Need Recommendation for Surveillance Camera

[Harold Square 0]

I need to replace a camera in an existing system that has gone bad. The camera mount position is underneath the eave of a standalone building (a Dr's office), and the purpose is to record and surveil the back parking lot area, which is used mostly by the 10 to 15 employees. Farthest distance from camera to outside boundary of parking lot is about 70 feet.

 

The existing system is a new Zmodo 8 channel H.264 DVR I installed, which replaced a similar system that has gone bad.

 

Research that I've done shows that 1000TVL seems to be the best resolution available, although another article said that the question of resolution is more complex than what narrowing it all down to one single specification can provide.

 

The Business is just outside a well-developed area, and in the past there have been incidents involving break-ins, theft, vandalism etc... and what they would like is a camera that has a high-enough resolution so that a license plate could possibly be read.

 

Research that I've done shows that they make extremely expensive cameras specifically for the purpose of capturing license plate numbers, and these are way outside our budget of about $150 (US).

 

I've found lots of cameras that look like they should work, but the wide price variation has made me wonder if I've missed something critical.

 

I know that we need a BNC camera, rated for outdoors use, with good night vision and the ability to show good detail out to say 50' - 60'. If there is any other information needed, please let me know and thanks in advance.

[intheknow 0]

If you want a high performance, durable workhorse, check out Pelco ES30PC22-2­W Esprit Pressurize­d IOC ...depending on your budget of course. If you are looking for something a little more budget friendly, Samsung has a number of moderately priced units that will serve most scenarios. Cantek and Nuvico also offer similarly priced and preforming options.

[CYANiDE 0]

I need to replace a camera in an existing system that has gone bad. The camera mount position is underneath the eave of a standalone building (a Dr's office), and the purpose is to record and surveil the back parking lot area, which is used mostly by the 10 to 15 employees. Farthest distance from camera to outside boundary of parking lot is about 70 feet.

 

The existing system is a new Zmodo 8 channel H.264 DVR I installed, which replaced a similar system that has gone bad.

 

Research that I've done shows that 1000TVL seems to be the best resolution available, although another article said that the question of resolution is more complex than what narrowing it all down to one single specification can provide.

 

The Business is just outside a well-developed area, and in the past there have been incidents involving break-ins, theft, vandalism etc... and what they would like is a camera that has a high-enough resolution so that a license plate could possibly be read.

 

Research that I've done shows that they make extremely expensive cameras specifically for the purpose of capturing license plate numbers, and these are way outside our budget of about $150 (US).

 

I've found lots of cameras that look like they should work, but the wide price variation has made me wonder if I've missed something critical.

 

I know that we need a BNC camera, rated for outdoors use, with good night vision and the ability to show good detail out to say 50' - 60'. If there is any other information needed, please let me know and thanks in advance.

 

The placement of the camera will determine how well you can capture a plate. Usually cameras with built in IR have a very concentrated beam in the center of the image and can wash out plates. At 60+ feet with regular analog camera, it will still be a bit tough to grab a clear image of a license plate. There are 1000TVL cameras in the ~$100 range that I've used (usually no name brand stuff straight from factories) that are actually great performers in low light but you will see the IR wash out the plates.