J-Mac

Our neighborhood association (suburban Dallas, TX area) is interested in installing cameras at the two entrances of our neighborhood to act as a crime deterrent and to be used to review cars comings and goings. I have an IT/networking background, and have worked with various CCTV camera systems over the years, and I'd like to design and install a solution, but this is a special challenge. The Mobotix MX-M15D is two cameras in one; you can choose two lens types (wide and narrow, or a low light lens, etc), which would be ideal for getting a wide view, and a narrow view for capturing license plates. These cameras are weatherproof, fully enclosed (no external DVR), record on SD cards, have motion triggers, etc. This is an ideal setup for our application, but the cost is high. Camera: $1,100 2 Lenses: $750 Pole, mount, power, signs: $500 Total: $2,350 Times two entrances = $5,000 (with a little contingency). While this is a nice solution, the neighborhood is looking to spend about half this amount. I'm also a little concerned about hanging a $1,900 camera off of a pole; it's a bit hit if they are vandalized/stolen. Any ideas on a less expensive solution? Requirements are: self contained, streaming not required (it's ok to have to take laptop to camera, or exchange SDCards to access recordings), license plate recognition, reliable.

Thanks, the speed limit is 25, and cars are usually turning in and going about that, or under. Ne'er-do-wells might be going a little faster, so 30? It's a fairly narrow residential road. We'd like to not only get license plates, but general activity as well. I think I'm hearing that it would be best to have two cameras, one with a wide angle view, and an LPR camera to get license plates, but that will probably break the budget for my little HOA.

So, I'm looking at the AXIS P1357-E. It appears to be much sturdier than the MOBOTIX, to thwart off vandals. It has a 5MP sensor with night time (B/W) light sensitivity of 0.04 lux, which will hopefully be enough to record suitable detail at night with just the street lights. The focal length is 2.8 - 8 mm, and the aperture is 1.2. The horizontal field of view is 80 - 32. I'm not sure exactly what all of those numbers mean, but I'm hoping that this camera is capable of capturing license plates on cars. Feedback on this would be appreciated. The cameras will be positioned about 9' high on a pole, very close to the roadway. The ideal distance between the camera and the license plates would be about 35' - 50'.