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NEED HELP - CCTV Camera needed for casino

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Im lookin for a camera where i can see an entire poker table and be able to see the cards properly on the table, without goin IP. what can i used, oh and it most be a dome.

 

the last camera i tested was a 1/3"ccd 3-5 -12mm varifocal lens

 

should i go with a larger mm, like a 9-22mm? or if i use that will lose more of the table????

 

HELP PLEASE

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Sorry to say, but you'll have a really hard time finding anything analog that's going to cover the WHOLE table in one shot and still allow you to *clearly* identify all the cards. All a longer lens will do is give you a tighter shot and cut out part of the table.

 

Now, you could use a PTZ to zoom closer (tight on each table position) and then scan around the table. Or you could try a high-quality, high-res standard camera with a "megapixel" lens for some extra sharpness, it MAY provide enough detail.

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What is the distance from the camera to the table? Our Blackjack tables are typically 6'4" in wide and the surface is 36" from the floor. Our poker tables are approximately 10' by 5' and 30" height.

 

For a 10 foot ceiling height, the lens on a 1/3" camera needs to be approximately 6mm for a blackjack table. We use a 2.8-12 varifocal lens. For the poker tables and a 10' ceiling height the lens needs to be approximately 4.5mm, so we can use the same 2.8-12mm lens. If the ceiling height on the poker table were 8', it would need approximately 2.4mm lens, so we would use a 1.8-3.6mm lens.

 

We use Computar lenses exclusively. 1.8-3.6mm is model number T2Z1816CS (manual iris). 2.8-12mm is model number T4Z2813CS, although they might be discontinued. You could substitute the infrared version: T4Z2813CS-IR.

 

And yes, I agree. A single analog camera on even the smaller blackjack table will have trouble identifying the suits of cards or differentiating a Jack from a King, for instance. Smaller card values are identified by counting the "pips". The problem gets worse on the larger poker tables.

 

Table game cameras have to have defeatable AGC because it needs to be turned "off" or the cards become unidentifiable. We typically use Pelco C10CH-6 cameras in DF-5 back boxes although we are going to try Ikegami ISD-A30 domes. Most domes we have tried have non-defeatable AGC, which limits their use for table games. That includes Sony, Panasonic, Ganz and many other integrated domes.

 

You also have to be careful of the lighting. We typically place the camera directly over the player opposite the dealer so that we can see the dealer's hands and the chips. The lights should be on the same side of the table as the camera so that they don't reflect off the cards back into the camera. When they do reflect, it basically washes out the cards; making it impossible to identify them.

 

I hope that helps.

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