Today's recommendation?

[facesnorth]

What's the best camera today for LPR under $300, and preferably cheaper? Wired only is needed, preferably PoE. Low light ideally. The driveway is perhaps 40' in length, and I would like to identify cars pulling into the far end of the driveway if possible.

Can the same camera also write to a database of facial recognition ID's? Ideally something good at both.

If my budget is off, what range should I be looking at?

 

[iwanttosee]

Camera is a precision tool, if you want License Plate Recognition, you can forget overall view and facial recognition.

It sounds like you need three cameras.

 

[bigredfish]

Standard new user mistake. Trying to do too much with one camera.

One camera for LPR, other cameras for other tasks. facial detection and recognition require a dedicated camera and fairly tight scenes to be effective.

On LPR, do you plan on recording to an NVR or VMS?
Generally the 5442 Z4- S3 would be great for 40-60ft license plates, but this is poor mans LPR like most of us do. ie the camera can see the plates but not record OCR to a database. You can manually see each plate a number of ways with an NVR that can A) put hash marks on a timeline for each vehicle, and B) AI created grid of cars identified and view the plates that way.

The forum's favorite seller Empirtech sells it as the B54IR-Z4E. Its a great camera. I have 2 of them.

EmpireTech 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP IR Vari-focal Bullet Network Camera IPC-B54IR-Z4E-S3

4MP 1/1.8" CMOS image sensor Built-in IR LED, the max. illumination distance is 120 m Deep learning algorithm Supports max. 512 GB Micro SD card Built-in MIC IP67 and IK10 protection SMD 3.0

empiretech01.com

Either way, you're going to zoom the camera as shown below and not really see much else. At night especially using IR, you will have a black image with a plate and maybe tail lights



There are more expensive (think in terms of $600- $1000+) cameras that can do LPR and OCR the plates to a database. But you still have the same issue with the view of the camera.
Example

Thread 'Mini-Review - EmpireTech LPR413-Z3'

Apr 2, 2024

Courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY we have a new camera to review!

This time it is the EmpireTech LPR413-Z3 Automated License Plate Reader camera.

It sports a 4MP 1/1.8"CMOS | Focal Length 8mm to 32mm | License Plate Recognition Distance Distance up to 20 m (65.62 ft) | Capture and Recognize License Plates from Vehicles Traveling up to 120 kph (75 mph) | Starlight+ Technology | Dual Illuminators | Supports Intrusion and Loitering Detection | Built-in Mic and Speaker | Open and Close gate | Active Alarm with Red/Blue Lights and Siren or Voice Prompt

The full specs and purchase are...

• wittaj
• Replies: 59
• Forum: LPR

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[facesnorth]

Okay, I thought that may be the case. I haven't fully figured out a plan, yet. I did just buy Blue Iris 6 here on the forum but I haven't set it up yet. I've also got my eye on a few other programs that I see mentioned that I don't have familiarity with yet, like Codeproject.AI (is this a part of Blue Iris?) and Frigate. I can't really do a manufacturer VMS because I already have a variety of cameras. Although I don't really like any of them, to be honest, but I have 7 cameras and can't afford to replace all of them. 5 are end-of-life Axis (M3025-VE and M3005_V) and 2 are Hikvision Fisheye's (DS-2CD63C5G0E-IVS). I have an old Dell T20 with around 8TB in it that I was going to repurpose as an NVR.

I don't mind a few different cameras for this purpose. I have at least 2 locations I can easily aim a camera towards my driveway. I'm happy to support a forum sponsor/seller, but I'd prefer if it weren't rebranded and was just the OEM Dahua model... I also read a strange amazon review about this camera that said some things about how difficult it was to configure if your router isn't already on the .1 subnet, and that it wasn't possible to change the password without it sending packets to some overseas server or something like that. I do take amazon reviews with a grain of salt, though.

So if this is the best one for LPR at that price, which is best for facial recognition? I really did want to keep a database, though. I am not against doing some programming on my own to build the database if it's possible to interact with the cameras programmatically in such a way. I'd prefer this actually over being locked into just what I'm given in the camera GUI or by the NVR software. I appreciate the suggestion on the LPR413-Z3, this may be the direction I need to go then for LPR. This plus something along these lines for facial recognition then is probably what I want, and then I can probably do something cheaper just for general "views."

 

[samplenhold]

I really suggest that you read through the LPR threads. Also check out these LPR posts. While a little dated, they give you some good perspectives.

