If so, a Powerline adapter might do the job!
I think night will be difficult for you to get clean images at that distance since it doesn't appear to be a lot of light there - at least I don't see any lamp posts. You can make the still image look good, but the trains will be blur unless they are barely moving.
I think night will be difficult for you to get clean images at that distance since it doesn't appear to be a lot of light there - at least I don't see any lamp posts. You can make the still image look good, but the trains will be blur unless they are barely moving.
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That is amazing!!! I never even knew those existed. I'm definitely going to order one and check it out.
The article on motion blur was very interesting, been busy and gave it a quick read still trying to wrap my head around all of it. I appreciate all the help so far, gonna wait a little and post a night video. Thanks again, you guys been a huge help!!
The article on motion blur was very interesting, been busy and gave it a quick read still trying to wrap my head around all of it. I appreciate all the help so far, gonna wait a little and post a night video. Thanks again, you guys been a huge help!!
sebastiantombs
Known around here
If you have AC, I'd suggest an RF link over a power line adapter. The Ubiquity Nano Loco is extremely reliable and will handle a camera with no problem at all. It's a dedicated, encrypted, RF link rather than WiFi. I have one that supports two cameras, 6MP total, and it has never dropped out. I tried PLA from the same location and got nowhere very quickly so went with the Ubiquity.
Yeah, the Powerline either works or it doesn't - depends on the wiring of the house - but it is cheap enough to try and if it doesn't work, can send it back. The thing I noticed is you cannot plug it into a UPS or strip cord - it has to go straight into the outlet or it won't work, at least in my case.
sebastiantombs
Known around here
I tried, plugged directly into a receptacle on both ends. Even checked to make sure I was on the same phase. I attribute the failure to the fact that the shed is fed with direct burial cable and the ground, literally the ground, attenuated the signal to the point that there was none.
How easy was the set up for the rf line? I do have electricity in the garage. I looked at the Ubiquity Nano station ac Loco on Amazon and tbh didn't really understand how to set it up. That and it was 150 bucks, I really only need it to go about 50-60 ft. I don't mind spending the money if it is easy to set up, but at the same time don't need it to go half a mile.
Here's a video at night, I changed the fps earlier to 1 cuz I thought that was what the article was describing, but I still have to mess with that. More light than I thought, but when a train goes by it obviously blocks out the light from the big building.
sebastiantombs
Known around here
Try this one, a little less expensive - Amazon.com: Ubiquiti NanoStation loco M5 - Wireless Access Point - AirMax (LOCOM5US): Computers & Accessories
Set up is quite easy and, if you get stumped, you can always ask here. If I can set one up, anyone can! Keep in mind this is "point to point" and they do need to be aimed at each other.
Set up is quite easy and, if you get stumped, you can always ask here. If I can set one up, anyone can! Keep in mind this is "point to point" and they do need to be aimed at each other.
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That is a surprising amount of light. In your case it will be a balance between shutter speed and acceptable blur - to get the motion to not be a blur, you need a faster shutter speed, but the faster the shutter, the more light needed. So do you want a dark picture and no blur (but then cannot recognize anything) or more light but a little bit of blur.
That camera at that price point probably doesn't allow true configuration of parameters and it will auto adjust something else to compensate. For example, maybe you can set shutter to 1/200, but then internally and unavailable to you it will up the gain or iris to make it bright, which then negates the shutter speed...
That camera at that price point probably doesn't allow true configuration of parameters and it will auto adjust something else to compensate. For example, maybe you can set shutter to 1/200, but then internally and unavailable to you it will up the gain or iris to make it bright, which then negates the shutter speed...
Hmmm. The camera is in the back of my garage under the eves. And the router is in my house, so I guess it would have to go through one wall of my house then the garage door and then the back wall of my garage. You think that would work? If I was home I'd take a Pic.
Also does the camera end need power? I really don't understand how these work. I was just wondering if it doesn't I could then mount it much closer to the tracks on one of those poles.
Also does the camera end need power? I really don't understand how these work. I was just wondering if it doesn't I could then mount it much closer to the tracks on one of those poles.
sebastiantombs
Known around here
Yes, power is needed at both ends. They will work over a few kilometres, according to Ubquity, so I wouldn't be too concerned . One end of mine is inside a shed with the typical wall of sheathing and the other end is in a window near the switch for the cameras. Distance wise it's about 100 feet for a round number. Good, solid, signal. There is a built-in signal level indicator so it's easy to adjust the position of each end to maximize signal strength. I did "fudge" my own mounting brackets out of a couple of pieces of scrap aluminum angle stock and a short piece of 1-1/4" PVC because I'm a cheap skate! Keep in mind the camera needs to connect to it with an appropriate network cable so it can be mounted away from the camera. Plus, they are weather proof and can be mounted outside.
sebastiantombs
Known around here
You need a pair, one on each end. I know that changes the cost factor significantly.