Thinking about 4th-generation system

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In 2006, 3 of our vehicles were vandalized in 3 weeks. Then, I put up my first residential video security system. It was an analog DVR with 4 cheap cameras. The first 3 cameras were positioned to watch the 3 parking spaces. We have had no vehicle vandalism since then -- zero occurrences.

In 2009, the next-door neighbors had a burglary. The video was basically useless -- we saw a blur in their side yard. So I upgraded that system to a newer system with 8 better cameras, with better video quality. But, it was still analog.

In 2014, another neighbor had a burglary. The video got a few frames of good image of the burglars walking across my front yard, maybe 10 feet from the camera. The cops recognized them, and those two went to jail. Then I upgraded the system again.... I went digital this time, with a 16-camera Hikvision NVR and 16 3-mp cameras.

This year, there have been two events so far. A burglar broke into the next-door neighbors house. I got video of his face, from about 20 feet, but it wasn't quite good enough for ID.

Then, a car thief went for a car that was across the street two houses down. That thief walked past my mailbox a couple times while working up the courage to go for the car. (I have cameras in the mailbox post -- looking up and down the street.) Another neighbor gave chase, and the thief left on-foot. My video had good close-up head-and-shoulder shots, and the license plate of the car that dropped him off and picked him up. The cops recognized this one, too.

During the review of my video, I find that I am only able to read the license plates on about 1/2 of the cars, even during the day. So, I am thinking about upgrading, again. This time I am looking at 8 and 12 MP cameras, to replace the 3MP units.

All the thieves and burglars around here seem to work during the day. I guess that is because people are home at night. So I want really good daylight images. Good night images would be a plus, but are far less important. I realize I'm not likely to get license plates and faces at night, and also a broad view, with any equipment.

So, I've started reading, again....
 

fenderman

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More mp won't help you..you need different lenses to get a tighter shot
 

looney2ns

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Welcome, read the Duaha subject threads, plus the LPR subject thread. LPR is an art.
As Fenderman said, more megapixels makes night time vision worse.
2mp's is plenty with the right placement, camera and lense.
Start here: Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)
and here: Dahua 2MP Starlight Lineup

Mistakes a lot of folks make, and I used to be one, is trying to cover too much area with each camera.

Use this: Camera Calculator / Design Software keeping PPF> 100 to help choose the proper lens and placement.
 
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Thank you for the link to the calculator.

That mailbox installation is an odd one. It only has space for one camera in each direction. They are (presently) Hik DS-2CD2232-I5 units with 12mm lenses. That gives a 23-degree FOV, and a PPF of 68 (at 75 feet). I can't move the mailbox, as it is already at the edge of my property. I just want more PPF to see more detail in good daylight. The FOV is good for seeing people on the sidewalk, so I don't want to dramatically increase the lens. So the best option might actually be more MP for those two cameras. The burglars here seem to work during the day, when people are mostly away at work, so it doesn't need good night vision.

I have been looking at those new Starlight cameras, for other locations. Any guess as to when they will come out with higher resolution versions of those?
 

aristobrat

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I just want more PPF to see more detail in good daylight.
I'm in a similar situation. The lot to the side of my house is neighborhood green space that some buttheads have taken to driving across as a shortcut in/out of the neighborhood. I currently have a varifocal Starlight turret zoomed into 12mm on it, and it catches about 80% of the license plates. I would like to some more daytime PPF without decreasing the FOV. A camera with more zoom would shrink the FOV too much. I'd guess that ideally, two cameras would cover this (one zoomed way in to focus on just license plates, and one zoomed out for a "situational" view), but I'm not ready to throw that much money at this.

I've been looking at some of the Dahau's Eco-savvy 3.0 Series > 8 Megapixel models.
8 Megapixel

They have a larger Sony STARVIS sensor in them (1/2.5"). They're not as big as the STRAVIS in the Starlights (which are 1/1.8" IIRC), but should be better than the 1/3" that most cameras have been using.

Here are some nighttime pictures of an 8MP Dahua with the STARVIS in it:
#5
 
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