Thread 'New to LPR? Considerations Before You Begin'

Nov 12, 2020

Thought I would throw together a post on my experiences so far with LPR in an effort to help others that are considering running down that rabbit hole. There are some practical considerations you should know about LPR. I am approaching this from the position of using Blue Iris and Plate Recognizer Snapshot as that is what I have done so far. If you are using an NVR or some other plate OCR, then some of the discussion may not apply to you.


Plate Recognizer (PR) is very easy to set up in Blue Iris (BI). It uses the Alert image from the trigger alert in BI. BI sends that Alert image to PR...

• samplenhold
• Replies: 162
• Forum: LPR

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Thread 'LPR Case Study: Scoping, Planning, Proof of Concept, Installation, & Results'

Jan 1, 2021

Introduction

This thread is about my journey into LPR (License Plate Recognition) after having about 18 months of experience with IP cams and having quite a bit of my system finished. I am not an expert on LPR, or IP cameras either. But I have spent a lot of time working with my system and interacting on IPCAMTALK.

Some things to realize as you read this. I am retired so I have time to not rush the work and I do it all myself. This took almost a year from inception to working cams. Part of the reason is that both my wife and I had some medical issues and both had surgeries during...

• samplenhold
• Replies: 26
• Forum: LPR

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Thread 'Use of Overview and LPR Cams to Document Midnight Vehicle Distributing Offensive Flyers on Lawns'

Sep 3, 2021

We were out of town and I was checking my cams remotely one morning and noticed one of the Deputies that regularly patrol my subdivision had been at my front door. She has come to me a few times requesting video as she knows I have fairly good coverage of the streets at my corner. I noticed that as she walked down my walkway, she stopped and picked up something on my lawn. Since I knew her, I sent an email asking what was up. She replied later in the day that there had been an incident in the neighborhood and wanted to know if I had video from the night before.

I answered her that I was...

• samplenhold
• Replies: 8
• Forum: Camera Captures

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Thread 'The Trouble with Getting Into LPR'

Oct 30, 2020

I have been into cams as a hobby now for a little over two years. I originally had hoped to do LPR, but as time went by I thought it would never happen, mostly due to where could I put cams and how to get cable to them.

But then COVID hit and I found I had a lot of time on my hands just sitting around on my ass on the front porch. Which got me to thinking about LPR again. So I made a plan and tested multiple ideas. Finally bought the cams, built the box and installed them. Got everything hooked up this past Tuesday. Thanks to all of the folks that came before me and did the hard lifting...

• samplenhold
• Replies: 6
• Forum: LPR

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• 

 

[facesnorth]

I did spend a couple of hours reading posts, mostly in that forum, before I made my own post. As well as a couple hours researching posts from other sources on OpenALPR and Plate Recognizer. But it's easy for me to spend hours, months, even years reading, without really doing anything. So I wanted to have a quick conversation here and get a camera to start playing around with some of these things. But I'll have a look at the quoted posts.

 

[wittaj]

Plus one to all above.

Keep in mind that the ANPR camera (that can actually read plates) requires a capable NVR to store/log the plates and many have found it is tough to get that data into another format.

With a camera like the Z4E that you can manually read plates, you could use a 3rd party reader like OpenALPR to do the reading and use the utility a member wrote here to log the plates in a database. Or since you bought BI, use it with CodeProject to read the plates and the utility a member created here to log the plates in a database.

You could get two Z4E and dial one in for plates and the other for faces. BI has facial recognition, as do many of the NVRs.


Empiretech cameras sold by member here Andy are Dahua OEM made by Dahua. Depending on where you live, that could be savings of two to five times the amount. That is a steep price to pay just for the logo. I paint my cameras to match the house, so the logo isn't even seen.

Andy's cameras are Dahua OEM equipment sold under the names Loryta and Empiretech. He also supplies them to the ipcamtalk store.

Some of my cameras I have bought from Andy from his Amazon store come as Dahua cams in Dahua boxes with Dahua logos, and some are not logo'd - I think it depends on how many cameras Andy buys if he gets them with the Dahua Logo or not. But regardless, they are Dahua units. If you get a unit that has Dahua on it, then the camera GUI will say Dahua; otherwise it will simply say IP Camera but looks identical except without the logo. Some of his cameras may come with EmpireTech stamped on them as well.

His cameras and NVRs are international models and many of them are not available through Dahua USA authorized dealers, but his cameras and NVRs are usually better than what you can find from a USA authorized dealer.

