ttplayer4life
Young grasshopper
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2015
- Messages
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SUMMARY: First HK4425 camera recorded LP images adequately at night; camera judged to be a keeper. Will then test, burn-in 2nd camera only.
BACKGROUND: A. Received two HK 4425 zoom cameras on 6/20/24 so we have til 7/19/24 to return if we so choose. There was a limit of two to buy at sub $300 sale cost.
B. Wanted to test the Hikvision DS-2DE44215IW-DE as a simple License Plate Image camera recorder. Two parking lot entrances, A (south entrance as viewed by LPR3) and B (center entrance as viewed by LPR2), were tested for camera monitoring / recording.
DETAILS:
Photos / video links: 2024Jul1testCam4425 - Google Drive
1. Test rig setup: See HK44215TestPositions.pdf file for camera setup locations.
a. For LPR3 View of South Parking Lot Entrance: *669_HDR.jpg is daytime setup at Location A near MH building garage -- judged to be preferred over Location B due to closer to south driveway entrance and less trenching although parked cars could block some view of north side of south parking lot entrance on a typical business morning. Location A and B are options for LPR3 view.
b. For LPR2 View of Center Parking Lot Entrance: *0770.jpg is a nighttime setup to view the center parking lot entrance B. Notice we had to elevate the camera more to be able to view any car LP. This means the camera must be mounted higher than the original thinking -- just off the bulding fascia board. I.e, camera lens can be pointed no higher than 90 degrees off the vertical plane. Distance from the camera to the driveway opening to the parking lot entrance is about 300+ ft.
Note: Your Windows Media player may not play .mp4 video files so I downloaded and used the free VLC app to playback.
2. For LPR3 View: x5000401.mp4. Day test of zoom from Location A which is at a grassy curb corner near MH garage (LPR3 views the South parking lot entrance): 25 frames/sec, 20 yd. min. focus distance, default image settings at autofocus. Zoom set at about 18X to frame only the driveway entry width (~24 ft.). One can view the focus of the person walking towards the red truck.. LP is easily visible in bright sunlight at about 8:53 am (DST was not set then so actually 9:53 am). If the camera is moved to Location B, ~50 ft. further east, 25x zoom of camera likely would be adequate to read LP. Effect of car movement not tested due to high LP image quality.
3. For LPR2 View: x8001901.mp4 TEST RIG MOVED TO VIEW THE CENTER PARKING LOT DRIVEWAY ENTRANCE B.
9:01 pm DST set). Camera switched to night default settings. but HLC (highlight compensation to compensate for brightness of headlights) is on. Amazingly, LP can be read in darkness with a parked car. Likely due to clear night, 22% moonlight crescent and presence of parking lot lighting to help with illumination.
x2797.jpg shows cell phone image, although somewhat over-emphasizing brightness of lights compared to the naked eye, of how well the parking lot is lit at night, thanks to Richard's (our maintenance guy) ongoing efforts.
NOTE: All following recordings were done with camera at the LPR2 position (view of the Center Parking Lot entrance which is north fo the South Parking Lot Entrance).
4. x8002001.mp4 and x8002101.mp4
9:02+ pm. Switched from autofocus to manual focus. Believed some improvement so camera left in manual focus with car sitting still.
5. x8002401.mp4
914+pm. Car Headlights turned on. Notice one must focus on LP area intently to avoid headlight glare. LP image still readable although to a lesser degree.
6. x8002501.mp4
915 pm. Car is driven off to see the effect of some car movement on the LP image.
7. x9000101.mp4
915+ pm. Car enters the center parking lot entrance at about 5 mph. Note LP is visible in only a few instances (only some of the video frames if we slowed down the video) which we attribute to incidental parking lot lights shining on LP vs. being blocked at other times. In fact, LP is best viewed perhaps 10 ft. or so from the street before driveway turn into the parking lot, likely due to light from the LED light installed by Richard just south of the south parking lot entrance.
8. x9000201.mpr
929+ pm. Car enters the center parking lot entrance at about 10 mph.
