LPR @ 85-100 feet?

ATLBuckeye

n3wb
Apr 6, 2024
10
20
Florida
I've recently (this week). Wired, and connected 3 new PoE Reolink (dont shoot me) cams. I've watched some youtube videos on LPR and it has fascinated me. I've done some light searching but figured this was best to ask directly if this kind of thing. If were to grab the plate of a vehicle leaving my road in the diagram below, it would be sufficient for capturing all vehicles that enter, and subsequently, leave my road. Is there a camera that would work for LPR that I could mount on the right side of my house that could grab plates day or night less than $300?

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To 100 feet, this cam for sure: EmpireTech IPC-B52IR-Z12E-S2 1/2.8" CMOS 2MP 5mm–60mm Ultra Low Light. I have two of them, one being the older non-S2 model.

I capture plates up to 200 feet on one of them. Prepare to lose yourself down the rabbit hole in this forum. Do a search on LPR here and just start reading.

Note: Your zoom should be set to the right side of the road to catch their back plate. Trying to cover the entire width of the road means you may be too far zoomed out to catch every plate. Motorcycles, dirty plates, etc… are hard to read when zoomed wide to cover the entire width of an entrance/exit.
 
+1 above on the Z12E.

Sorry you went down the reolink path - can you return them?

You would have to set the camera up specifically to read plates. You need the proper camera with OPTICAL zoom for the distance you are covering and the angle to get plates.

Regarding plates, keep in mind that this is a camera dedicated to plates and not an overview camera also. It is as much an art as it is a science. You will need two cameras. For LPR we need to OPTICALLY zoom in tight to make the plate as large as possible. For most of us, all you see is the not much more than a vehicle in the entire frame. Now maybe in the right location during the day it might be able to see some other things, but not at night.

At night, we have to run a very fast shutter speed (1/2,000) and in B/W with IR and the image will be black. All you will see are head/tail lights and the plate. Some people can get away with color if they have enough street lights, but most of us cannot. Here is a representative sample of plates I get at night of vehicles traveling about 45MPH at 175 feet from my 2MP 5241-Z12E camera (that is all that is needed for plates):

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See the LPR subforum for more details.

 
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Sorry you went down the reolink path - can you return them?

Yes.... I've found that I cant get the full resolution, and trying to live view with them at full resolution crashes the live view... I'm returning the reolink domes and replacing with these: IPC-T54IR-AS. I also have a Reolink duo 3 mounted above the garage for the motion detection spotlight/wide coverage. It has the same issue with resolution but I think I'm going to be keeping it.
 
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Meaning one camera for LPR and one for overview.

Too many people try to use one camera to do both and it just isn't possible in most situations.
 
What, my picture from 175 feet wasn't impressive :lmao:

But as you can see, to get plates, the field of view is not much bigger than a vehicle, which is why the camera can't be used as an overview camera also!
 
What, my picture from 175 feet wasn't impressive :lmao:

But as you can see, to get plates, the field of view is not much bigger than a vehicle, which is why the camera can't be used as an overview camera also!

Lol. I got hung up on replying about the reolink comment and how I'm replacing them. That distance is even better.
 
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