Whenever you install a security camera, the first question that comes to your mind is, "can security cameras read license plates at night?"
The answer is "it depends on many factors."
Reading license plates at night is one of the most challenging tasks in video surveillance. But it is not an impossible one. It completely depends on the length from which the video footage is taken. For most home security cameras, reading license plates at night from any distance is beyond the remotes.
Generally, a CCTV camera can capture the license plates from more than 35 feet. Still, when you go check the images taken from 35 feet, you may find the pictures blurry or pixelated, and they are useless for identification purposes.
Why is License Plate Recognition so Difficult at Night?
Capturing a video in a nighttime environment can present many challenges. It is tough to charge the vehicle details with your video surveillance system, even when the vehicle is in moving condition.
There are various reasons behind this, such as vehicle speed, camera position, glare, distance from the vehicle, etc. all these factors contribute to blurry images.
Below we have discussed some of the major factors which make license plate recognition so difficult at night. If you also want to make your security camera read a license plate at night, you must go through the points we have shared.
Vehicle Speed
The perfect lens and shutter speed combination can easily capture and freeze any moving vehicle's image.
Those microseconds of clicking images are very important to get the desired results. And you must have known the same fact applies in photography or videography.
If you fail to choose the right combination of lens and shutter speed, you will miss the chance to capture the image and end up getting blurry vision instead.
The alignment of shutter speed and speed of moving vehicles is very important. If the speed of the moving vehicle is more than 20 mph, or we can say the ratio of shutter speed and moving vehicle speed if misaligned, you have to compromise with the image quality.
To get this ratio aligned, you must access the special video camera that adjusts the shutter speed to prevent image blur.
I suggest you go with ProVue 30fps cameras to capture the palates of fast-moving vehicles. This camera has a fast shutter speed and high-resolution lens, making the image clear and static.
Camera position
The second factor is camera position.
The camera's position relative to the trajectory of any vehicle you want to monitor and the record is crucial to successful image capture.
It would be best if you took care of the camera's position. If the camera's placement is at a very extreme angle to the vehicle's direction of travel, your camera will struggle to capture the desired image successfully.
So what will be the best position to place a CCTV camera that can read a license plate at night?
Ideally, the camera's position should be in the area where it can record the vehicle plate that comes towards your location with an angle of fewer than 30 degrees. If the position of your security camera is less than 30 degrees with a vehicle license plate, it will somehow capture a better image.
You can also capture the vehicle license plate vertically. You must check the position prior and set the security camera accordingly. For that, you need to park the vehicle at the required capture location and then check the image from the camera position. If you can easily read the number plate, it will be the best spot and set the camera position accordingly.
Lack of Special Motion Capture Camera
Modern problems require modern solutions, and the same goes for security cameras. You must invest in a special security camera. A normal security camera can capture the vehicle license plate but fails to capture the property's driveway, and the driver's still image.
You may wonder why it is not possible to capture them both, but the answer is quite straightforward. Two different tasks are going there; each of these tasks requires a different angle or field of view, and cameras that capture these additional images require different lenses of different focal lengths.
Your security camera must capture the wide-angle view as well as driveways. For this, A wide-angle view and accessory lens are required. Because the same lens fails to capture the number plate and driver image simultaneously, to capture both incidents in one shot, you need a dedicated camera fitted with the appropriate lenses, including a telephoto lens that can capture crisp, clear images and a motion lens for static images.
The Glare adjuster
Capturing a moving vehicle picture in a night is fraught with inherent difficulties. The security camera must manage a tight balance between low-level lighting conditions in the night sky and bright, often bright light from oncoming car headlights.
This is the quality of the camera to adjust the balance and make it appropriate for security purposes and deliver the best results.
HD cameras available these days can capture great images with a good crisp in daylight, but when it comes to the night capture, the glare from headlights makes them unable to record clear footage. In this case, you must go with specially designed cameras that can identify number plates overnight. These cameras have light-emitting technology that makes them possible to click the best images at night, and you can easily capture license plates at night.
How Can I Choose the Perfect Camera to Read License Plate at Night?
Just consider the following factors, you will be able to read your license plate at night.
Firstly, Install the cameras with Licensed Plate Recognition Technology (LPR). The cameras available with LPR technology have high resolution, the program read and license plate capture capabilities, and strategic placement - all of which must be implemented for proper use by an experienced security professional.
Besides, invest in a camera with a manual zoom lens, and then zoom in or out in the camera field of view until you reach the maximum horizontal distance.
Secondly, check out the distance from the camera to the location where the car number plate image will be captured and adjust your camera accordingly.