9. x9000301.mp4
930+ pm. Car enters the center parking lot entrance at about 10 mph and drives toward MH (and camera). Note LP visibility again increases and decreases with incidental parking lot lighting.
10. x9000401.mp4
934+ pm. Car enters the center parking lot entrance at about 20 mph and drives toward MH (and camera). Note LP visibility again increases and decreases with incidental parking lot lighting.
CONCLUSIONS: LPR is easy if you have enough lighting and zoom.
A. 4425 camera did admirably well to record LP images with minimal adjustments in daylight and near perfect nighttime conditions with the available light in the parking lot and surroundings . Understand that at darker (cloudy, less moonlight) night time conditions and inclement weather such as rain and strong winds, LP visibility may clearly suffer. Overall, camera is a keeper -- no return.
B. Adding solar LED lights on motion detection to point low towards the south and center parking lot entrances will only improve LP image. LED lights must be pointed so as to NOT pick up road traffic due to potential battery drain.
NOTE: should cut back tree branches around the nearest light post just northeast of center driveway entry as it is blocking significant light from reaching the entryway.
NOTE 2: Post test observation - - During night time testing, we saw that the LP image was actually better than expected between the street and BEFORE a car reached the design manual focus point at the parking lot entrance (where the entrance opens to the parking lot). Have now concluded this is likely due to incidental lighting provided by a 3 ft. high backlit business sign midway between the street and the driveway entrance to the parking lot and about 10 ft. from the driveway edge. Any improvement efforts in LPR image should focus on improving the backlighting of that sign vs. any adding solar LED lights since it is simpler, less expensive and actually closer to the LP.
C. With camera presets and night and day switch settings, it is possible to use the 4425 camera as a true PAN and ZOOM camera for lot surveillance when manually operated on demand. This however would preclude disguising cameras in a birdhouse enclosure.
D. Still some concern of how well the dome lens and camera performance will hold up in the Texas heat since camera is a dome camera. However, there were very few options in the camera market with sufficient zoom (25x) needed and at reasonable cost.
Hope the above is helpful to others.
BACKGROUND: A. Received two HK 4425 zoom cameras on 6/20/24 so we have til 7/19/24 to return if we so choose. There was a limit of two to buy at sub $300 sale cost.
B. Wanted to test the Hikvision DS-2DE44215IW-DE as a simple License Plate Image camera recorder. Two parking lot entrances, A (south entrance as viewed by LPR3) and B (center entrance as viewed by LPR2), were tested for camera monitoring / recording.
DETAILS:
Photos / video links: 2024Jul1testCam4425 - Google Drive
1. Test rig setup: See HK44215TestPositions.pdf file for camera setup locations.
a. For LPR3 View of South Parking Lot Entrance: *669_HDR.jpg is daytime setup at Location A near MH building garage -- judged to be preferred over Location B due to closer to south driveway entrance and less trenching although parked cars could block some view of north side of south parking lot entrance on a typical business morning. Location A and B are options for LPR3 view.
b. For LPR2 View of Center Parking Lot Entrance: *0770.jpg is a nighttime setup to view the center parking lot entrance B. Notice we had to elevate the camera more to be able to view any car LP. This means the camera must be mounted higher than the original thinking -- just off the bulding fascia board. I.e, camera lens can be pointed no higher than 90 degrees off the vertical plane. Distance from the camera to the driveway opening to the parking lot entrance is about 300+ ft.
Note: Your Windows Media player may not play .mp4 video files so I downloaded and used the free VLC app to playback.
2. For LPR3 View: x5000401.mp4. Day test of zoom from Location A which is at a grassy curb corner near MH garage (LPR3 views the South parking lot entrance): 25 frames/sec, 20 yd. min. focus distance, default image settings at autofocus. Zoom set at about 18X to frame only the driveway entry width (~24 ft.). One can view the focus of the person walking towards the red truck.. LP is easily visible in bright sunlight at about 8:53 am (DST was not set then so actually 9:53 am). If the camera is moved to Location B, ~50 ft. further east, 25x zoom of camera likely would be adequate to read LP. Effect of car movement not tested due to high LP image quality.
