JohnEF

I've had a problem the past several months with people driving by at night and shattering liquor bottles all over my driveway and yard. One night, my car was even vandalized by who I assume are the same people. Well, I set up a cctv system with a dedicated comp to run 24/7 with dvr software and like a hundred dollar camera. Was feeling pretty good about this until they did it again and I caught them on tape. Problem is, the video is practically useless since it's so low quality. I can't even make out the make of the car. I only know a bottle came from that particular car because I could hear it shatter with the mic. So now I'm looking at adding an IP camera that might actually catch something useful. My price range was roughly around 500-600 and I was looking at the acti 1231 or the vivotek 7361. It seems it's extremely difficult to find a lot of information about IP cameras on the internet and what each particular model is capable of. Ideally, something that could catch a license plate off of a moving car at night is what I need. But are either of those two cameras capable of that? If not, how much would I have to spend on a camera to get that? I have a 100-150 watt high pressure sodium lamp that's on all night over the garage and my driveway is about 45 feet long, so it isn't pitch black outside.

regarding the mobotix camera, is there a difference between a L135 lens and a L135 LPF lens? I'm looking on their website and I don't see any LPF lens under their lens table. and i'm totally perplexed about the difference between a night and day lens. what's the difference? is it just color vs b/w? I'm looking at two of the same sec m12 cameras and the one with two night lens (one a LPF) costs like 600 dollars more!

Thanks for the replies. I'm considering going above what I originally wanted to spend since this is an on going issue with serious vandalism involved. Does the M12 also use lens with a cs mount? Also, where do you guys recommend buying the camera and lens from? Are there reputable online stores? Should I buy directly from the manufacturer. Or, should I look for a dealer in my area? Thank you.

Ok, sorry for the stupid questions but I'm a total noob. Any help is greatly appreciated. Now I'm looking at the arecont 3130 because it's in my price range and I've seen it recommended a lot here. I see one on amazon but it says no lens. Does that mean I have to buy a lens to go with it for it to work at all? If so, how much does that cost and where do I get that? Also, it doesn't appear to have built in IR light. What will the outdoor image look like if I didn't get an outside IR light source? Like I said there is a 100watt high pressure sodium lamp outside. I'm looking at http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=11322 this thread and I see thewireguy has posted some night pics of the arecont 3130. Are those through a window without added IR light? Or is there an IR light source? Also, how much of a difference does the dual sensor make vs just one?

How come I don't want a camera with integrated IR? Is that to say I don't want IR at all if the camera is inside? I don't really care about day performance at all. What would be the best camera for night performance in the same price range as a acti 1231?

Oh yeah, one more question I forgot to ask about. How do these cameras do viewing through a window? I have a second story window that has a good view of the front of the house and street and obviously I could get a better camera for the same price if it wasn't an outdoor camera. How does viewing through a window affect the performance of these cameras at night if all the inside lights are off and obviously the window is clean. I'm less concerned with performance during the day. Does the window degrade quality of the image, etc?