Recommendations for a better camera

[Tiger_Claw]

Hi guys,

I just recently added a ZmodoZP-1BG11-P (720p) PoE camera to my existing Zmodo 720p setup. . The camera does a pretty good for a budget model, but I’m really missing out on all the details some of you guys are enjoying with higher res cameras.

This camera contains a fixed 12mm lens and is powered off a single port PoE injector. Recording is handled directly through the Blue Iris application. Is there an affordable 1080p camera ($500 range or lower) that would be capable of providing far better detail of people inside the cars when the image is made larger?

The attached snap shot is of a car passing my house. I can see that someone inside the vehicle is looking at my house, but I can’t make out enough facial details.




Tiger

 

[icerabbit]

1920x1080 or better 3MP 2048x1536 (at 12mm) will give a fair bit of extra detail for the same width / field of view. Any $100-200 3MP camera should do better. Tough call whether that really would be enough to identify somebody. Higher frames per second and clarity and bandwidth would certainly help.

For a bit extra detail you could mount the (new) camera closer to the forward most area of the garage or structure, rather than part-way along the wall.

What is the current distance from the camera to the curb?
What would be the distance from a closer location to the curb?

With a lens calculator one can help determine what lens, sensor etc are better suited.

You could go 25mm, but then your field of view (horizontal space you see along the curb) will be half. The cheapest option in that regard would be ds-2cd2032 bullet from Hikvision with a 25mm lens upgrade. But that probably is not advisable. The risk there is that somebody might stop to the left or right of the field of view.

What happens if they stop to the left of that tree in photo 1, to look at your house?

Are there any other options to look more from the left and right corners of the property and maybe get front yard coverage + cars + tags.

Noting that, if somebody views your house without the windows up, you most likely won't even be able to tell the gender, due to reflections on the glass.

 

[nayr]

thats actually a pretty good shot; getting a more detailed photo of someone inside a car driving by isint going to be easy even with more mpxiels... you could invest a ton of money and they will defeat it by rolling the window up.. there's nothing wrong with looking at your house.

As long as you have enough detail for foot traffic on sidewalk and someone coming up your approach Id say that camera is doing a fine job.

 

[Tiger_Claw]

Any $100-200 3MP camera should do better. Tough call whether that really would be enough to identify somebody. Higher frames per second and clarity and bandwidth would certainly help.

Damn, this 720p cost me $125. I'm sure we both know that no all cams are created equal. That's why I'm hoping for some recommendations on specific makes/models. Is there really a $100 3PM cam that can better this higher priced 720?

Placement of the camera seems to provide the most bang for the buck, i.e., capability to capture vehicles on the street and anyone walking on the sidewalk or up my walkway. Problem is, this 12mm is providing a little more zoom then I like. I can't move the camera further back because of a large palm tree being in the way. Moving the cam further up would reduce my field of view even further.

Distance to curb is 50'. Lens Height 8'. I'm losing about 20 feet of sidewalk coverage to the image (left). Can't do anything about the right side because of the tree.

I'm "Actually" pretty dialed in as far as additional camera coverage of the front yard. Anyone walking up towards my door is recorded by an additional 4 cameras. I installed the "Sidewalk" cam to capture vehicles and (with any luck) get the best facial shot of anyone approaching my house.

Tiger

 

[Tiger_Claw]

thats actually a pretty good shot; getting a more detailed photo of someone inside a car driving by isint going to be easy even with more mpxiels... you could invest a ton of money and they will defeat it by rolling the window up.. there's nothing wrong with looking at your house.

As long as you have enough detail for foot traffic on sidewalk and someone coming up your approach Id say that camera is doing a fine job.

Thanks for the input. I didn't even think about the window being rolled up. You are sooo right about that. Image quality of foot traffic is ok, but still doesn't seem to be as good as some of the higher mega pixel cameras.

Tiger

 

[icerabbit]

I actually posted about that window up as well

Figure if you were to go higher resolution, that people's faces will be 50% bigger to double in size if you go 2mp or 3mp (just rough math in pixels going up from 720) I have a couple 720p foscams and a several 3mp hikvisions, the latter which I set to 1920x1080 16:9 which gives a few extra points of width in the field of view (and more fluent picture); and there is a sizeable difference in image detail. It is not standard def to high def, but to get details it helps.

Hikvision DS-2CD2032I certainly comes to mind as a very cost effective compact 3mp bullet, can be had in various mm, including 12mm (I have one) which now can be found for $89 (direct import, free shipping, no warranty)

I'm sure other people will have other cost effective favorites.

