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Posted: 7/12/2017 3:53:08 PM EDT
Scenario: Camera mounted a maximum of 60 ft from the farthest point of an intersection that is relatively well-illuminated by streetlamps at night.

Question: Do I have to have a $6000 LPR camera in order to reliable read the license plates of incoming/outgoing vehicles in that intersection or should I be focusing on looking for a simple high-quality color camera that efficiently uses the ambient lighting to capture the plates. Can I get away with an ACTi 413, a21, etc.? Can I go even cheaper?

Our issue is that every time something happens in our neighborhood, neighbors whip out their grainty B&W footage of the vehicles but the plates always look like rectangular suns - zero hope of getting a number from them. My assumption is that the combination of lower quality and IR illumination are what make that happen but I'm wondering if we'd have the same issue with just the ambient lighting from the neighborhood lamp posts. I started looking at a couple of the ACTi cameras thinking they could do the trick but I talked to a security "specialist" who claims we would have to buy the $6000 camera he sells and that it's only good out to 6-8ft. I don't believe him but this topic is still over my head.

Anyone have experience with this?
Link Posted: 7/12/2017 3:57:04 PM EDT
[#1]
Link Posted: 7/12/2017 4:46:29 PM EDT
[#2]
Link Posted: 7/12/2017 10:03:28 PM EDT
[#3]
Link Posted: 7/12/2017 10:21:07 PM EDT
[#4]
I want coverage at both ingress/egress points. I'm currently considering the tree on my property and the utility pole on a neighbor's property to be the ideal locations for the camera but could move it to any where around the edge of my house. I would also be willing to install a pole in my yard near the tree. The utility pole has a fairly bright light on it that does a decent job of illuminating the intersection.

Traffic/hoodlums will often park at the road D "suspicious vehicle parking area" 170ish ft from my tree.
Traffic/hoodlums will often enter the 'hood from the other entrance, come up road A and take any of the three other streets from that point but USUALLY egress via road D
Traffic rarely stops in the East/West direction as there are no stop signs for that direction but will usually at least slow down at the stop signs when travelling North/South.

-My primary objective is to read every license plate that ingresses and egresses at that intersection - even at the expense of getting footage of the vehicles if necessary (for instance, if the shutter speed and lighting that allows me to read plates effectively serves to darken the rest of the image, I'd consider that a success). We have other cameras in the 'hood that can get good footage of the rest of the vehicle.
-Secondary objective is to record every plate that hits the stop sign at Road A.

Need any other information just let me know. I'll provide whatever I can to get an answer to this. And thank you.
Link Posted: 7/12/2017 10:23:07 PM EDT
[#5]
Link Posted: 7/12/2017 10:25:33 PM EDT
[#6]
Link Posted: 7/12/2017 10:33:57 PM EDT
[#7]
2-plates.

Also, I added pics of the intersection (from my phone).
Link Posted: 7/13/2017 10:49:44 AM EDT
[#8]
Link Posted: 7/13/2017 1:28:21 PM EDT
[#9]
26ft
Link Posted: 7/13/2017 6:10:44 PM EDT
[#10]
Link Posted: 7/13/2017 9:37:22 PM EDT
[#11]
Link Posted: 7/13/2017 10:10:30 PM EDT
[#12]
Link Posted: 8/3/2017 5:08:51 PM EDT
[#13]

Samil2 wrote:
I'm currently considering the tree on my property and the utility pole on a neighbor's property to be the ideal locations...
View Quote
Check with the utility company before you mount anything on their pole.  In some states it is a crime.  In other states, when the utility finds unauthorized equipment on their pole, they just dismount it and confiscate it.  No point having your expensive camera disappear after just a few weeks because the utility took it.
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