3. For LPR2 View: x8001901.mp4 TEST RIG MOVED TO VIEW THE CENTER PARKING LOT DRIVEWAY ENTRANCE B.
9:01 pm DST set). Camera switched to night default settings. but HLC (highlight compensation to compensate for brightness of headlights) is on. Amazingly, LP can be read in darkness with a parked car. Likely due to clear night, 22% moonlight crescent and presence of parking lot lighting to help with illumination.
x2797.jpg shows cell phone image, although somewhat over-emphasizing brightness of lights compared to the naked eye, of how well the parking lot is lit at night, thanks to Richard's (our maintenance guy) ongoing efforts.
NOTE: All following recordings were done with camera at the LPR2 position (view of the Center Parking Lot entrance which is north fo the South Parking Lot Entrance).
4. x8002001.mp4 and x8002101.mp4
9:02+ pm. Switched from autofocus to manual focus. Believed some improvement so camera left in manual focus with car sitting still.
5. x8002401.mp4
914+pm. Car Headlights turned on. Notice one must focus on LP area intently to avoid headlight glare. LP image still readable although to a lesser degree.
6. x8002501.mp4
915 pm. Car is driven off to see the effect of some car movement on the LP image.
7. x9000101.mp4
915+ pm. Car enters the center parking lot entrance at about 5 mph. Note LP is visible in only a few instances (only some of the video frames if we slowed down the video) which we attribute to incidental parking lot lights shining on LP vs. being blocked at other times. In fact, LP is best viewed perhaps 10 ft. or so from the street before driveway turn into the parking lot, likely due to light from the LED light installed by Richard just south of the south parking lot entrance.
8. x9000201.mpr
929+ pm. Car enters the center parking lot entrance at about 10 mph.
9. x9000301.mp4
930+ pm. Car enters the center parking lot entrance at about 10 mph and drives toward MH (and camera). Note LP visibility again increases and decreases with incidental parking lot lighting.
10. x9000401.mp4
934+ pm. Car enters the center parking lot entrance at about 20 mph and drives toward MH (and camera). Note LP visibility again increases and decreases with incidental parking lot lighting.
CONCLUSIONS: LPR is easy if you have enough lighting and zoom.
A. 4425 camera did admirably well to record LP images with minimal adjustments in daylight and near perfect nighttime conditions with the available light in the parking lot and surroundings . Understand that at darker (cloudy, less moonlight) night time conditions and inclement weather such as rain and strong winds, LP visibility may clearly suffer. Overall, camera is a keeper -- no return.
B. Adding solar LED lights on motion detection to point low towards the south and center parking lot entrances will only improve LP image. LED lights must be pointed so as to NOT pick up road traffic due to potential battery drain.
NOTE: should cut back tree branches around the nearest light post just northeast of center driveway entry as it is blocking significant light from reaching the entryway.
NOTE 2: Post test observation - - During night time testing, we saw that the LP image was actually better than expected between the street and BEFORE a car reached the design manual focus point at the parking lot entrance (where the entrance opens to the parking lot). Have now concluded this is likely due to incidental lighting provided by a 3 ft. high backlit business sign midway between the street and the driveway entrance to the parking lot and about 10 ft. from the driveway edge. Any improvement efforts in LPR image should focus on improving the backlighting of that sign vs. any adding solar LED lights since it is simpler, less expensive and actually closer to the LP.
C. With camera presets and night and day switch settings, it is possible to use the 4425 camera as a true PAN and ZOOM camera for lot surveillance when manually operated on demand. This however would preclude disguising cameras in a birdhouse enclosure.
D. Still some concern of how well the dome lens and camera performance will hold up in the Texas heat since camera is a dome camera. However, there were very few options in the camera market with sufficient zoom (25x) needed and at reasonable cost.
Hope the above is helpful to others.
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