I'm helping a buddy setup a network + cameras in his building. While I have some minimal experience with IP cam basics, I don't know makes/models.
tl;dr
What cameras can capture license plates and faces at ~10m away during day and night.
The Setup:
I'm planning on outfitting his building with Unifi networking equipment. For inside of the building, I'm planning on using Unifi's line of IP cameras since they have an NVR built into the all-in-one router/switch/NVR. However, I need better quality cameras for the outside.
Outside Camera Needs:
He wants to monitor all around his building. Additionally, he owns a few farther away parking spots that customers of another business routinely park in, so he wants to have a camera on those spots for liability purposes in case someone gets hurt, etc. Ideally, the outside cameras meet the following criteria:
Using Microsoft's finest image creation program, I drew an aerial map of his building (see attached image).
I asked and didn't get anything. I mentioned some cameras costing as much as $800/per, and he didn't seem concerned. That said, I doubt he prefers going all out on crazy expensive cameras if they aren't absolutely needed, such as one next to the door to see who goes in/out.
NVR
My guess is that we'll use all Unifi inside, and some outside that sit right next to the door for a face shot. Those will all feed into Unifi's ecosystem. Ideally, I go with the same brand of cameras for the rest of the building and can buy that brand's NVR. If I have to mix and match two or more brands for outside, then I can build a Blue Iris VM. I wouldn't mind an excuse to add in a hypervisor server anyways.
tl;dr
What cameras can capture license plates and faces at ~10m away during day and night.
The Setup:
I'm planning on outfitting his building with Unifi networking equipment. For inside of the building, I'm planning on using Unifi's line of IP cameras since they have an NVR built into the all-in-one router/switch/NVR. However, I need better quality cameras for the outside.
Outside Camera Needs:
He wants to monitor all around his building. Additionally, he owns a few farther away parking spots that customers of another business routinely park in, so he wants to have a camera on those spots for liability purposes in case someone gets hurt, etc. Ideally, the outside cameras meet the following criteria:
- Can read license plates of vehicles <=10m away during day/night
- Can make out faces of individuals <=10m away during day/night
- Can see fair details, if not faces and license plates up to 27m away during day/night
Using Microsoft's finest image creation program, I drew an aerial map of his building (see attached image).
- The red Xs are his parking spots. The closer spots is where he parks vehicles at night full of tools, so those are important to have good detail
- The gravel road to the west provides access to the back of the building, so catching license places is important
- There's a south facing door on the building and the shed, so those areas are important to monitor
- The north parking spots that are far away are technically his, so he'd like to have fair to good detail of happening in those spots.
I asked and didn't get anything. I mentioned some cameras costing as much as $800/per, and he didn't seem concerned. That said, I doubt he prefers going all out on crazy expensive cameras if they aren't absolutely needed, such as one next to the door to see who goes in/out.
NVR
My guess is that we'll use all Unifi inside, and some outside that sit right next to the door for a face shot. Those will all feed into Unifi's ecosystem. Ideally, I go with the same brand of cameras for the rest of the building and can buy that brand's NVR. If I have to mix and match two or more brands for outside, then I can build a Blue Iris VM. I wouldn't mind an excuse to add in a hypervisor server anyways.
