Lets review the setup and monitor the theft-Where to improve

[nichepi 0]

So lets discus the setup.

I have custom server with a geovision 8 port card running version 8.3

I have two camera's currently. Installed after one of my vehicles got broken into last year.

Two camera's. Both are PTZ. One is a mini analog and another is a full size analog.

The front has a IR flood lamp monitoring the front of the home.

So last week I caught the what the police considered the area serial car burgler.

Both camera's were purchased off of ebay. the mini I think was around 500 and the full size was about 650.00 Both do 640tvl.

Obviously a majority of the people posting and looking into systems are concerend about this issue right here. Catching soemone in the act but then what can be done to remediate the issue?

 

I took a few snap shots.

 

We can obviously see the individual walking down the street, to the vehicle, vehicle lights turn on and then the individual walks off to the right.

 

So in anaylizing the situation.

Would IP camera's work better in this situation as opposed to the 14" analog?

Does the area need more IR flood?

 

And of course just to be upfront because I'm sure some one will ask. Yes I pressed the wrong button on the door lock before going to bed and most likely unlocked the doors. But from what i can figure the individual which has been terrorising the area last year through a big ass rock through the window of my other truck in order to get to the radio.

 

For comparrison I provided one picture of the backyard. It has a good lower lamp which keeps the camera opperating in color even at night. I also provided a good day time photo from each camera.

 

Might be good case study to have lots of input on.

Edited January 1, 2011 by Guest

[nichepi 0]

The issues I have questions on from the more knowledgeable and seasoned members.

Are these camera's cheap or just not worth the money i paid for them?

Would IP camera's work better in this situation?

IS this one of those scenerios where even the best camera's would not have imporved the front visability?

[thewireguys 3]

IP cameras will not help. HD/Megapixel cameras can but they come at a price and need to good lighting at night time to be effective.

[Soundy 1]

Well your first problem appears to be your resolution: the top images are all (approximately) CIF resolution, which is just too small to do anything with given the wide angle shot; you'd have to zoom the camera in tighter.

 

IP will definitely give you more resolution and clarity, but most cameras also need a lot more light - I'd recommend a motion-activated floodlight rather than IR. The bright light snapping on will often scare away someone who's lurking about; at the very least, the natural instinct is to look for the source of the light, which if it's near the camera means you'll get a great, well-lit, straight-on facial shot.

 

BTW, I'd suggest converting images to JPG before posting them - BMP files are huge and take forever to load over a slow network.

[rory 0]

You need more light whatever camera you go with, either visible or infrared light (visible preferred). and would need a camera for each side of the truck or put it down the center with a wider lens to capture both sides .... PTZ is only useful for live surveillance. Also looks like they might be a little out of focus, or the DVR is compressing them that much - what DVR is being used? If the cameras have a gamma feature turn that down a notch (makes it brighter).

[nichepi 0]

everything is recorded in 720X480, the smaller pics are just how I snapped shot it out.

I will reconvert the pics to jpeg.

I have issues putting more lights out due to the HOA. My HOA thinks security should be the every last thing for the community out side of schrubs and bushes.

Putting more visable light tends to be the issue due to teh HOA. I've looked into a stream of 3Watt IR LED. a wire of these should light up anything.

I was thinkking of relocating teh PTZ higher on teh 4th floor and buying soem static dome megapixil camera's and see how they work out.

[Soundy 1]

You know, some motion-activated floods could be considered a "safety and liability" feature - not a bunch of bright lights on all the time, but just a couple in key areas that only come on when triggered by the presence of a person. After all, someone walking between the cars at night could conceivably trip and injure themselves, thereby opening you up to a lawsuit. If the HOA denies you this SAFETY measure, it could make them liable as well *ahem*.

[mike_va 0]

Your HOA may be different, but ours allows floods.

 

If you go to IR there can be focus issues unless you have the right lenses. I've played around with IR and decided except in a few areas around our house it is not worth the trouble (or expense). We are going to add motion floods to the front for that very reason, i.e. they look at the light when it comes on.

 

Keep in mind you need a certain number of pixels to identify someone, I think it was 80 (on the face) or something like that if you don't know them. This is one area megapixels can help out, otherwise you are zooming in. And then you lose coverage unless you can guarantee they'll go through one spot.

 

But with the megapixels you are still going to need light or it will slow the shutter down and you'll get blur. I've played around with the P1344 and P3344 Axis and they are decent especially once you add a little light.

 

Try looking at B&W cameras with a good lux rating, these can be purchased dirt cheap off ebay. Like $2 a piece sometimes. I've had good luck with Bosch, but there are other brands. Point is with a better lux rating you can use less light, which might help with your HOA also.

[rory 0]

Then perhaps look at Infrared? Visible lighting is normally better though. IR can also white out faces and distort other features, as well as color of clothing is in greyscale.

I agree though a couple motion lights should be okay.

[mike_va 0]

One other thing you might look at is getting little more zoom to cover the truck. You have a nice overview of the street and stuff but if you can't get the resolution why bother?

 

At least this is what we decided, and have progressed from Lorex (which was useless given the model I bought) to better analog's to IP. Obviously each step added cost and we are still playing around. We still use analog's some places, but they are really zoomed and on choke points (probably around 40mm in one spot).

 

My favorite camera right now is the P1344, they are nice to setup too because they have a pixel counter (a little box that represent the number of pixels). But you can also ballpark this since you know your camera resolution etc.

 

They have built in recording but after it fills it stops, so not that useful for me. They also have motion detect which overwrites, but you will likely need some light to get that working well at night.

[Soundy 1]

Then perhaps look at Infrared?

From the first post in the thread:

The front has a IR flood lamp monitoring the front of the home.

[rory 0]

Then perhaps look at Infrared?

From the first post in the thread:

The front has a IR flood lamp monitoring the front of the home.

Then they need to change it for a better one, or 2 even.

[Soundy 1]

Then perhaps look at Infrared?

From the first post in the thread:

The front has a IR flood lamp monitoring the front of the home.

Then they need to change it for a better one, or 2 even.

Or visible light.

[rory 0]

Or visible light.

Yep even better, IR takes alot of work and not the best anyway.

[cglaeser 0]

The way those vehicles are lined up makes this job easy. Use an Optex Redwall SIP-100 long range PIR. These PIRs are bad to the bone. Yes, I know they are pricey, but they are superb at detecting people at long range, even in total darkness. The specifications claim 100 meters, and they are not exaggerating. At the highest sensitivity, the SIP-100 can detect small cats at 100 meters. I dial down the sensitivity so that it detects people at 100 meters and ignores dogs. Add this to your camera setup with a chime. When the chime goes off, check your cameras. When you see the burglar, call the police.

 

Best,

Christopher