Plates were working but now overexposed.

R

rdagger

Getting the hang of it
Oct 14, 2016
76
32
I have a Hikvision 3MP 16mm EXIR bullet (DS-2CD2T32-I5) on a pole in front of my house for license plates. It was working (not great but legible for most plates). Not sure what happened but now the plates are all over exposed at night.

Before:
192.168.0.101_05_20170430020720574.jpg
After:
vlcsnap-2017-06-16-21h32m58s337.png

It still works adequately during the day. I also have a DS-2CD2032-Ifacing the other direction and it works great. The settings on both cameras are the same. Any recommendations?
  • Brightness: 52
  • Contrast: 75
  • Saturation: 63
  • Hue: 27
  • Sharpness: 30
  • Exposure Time: 1/1000
  • Smart Supplement Light: On
  • WDR & BLC: Off
  • Noise Reduction Level: 50
  • Bitrate Type: Variable
  • Video Quality: Highest
  • Frame Rate: 20
  • Max Bitrate: 4096
  • I Frame Interval: 10
  • SVC: Auto
 
Do you usually run 1/2 the frame rate on the iFrame?

I typically see matching the FPS or 2x the FPS, but can't say I've seen or tried 1/2 the FPS
(Not that that should have any effect on your problem)

Is there some type of external white light shining on that area that wasnt on before?
 
I found that the iFrame worked better at lower numbers when I first set up the mini bullet camera for license plates.

There are no new visible lights. I did add an additional license plate camera facing the same spot but in the other direction so it hits the other end of the car.
 
Turn off the new IR source to eliminate the chance of reflected IR being the change.
 
Given the grain in the second image I would suspect the gain settings as the culprit. Try turning the gain down and seeing how you go.
 
I switched out the camera for DS-2CD2232-I5 with the Wrightwood Surveillance 25mm lens. I'm getting the same problem (good plates during day and nothing at night). I tried turning off the other camera that points in that direction.
Also I don't see a gain option anywhere, is it called something else now?
Night:
192.168.0.101_17_20170809080216491.jpg

Day:
192.168.0.101_17_20170809082358532.jpg
 
Looks like the exposure is too slow to start with. What is it at now? Lock it at a faster speed before playing with gain.
 
Kawboy12R said:
Looks like the exposure is too slow to start with. What is it at now? Lock it at a faster speed before playing with gain.
Click to expand...
I tried 1/500, 1/750 and 1/1000 with the no success. I can try higher tonight.
I don't see an option for gain with the new firmware. Do you know if it has another name?
 
Here are my settings with the new camera:
  • Brightness: 50
  • Contrast: 50
  • Saturation: 50
  • Hue: 50
  • Sharpness: 50
  • Exposure Time: 1/1000
  • Day/Night Sensitivity: 4
  • Filtering Time: 5
  • Smart Supplement Light: Off
  • BLC Area: Off
  • WDR: Off
  • What Balance: AWB1
  • Digital Noise Reduction: Normal
  • Noise Reduction Level: 50
  • Resolution: 2048x1536
  • Bitrate Type: Variable
  • Video Quality: Highest
  • Frame Rate: 20
  • Max Bitrate: 12288
  • Video Encoding: H.264
  • I Frame Interval: 10
  • SVC: Off
 
Don't see gain there and haven't played with a lower end Hik that way in quite a while so I can't remember much about them. Don't see gain there in those settings. Go 1/2000.
 
I'll try the 1/2000.

I went to the surveillance store today and they recommend the SmartHikvision DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZHS/P.
Specs: 50(P)/60(N) FPS @ 1920x1080, 1/1.8" Progressive Scan CMOS , 8-32mm motorized VF with auto-focus.
My goal is to primarily capture plates at night so this seems a little overkill.
 
Definitely. Nice cam for some things but a cheap Dahua has enough bells and whistles to get good plates. No need to pay Darkfighter prices.
 
Looks like Hikvision removed the gain setting in the latest firmware (thread)
I tried multiple exposures and it doesn't make the plates legible.
Exposure Tests.jpg
 
nbstl68 said:
Did you ever get this dialed in right or figure out the issue?
Click to expand...
I temporarily reverted to the prior firmware which gave me the ability to set the gain. This helped but I still was not getting plates at night with the DS-2CD2232-I5. I'm getting great plates during the day. I ordered a stand-alone IR illuminator that I'm going to use to supplement the camera's IR. I'm hoping with a faster exposure and more light that I'll get clean plates at night. I plan on installing it tomorrow. I'll let you know if it works.

I also have a Hikvision 3MP Mini bullet 12mm camera facing the other direction on the street and it is getting good plates day and night. This one is mounted a little lower which seems to work better. It's about 8 feet high as opposed to 15 feet on the DS-2CD2232-I5.

Here's the illuminator I ordered (60 degree beam, 850NM). Don't but this one. It's not very powerful.
 
Last edited:
The illuminator didn't help. It barely provides any additional light. The specs were grossly exaggerated. I going to try switching back to the 16mm today with the reverted firmware and a lower gain.
 
rdagger said:
The illuminator didn't help. It barely provides any additional light. The specs were grossly exaggerated. I going to try switching back to the 16mm today with the reverted firmware and a lower gain.
Click to expand...
It is possible that your IR filter is stuck...that would explain not seeing an improvement with the extra ir and the poor images at night in general
 
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