Subscriber Discussion

A Single 29MP Camera To Cover An Entire Baseball Diamond

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Jan 25, 2015

I am looking at the avigilon 29MP to cover the entire diamond. Mounting height of 40' and about 30' away from home plate. We don't need identification, but do want enough detail to see activity during practice. I am thinking I will need 2.

JH
John Honovich
Jan 25, 2015
IPVM

Here's a mockup of that, with the resolution of the 29MP assuming a 90° FoV and second base being 127' from home plate (+30 feet for the camear):

At 2nd base, you will get ~20ppf, which will give a general view of activity but not much for faces or fine details. I am not sure how far you need to go or how much detail, but that should give you a sense.

TC
Trisha (Chris' wife) Dearing
Jan 25, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Does that mean an 18mm lens focal length?

JH
John Honovich
Jan 25, 2015
IPVM

He should verify that with Avigilon. The PPF is correct though, the only question is what focal length delivers 90 degrees on their 35mm camera.

JH
John Honovich
Jan 25, 2015
IPVM

Btw, I believe the Avigilon party line these days is that the new H4 16MP is better all around than the older 29MP camera. We mentioned this here: Manufacturer Sales Pitches Revealed.

Obviously, ask them, test yourself...

Finally, it's also worth considering a few 5MP or even new 4K cameras, that might provide an overall lower cost solution.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Jan 26, 2015

In my opinion, the 16MP units by Avigilon are better than the 29MP units. I have done 6 or 8 different test shots with the units and I do favor the 16MP.

According to the Avigilon Calculator you would have 15PPF at 157' with a 16MP unit. That is based on 30Ft height, 320' scene width, 90 degree FOV and a 12mm focal length. The 29MP unser the same constraints takes it to 21PPF.

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JH
John Honovich
Jan 26, 2015
IPVM

B, thanks. The 16MP H4 is better in low light, WDR, day time, all conditions? Worse in any?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Jan 26, 2015

What I have noticed is that the image is much sharper on the 16 than the 29's. The low light seems to be very acceptable on both models but you have to choose a lens that performes well for lower light conditions. Avigilon does a good job of providing multiple lens options and describing the characteristics of each lens.

My testing is certainly not scientific as I have not compared the two side by side in all conditions on the same subject. It would make sense though that the 29 would require more light than the 16 in order to prduce the same quality image.

U
Undisclosed #3
Jan 26, 2015
IPVMU Certified

I don't believe the 12mm focal length number is right. This is from the official Avigilon price list (2012), HD PRO Camera Lenses Section. Note both the 29 and 16 MP cameras have the same sensor size 36x24mm, so the angle of view is identical.

Since a 20mm Sigma has an 84 degree AOV and the short end of the Canon VF is 16mm with a 96 degree AOV, 90 degrees will be around 18mm. In any event, The Canon 16-35mm vari-focal can cover it with a good deal of latitude on both sides.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Jan 26, 2015

C, you are correct. My error was that I had the wrong camera selected. I had the 16LH4PRO-B instead of the 16MP-HD-PRO-C. Good catch!

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AT
Andrew Thomas
Feb 02, 2015

This seems to be overkill if your intentions are to capture the activities of a baseball team playing and practicing on the diamond. Do you also want to capture outfield activities?

Attached is a detailed chart for a 29MP / with a 28mm lens, providing a 55 degree HFOV.

The chart shows this camera mounted at 34' with a 6' tall target located 165' from the camera.

Everything is linear, so replacing that lens to get to 80 HFOV, the pixel densities will decrease by the ratio of 80/55

Good Luck.

Avatar
Paul Grefenstette
Feb 02, 2015

the 16 will give you better fps but I would field test it for your application - just call your local avigilon rep or send me a note and i will get you in touch with the right person -- I have only done indoor ice rinks, soccer fields and basketball courts and the latest craze here paddle tennis we used 2/3/5MP but those were easier to cover and less area

AT
Andrew Thomas
Feb 02, 2015

I agree, the activiities on a ball diamond likely require a higher FPS to capture fast moving activities Regardless of your image detail requirements.

Below is a set of pixel on target scaled to a 250 distance, across the range of HFOV available from both Varial Focal and fixed lenses. Cut and paste these atop a google earth view, properly scaled and you can estimate the image results. Good Luck.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/41060228/H4-PRO16-PPF-Charts.pdf

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