Subscriber Discussion

Capture License Plates 100 Feet Away - What Should I Use?

Can you recommend a good long range IR camera. The area is pretty much black dark. I need a camera that can provide good images at 100ft. Most of the cameras I have tried cant cut it.

NOTICE: This comment was moved from an existing discussion: LPC Camera Needed To Catch Vandal Knocking Lights Off Mailbox


100 feet is pretty far, given how telephoto the FoV needs to be (~10 feet wide). This means you'll need a long lens (40mm+) and strong IR illuminators. There's a bunch on line that claim up to 100 feet away but that's risky since it's on the edge and most vendors fudge such max specs.

Let's see what we can find.

Avigilon 5MP Integrated IR: About 170 feet with IR:

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Alex, what model is this? 5MP H3 IR? What's the lens length for this shot? 22mm?

Yes 5 MP, 9-22 mm lenses

Here is shot before zooming in:

before zoom

alex have display adjustments been altered on that video or is that the original once zoomed in... doesn't matter just curious... nice shot...

Yes it is original

plus zoom in within software

I do have original ".ave" file if u really need to see

Alex, this is a great show. I have a few questions. What is the vehicle speed? What are the key camera settings involved, including manual vs. automatic? How long is the car's run-up towards the point of this shot (relates to the time for automatic settings to make any adjustments)?

The default settings on cameras that I have worked with would have the headlight and plate areas blooming.

Car speed about 35 Mph

Camera settings all default just exposure time 1/60 or 1/125

Plates can be recorded for about 40-50 feet of car driving

sure then I can show potential customers and pass it off as our own... just kidding... no need for the video... was just curious if you had to alter the display adjustments once zoomed in to get the plate to pop... it looked clean so I didn't think so...

u right sometime we have to play with display adjustments :)

I imagine when you have cars rolling 30 Mph it's a complete different story, like for a rainy night without moon

Wdr, auto focus, and of course shutter speed can't be let on "Auto" mode

Licence plate cameras are very tricky, you need to catch the right spot for them and the vehicle needs to be going a certain speed also the lighting must be just right. At the place I work, we have tried different cameras locations and even added a speed bump. And the shots are still not 100%.