Hikvision ColorVu suitable as LPR camera at night?

James-01

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From reading a number of threads here, it appears that the important things to sort out when creating an effective LPR camera arrangement at night include:

1) Small camera angle
2) A larger lens size so the camera can provide a zoomed field of view (wide-angled lenses are a no no)
3) Configuring a very short shutter speed to avoid blurry shots of a moving vehicle

Hikvision market their ColorVu camera range as having "powerful ability to capture details in low lighting comes from two specific breakthroughs in hardware technologies: advanced lenses and high-sensitivity sensors"

Would this make it a suitable camera range for capturing the plates of moving vehicles at night?
 
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Simple answer NO. You need a dedicated camera like the 2 MP DeepinView Ultra-Low Light Outdoor LPR Bullet Camera
That is an expensive cam that only comes in either a 2.8-12mm or am 8-32mm varifocal lens. Most folks have found that 32 mm is not enough to get plates in a residential setting.

Hikvision market their ColorVu camera range as having "powerful ability to capture details in low lighting comes from two specific breakthroughs in hardware technologies: advanced lenses and high-sensitivity sensors"

Would this make it a suitable camera range for capturing the plates of moving vehicles at night?
You would have to look at the specs for the specific cam, not a line of cams. Does it have a proper focal length for your intended capture distance? Is the IR rated out to that distance? Do not expect to get good caps of plates after dark if the IR is not powerful enough. You may have to add separate IR. This is why most people here are using the Dahua HFW5241E-Z12E.
 

coney27

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That is an expensive cam that only comes in either a 2.8-12mm or am 8-32mm varifocal lens. Most folks have found that 32 mm is not enough to get plates in a residential setting.
I'm sorry but I was offering a solution to his answer. I currently have 2 8-32mm versions and they work flawlessly. And as for price, that's a issue on a case to case basis. I purchased mine for under $400 each and would say they are well worth the price.
 
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I'm sorry but I was offering a solution to his answer. I currently have 2 8-32mm versions and they work flawlessly. And as for price, that's a issue on a case to case basis. I purchased mine for under $400 each and would say they are well worth the price.
That is a cool cam and I like how it has the ability to do the plate processing on board. My installation requires 45-55 mm and each cam is at a higher angle that the docs for that cam recommend. The captures in the installation PDF sure look good though.
 

coney27

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The ColorVu will not work as a LPR as it does not use IR. The Colorvu relies on its 1/1.8th sensor that only uses visible white light. Using this sensor, the camera as uses a reduce shutter rate to allow more light in, thus cresting more of a "ghosting effect". This in turn would make capturing plates during night impossible. My Colorvu is unable to capture plates at night even when a plate is 5 ft away. All you can see on the Colorvu is a brightly shining license plate because my state's plates are reflective. The camera is compensating for the dark scene but is unable to adjust the lense specifically for the plate. Overall do not use a Colorvu for LPR duties.
 

coney27

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That is a cool cam and I like how it has the ability to do the plate processing on board. My installation requires 45-55 mm and each cam is at a higher angle that the docs for that cam recommend. The captures in the installation PDF sure look good though.
My install is way past the recommendations for that camera listed in the data sheet. I'm capturing plates that are roughly 125 feet away and the camera is mounted about 30 feet up in a tree. Its really an amazing camera.

 
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