Subscriber Discussion

How Do You Focus Cameras In The Field?

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Derek Ward
•Oct 31, 2013
Hanwha

We have recently received a Siemens Star chart that we will use for manually focusing our cameras, and we are curious as to how our users focus cameras. So we ask: "What have you found to be a de-facto solution when focusing cameras during installation and/or maintenance?". Some of our inquiries include:

  • If a camera offers autofocus, do you have a subject or chart in the middle of the image to assist in focusing?
  • If you manually focus a camera, what do you do to gauge image clarity and sharpness?
  • If you use charts to focus or test image clarity, what kind do you use?
  • If a camera gets bumped out of focus switching from day to night mode, how do you refocus the camera?

We are curious to hear responses and feedback!

CP
Chris Powell
•Oct 31, 2013
IPVMU Certified

A box of CAT5e cable is a quick & easy chart. Just set it down at the point you want to focus, or set one near & another far. The labeling text provides as good a chart as anything else I've found. One trick for setting license-plate capture: At the drive or gate where you want to capture automobile traffic, set one box on each side of the passage far enough from the left/right curbs to represent the widest possible variation among incoming. This will provide a target in which to frame your shot and get as tight as possible (max pixels/foot at target distance) without missing plates on vehicles that come in off-center.

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