Subscriber Discussion

License Plate Capture Camera Recommendations

AG
Abe G
Jul 05, 2013

Hi Security Professionals! From your experience, which specialized license plate (rear) capture camera (for human to review) would you recommend for an entrance area with low lighting at night? The camera(s) would be placed approximately 25-30' from a vehicle. Thanks!

BH
Bohan Huang
Jul 06, 2013

How many lanes? Just one?

AG
Abe G
Jul 06, 2013

Bohan, thanks for your prompt reply. The area is two lanes (in & outbound) wide (unmarked); however, I am hoping the primary camera (inbound) can capture most tags. And a second camera will be applied for backup (while a vechicle is exiting the property).

AG
Abe G
Jul 06, 2013

sorry, I meant to write ... vehicle

BH
Bohan Huang
Jul 07, 2013

Below recommendation assumes the vehicles are travelling at 40mph or less - if this is wrong please advise.

Two lanes is a ~24 feet FoV. A standard true WDR D/N 1MP 1/3" sensor camera with a 6mm lens and either integrated IR or an external illuminator should do the job (30' coverage is not hard for even basic IR illuminators). Examples to get you started:

Now - a common problem is that the plates appear "over exposed" and the whole plate turns completely white. We have found that this can actually be easily solved by LOWERING the MAX GAIN on the camera's web interface - in other words - it is the AGC that is saturating the plate - not over exposure.

The 1MP cameras have superior low night sensitivity permitting the camera to maintain shorter shutter sppeds and capture cars moving faster.

AG
Abe G
Jul 08, 2013

Bohan: Thanks for the recommendations and sharing your knowledge.

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