You can update the firmware on Andy's cameras and NVRs from the Dahua website, thus proving they are real Dahua. But you will find that the firmware we get from him is actually better and more recent than what is on the Dahua website because many members here provide feedback to Andy and then Dahua makes modifications to the firmware and sends back to him and then he sends out to his customers. These have been great improvements that Dahua doesn't even update their firmware and add to their website. So many of us are running a newer firmware than those that purchase Dahua cameras through professional installers. Smart IR on the 5442 series is one such improvement. Autotracking on the 49225 and 49425 PTZ is another. We got the next version of AI SMD 3.0 prior to anyone else as well.

Look at the threads here where members are actually testing firmware and improving it for Dahua - find a Dahua dealer with that type of relationship that Andy has with Dahua - I don't think you will find it. Look at the Dahua 4k camera on the 1/1.2" sensor as an example - Dahua provides cameras to Andy to sell before Dahua even made it available and look at all the improvements being made to the firmware from input from customers right here on this site. And the kicker is, we are not Dahua's target market - it is the professional installers...

 

[facesnorth]

Okay, that clears up a lot of my misgivings about the rebranded equipment, and if anything it appears to be a plus rather than a negative. So either 5442 Z4- S3 or LPR413-Z3 sound like they would work well for both LPR and facial ID (just need one for each purpose). And it seems like I can make this all work using Blue Iris and CodeProject.AI. Is there another camera that is recommended for general views around the house? Not tweaking towards facial ID or anything like that, but clear enough to "human" identify if needed, and also good in low light. Thanks.

 

[bigredfish]

Whether either of those would be good for human recognition and good facial detection would depend on the scene and distance from camera to target.
Neither is my first thought when considering FD.

Now if you want FD at a similar distance and lighted scene as the car tags, then yeah the Z4 would be on the list. But at a front door for example it would not

 

[RJM_50]

The 5442-Z4-S3 is in that price range and is 99% licence plate capture rate when mounted in the right location for LPR (not on the house down the driveway). Facial Recognition too, now you're asking too much from a single camera, and likely need to research about the DORI philosophy before setting up more cameras.
DORI: Which stands for: Detection, Observation, Recognition & Identification:

• Detection: a camera that can reliably send notifications an event is occurring near your property, you need to know when a person or vehicle might be trespassing. This isn't your first priority with residential security cameras to be looking hundreds of yards(meters) away. At this distance, they could be on a public road and "bad intentions" is not a crime until they act on their ideas. Mounting options could be a wide angle weather camera that captures the entire roadway or fence-line, and for long driveways an optical zoom camera on the house or burying a PoE network cable to a decorative lamp-post near the roadway with a camera.
• Observation: a live camera view that can provide generalized information. How many individuals or vehicles are there, what direction they are going, and ideally a general idea when those trespassing individuals are now vandalizing property. You might want to get a residential security camera for this purpose after you have better close range protection. Trespassing is barely a misdemeanor if they have a prior record, and in a residential area it's likely kids sneaking home or out at night, not a real crime.
• Recognition: a camera that has adequate quality footage to show generic details from any individual(s) on your property. Using prior knowledge you should be able to determine if they are acquaintance you recognize borrowing a garden tool or unknown individuals that are vandalizing property. Most cheap residential security cameras installed poorly are only good for this DORI category.
• Identification: a camera that can positively identify an individual beyond a reasonable doubt for Law Enforcement and in a Court of Law. These cameras would be recording anyone who continues closer than 10ft towards any door or windows of your home. At that close distance these individuals are now a direct threat that could attempt breaking & entering into your home. These cameras should be your first residential priority to keep bad guys away and identify anything that occurs. But it requires more work than just a single cheap residential doorbell camera, it doesn't have to use advanced facial recognition but it would fall into this DORI category.
• LPR Identification: Yes this would fall in the Identification DORI category, but not looking towards the protected structure with occupants. Attempting to capture licence plate recognition will require specialized cameras with the settings changed that will no longer be useful for general viewing, and in unique mounting locations out in the Detection category near the roadway.

 

[Flintstone61]

5442 z4 doing its thing. happy accident on face detection. its a dedicated LPR cam. The fact that it captures bikes and dog walkers is ok. but of course at night it captures Jack Squat except plates.
if you screw up the "schedule" day to night setting you can miss plates at sunset/sunrise. Best to keep it in B&W at Night settings, 1/2 past sunrise. Like I DIDN"T DAMMIT. Somehow i bumped the schedule to a 7 o'clock Night time setting and missed a bunch of plates. ( see last photo)

 

[Flintstone61]

Here is BI 6 with built in AI, but I'm using IVS inside the camera for people and cars, but I'm doubling down and using the AI tab in Blue iris as well. One of them is drawing the people/car icon in the Alerts windows.