8 Cameras On 1 Pole?

make sure that pole is braced and strong, with 8 cameras installed it will be like a sail when the wind begins to blow...

May I be the first to recommend the Arecont Surround Video series? Not to say that there are no issues with this (limited frame rate, poor low light performance, it's Arecont, etc.) but this architecture (multiple imagers in a single camera) has significant advantages in this application.

I don't mean to throw a wrench into the plan, but I had a client a few years back that had repeat thefts occurring in his storage compound. We installed megapixel IP cameras and still didn't have the level of detail required to properly identify the culprits. Outside yards have to be one of the toughest challenges for cameras because you have everything working against you. Large areas to cover, low light, and sneaky thieves can easily wear a hoody or mask that makes the camera identification useless. After he spent a bunch of money on cameras we decided to try a fence intrusion detection system. It has been almost 3 years and he has not had a single incident since! It's wired into his alarm system, so they get realtime notification, plus it has an extremely low false alarm rate. We went a little overkill because we wanted the thieves to get the message. We installed 18 strobes on his 2000' of fence line with a loud outdoor siren. In my opinion protecting the perimeter is the gold standard. We have since installed this product at 3 more sites for similar scenarios and not one of these clients has had a single intrusion into their yard since. Hope it's OK to throw that out there...I just know what it feels like when a customer has spent a pile of money and your sitting there with him reviewing a piece of grainy video trying to use digital PTZ to pick out a face and you can't. I produced a short video demonstrating the basics of how this product works. Check it out if you are curious.

Marc.

Brian, my best to you, and would you mind if it was too much trouble to have some of most relavant datas around? Like focal lengths and imager size and or fov angles for the ptzoomers used in the present conflaguration? My fear and hope is that Johns Aricont' solution is not enough to cut mustard fully. Because the fov witn the current ptz might have more ppf than the Arecont fovs have I was thinking that maybe a ptz and arecont could be used together with autotracking of the ptz based on the motion detection of the arconts.

Is this type of combo wide-angle high-res (multi-imager or panaormic) driving high-zooom camera thru motion detecters common?

We have a customer using our thermal sensors and VIQ HD cameras where lighting is available. Very successful, several captures. Other comments will mention that unless it's an employee...even a good facial shot will only help prosecute after they catch him somewhere else.

Yes, I am clearly a manufacturer pushing a solution which does include my parts.

My first bit of advice is to get your customer to commit to a solution definition. Do they want to stop the crime before it happens or record the crimes that happen? What are they trying to do. As an integrator, one of your primary duties is to help the customer understand what they really want. In my experience, 25% of the time, they don't know or have the wrong equipment paired to their goal.

Depending on what "study" or "survey" you read, you will find that CCTV presence will have a deterrent effect or it won't. Many of those studies are of dubious origin and influence.

If you want cruddy video if shadowy figures making off with used car parts, by all means throw a bunch of cameras up on a pole.

If you want to stop the theft of the most expensive parts, I would reccomend they move those particular vehicles close to the building and concentrate the light and video and fencing there. Sometimes an integrator is there to solve problems that dont result in camera sales. I guess that depends on the type of operation you're in.

Out side lots are a tough battle. To do well it can cost a good chunk of money, but then battles are tough. You need to be tough like a junkyard dog.

Now consider that dog(s). Low cost and low maintenance. Medium to high deterrance. A good choice.

[Disclosure: Poster works for FLIR]

Great comments, including the jingle!

HD images are great if the lighting is good and the guy isn't wearing a hoodie. Now let's assume you get a great shot if his face, passport quality and hand it over to the police. Unless he is a really well know local problem or one of your employees it will be used later for prosecution when they catch him selling the stuff or breaking in elsewhere. For an application close to the original problem, see Insurance Auto Auction's testimonial video for thermal detection at the link.

Manage the expectation before installation.