Unsure of which cameras to buy

[hiigaran 0]

Alright, a little backstory:

 

My family owns a large petrol station, and the cameras both inside and out need to be upgraded, along with the computer they are connected to. As the family tech dude, the responsibility for finding a suitable system falls to me, because apparently being good with computers means that you are also a camera expert. Oh well, not a big deal.

 

Problem is, I don't know the first thing about CCTV cameras. CCD vs CMOS, TVL and effective pixels (seriously, what's the difference?), and so on.

 

It is my hope that by outlining what I'm looking for in a camera, I might be able to get a few suggestions from people who know more than I do on the matter. That said, here is what I need:

 

First and foremost, during the winter, it can get as cold as -30C. So far, the lowest operating temperature I've seen on a camera is -20, and I'm looking for something rated for -40 (C and F), just as a bit of a buffer in case we get a colder winter.

 

Being a petrol station, the most important thing that the cameras need to be able to do is to clearly see a car's number plate up to approximately 25 meters away. This is a must during both the day and the night. I think at this stage it's also obvious that the cameras would have to be weatherproof as well.

 

While I don't have any values, I'm on a tight budget, so I need the cameras to be as cheap as possible (I'm more than willing to buy from eBay, and that's probably the route I will take). That said, this is an investment, so I'm also willing to spend more where necessary.

 

My intention is to hook up several such cameras to a Linux computer running DVR software via either ethernet or coax through one of those camera cards. I have no preference either way, since the current surveillance system uses both methods, and as far as I can tell, neither seems better than the other.

 

I would greatly appreciate any help.

[myiicu 0]

If you want quality cctv, stay away from ebay!

 

If you want to capture plates consistently and reliably in day or night, use a Bosch LPR camera.

They have been in the LPR business for years.

 

Here are two great entry level models rated for -30C.

 

Bosch REG-X-816-XE

approx. $600

http://resource.boschsecurity.com/documents/Data_sheet_enUS_1732568587.pdf

 

Bosch VLR-4075-V521

approx. $500

http://resource.boschsecurity.com/documents/VLR_2075_Data_sheet_enUS_11271030539.pdf

 

A choking point is required to slow the vehicle to 50mph or less.

 

The LPR camera should be mounted no more than 5 feet above the ground (lower the better), face the licence plate directly, and be around 20 feet away.

 

You will also still require a colour overview camera to capture other details such as make, model, color etc.

 

Do a search on this forum "LPR" for tons of feedback and reading on the topic.

[hiigaran 0]

Been using eBay for years to get electronics. Nothing wrong with it. You could find a good model of anything at a cheaper price. Granted, you get what you deserve for buying no-name products over the site, but so long as you know your way around it all, it can be just like any other online store.

 

Anyway, you mention LPRs. From a quick forum search, that stands for license plate readers. Does this mean they automatically read the numbers and store them? If so, while handy, I don't think we need something that good. Watching the footage manually works about half the time on our 540 TVL cameras.

 

Also, I'm amazed and frightened that a $600 camera is considered entry level. I think I was expecting something in the $100-$150 range!

[cctvmann 0]

hi there i agree go for good quality equipment and look roudn for recommendations like this on which ive used 9 now and find the camera to be very good quality

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/-/1131342782.html

 

i have 4 on oour house and can get a face or reg zoomed in around 50-100 feet away from camera

statics ive been using hundreds of these

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Genuine-960H-1-3-Sony-CCD-Effio-E-700TVL-36-LEDs-IR-2-8-12mm-Varifocal/1045146511.html

and again have got alot in premises all with very good reviews of clients.

 

our reg plate camera happens to be this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Outdoor-Bullet-Colour-Weatherproof-Covert-CCTV-Camera-4-9mm-vari-560TVL-Exview-/221302347394?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item3386a5d682

and num plates can be caught from end of driveway no probs as you can see day and night, an infrared lamp is mounted on concrete pad round side of lights post out of view

 

power supply i use and have used lots of these for a couple of years to make a neat looking install is

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-9-Channel-CH-CCTV-CCD-10A-Security-Camera-Power-Supply-Box-Free-Shipping-2952/888133647.html

hope this helps

[cctvmann 0]

oh forgot to ask what area are you from ?

[hiigaran 0]

Sweden. Which unfortunately means that prices here are almost twice of those in the US. I think our budget would be around 10 000 SEK, which would be about 1500 USD. I'll need to confirm how many cameras would be needed, though. I'm guessing three that can read plates from afar, but I'm still unsure as to what else would be needed as far as specifics are concerned.

 

Regarding your license plate camera, how far away is the vehicle in that image?

[cctvmann 0]

Sweden. Which unfortunately means that prices here are almost twice of those in the US. I think our budget would be around 10 000 SEK, which would be about 1500 USD. I'll need to confirm how many cameras would be needed, though. I'm guessing three that can read plates from afar, but I'm still unsure as to what else would be needed as far as specifics are concerned.

 

Regarding your license plate camera, how far away is the vehicle in that image?

about the width of a car length id say from camera to plate.

[hiigaran 0]

That would be too short a distance, I'm afraid.

 

I think I'm going to look into those Bosch ones mentioned and continue researching, but in the meantime, I also need suggestions on a DVR card for a computer. I saw the following, and it looks fine to me, but I'll let you folks be the judge of that, along with its quality:

 

http://www.lightinthebox.com/sv/16-kanaler-dvr-videoinspelningskort_p211144.html

 

It says 480 frames per second, which I assume is divided amongst the 16 channels to give each channel 30 FPS. Is my line of thinking correct here? Seems highly unlikely that each camera would have that many FPS.