Good to hear you have other cameras for front coverage. I was just trying to think of an alternative or two vs taking that cam down. But yes, shooting around trees and big shrubs is a must many of us have to deal with.

 

[Tiger_Claw]

I actually posted about that window up as well

Figure if you were to go higher resolution, that people's faces will be 50% bigger to double in size if you go 2mp or 3mp (just rough math in pixels going up from 720) I have a couple 720p foscams and a several 3mp hikvisions, the latter which I set to 1920x1080 16:9 which gives a few extra points of width in the field of view (and more fluent picture); and there is a sizeable difference in image detail. It is not standard def to high def, but to get details it helps.

Hikvision DS-2CD2032I certainly comes to mind as a very cost effective compact 3mp bullet, can be had in various mm, including 12mm (I have one) which now can be found for $89 (direct import, free shipping, no warranty)

I'm sure other people will have other cost effective favorites.

Good to hear you have other cameras for front coverage. I was just trying to think of an alternative or two vs taking that cam down. But yes, shooting around trees and big shrubs is a must many of us have to deal with.

Hi icerabbit

I've attached 2 additional photos for review/comment. The one with the subject contains a copy/past of the face at an increased digital magnification. This is the best facial detail I can achieve at the 50ft distance. Do you have any sample shots of the above mentioned camera for a comparison? '

I would also like to take into consideration the night vision capabilities. The installed Zmodo has a 165ft rating, but detail seems washed out (as can be seen across the street, which I'm guessing would be approx. 80-90 feet.

If I'm going to upgrade a brand new camera I would like to improve in both facial detail and night vision capabilities, as I'm sure you might understand.




Tiger

 

[bp2008]

Higher bit rates will help with resolving small details, and also some cameras have a Region Of Interest (ROI) feature where you can define a high priority area to be encoded in higher quality.

Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I is a solid 3MP camera, very popular and available cheap with lenses up to 12mm. Dahua may have some more-expensive cameras that have better night vision if that matters a lot. Hikvision's night vision on the cheaper cams is pretty noisy.

 

[icerabbit]

Tiger, I will see to whip up a couple samples momentarily. Thought about it yesterday but rain was a bit of an issue.

 

[Tiger_Claw]

Tiger, I will see to whip up a couple samples momentarily. Thought about it yesterday but rain was a bit of an issue.

Not a rush bro, but thanks. I really appreciate the added efforts.


Tiger

 

[icerabbit]

Well if the rain isn't an issue, then the computer is! Not quite sure if VLC is giving me a true 1:1 on the larger resolutions as then it shows some narrow size letterboxed 4:3 image ... either funny stuff with hikvision codec and/or benefit of running betas I guess. So, I will redo this better at some point in the future, with additional controls of bit rate etc but this is a sample of what the 3mp 12mm bullet gives at 25 50 75 and 100ft: (text sizes are 25 50 75 & 100pt )



... and I think the high sun dark shade contrast isn't helping the image. Ordinarily you'd see the driveway and trees around me! Plus there may be a bit of a codec thing with VLC. But anyway. Real life sample it is. And no digital zoom was used. It is whatever VLC gave on screen for the downloaded clip.

 

[Tiger_Claw]

I'm going to look stupid and admit that I don't know what VLC means h:. Is the bottom left image at 75 feet. If it is, that alone seems to indicate that your 1080p cam has (at a minimum) a 25 foot advantage on providing equal detail my 720p cam gives me at roughly 50 feet.

What do you think of this camera?

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-delivery-Hikvision-3000000-HD-network-matrix-infrared-camera-DS-2CD2232D-I5-Infrared-50m/638300_1397052452.html

It has a 6mm lens (I would prefer 8-12mm) but looks like it might perform a little better at night.

Tiger

 

[icerabbit]

You're fine. VLC stands for Video Lan Client, a pretty wellknown cross platform multimedia player. http://www.videolan.org

I think that should be a great camera. It was on my top 5 short list until we settled on the smaller bullets and domes. We wanted things to be as unobtrusive as possible. Don't know that a forum member has reviewed that model, but it is similar to the turret with the same hi power infrared led vs ring of small leds.

The reseller that listing is from is good. Email Julia and ask about getting a 12mm.

Going higher resolution and then shorter lens would cancel out the extra detail you are seeking. Which is fine depending on priorities, if you were to say I really need to go wider.

Anyway, that camera exists in 4 6 and 12mm. http://www.hikvision.com/en/products_show.asp?id=7741

 

[Tiger_Claw]

Thanks icerabbit

Just sent an email to Julia.

Tiger