License Plate reading & low light

[jeffreytp]

I am looking to capture license plates. Camera will be about 15 above street level and camera will be about 50 feet at ground level from the license plate locations of the moving cars. I am looking for day light and nightime application and was considering these two options:

8mm DS-2CD2335FWD-I F1.6 which should allow better night quality?, but max resolution is 1920 × 1080.
or
12mm DS-2CD2385FWD-I F2.0, max resolution 3840 x 2160

What will get me the best results?

 

[alastairstevenson]

What will get me the best results?

Loads of reading and examples in the LPR forum here : LPR

 

[john-ipvm]

@jeffreytp on your image, it shows 30.9 ppf, that is going to be too low. You should at least aim for 50ppf to have the potential to capture the fine details of the license plates.

PPF is one factor, but as you note, low light is another. Your image shows that the capture point is at the end of the camera's IR range, where IR power is at its lowest and, in our testing, is often faint / poor.

Net/net, my main immediate question is: Can you angle / position the camera to capture plates closer to the camera's install position? This would help with both the PPF and IR range issues.