Dash cam for license plate reading from far away?

double_pedal

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Hello all,

I currently have a DR650GW-2CH. The picture is good and it has 2 cameras.
However somehow I felt something is still missing because I can only read license plate when the car in front is pretty close.

Today I came across this: (sorry this site is in Chinese only)
http://www.car-dvr.com.hk/product_video.php
It is a multi-camera dash cam system produced by a company in Hong Kong.
You can see from the photo there is a camera that is zoomed to quite far away and is able to read license plate far away easily.

However I read from the site it seems it is only selling in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the UK.
Does anyone know if there is any similar product available in the US?
 
Is that any better than a mini 0806?

9098978_orig.jpg

http://www.mini0806.com/2/post/2014/11/november-19th-2014.html

OK, that is a single channel camera so you would need two, but then you would have good resolution front and back instead of decent at front and low resolution at the back.

I think Hong Kong plates are the same size as UK plates, much easier to read than USA plates.
 
For that purpose, you need something like this ;)
By the time you have magnified the image that much there is so little light left that the motion blur is terrible making plates unreadable even in full sunlight.

Plus when you mount the camera behind the rear view mirror, it is very difficult to drill a hole in a laminated windscreen in order to stick the lens through!
 
Is that any better than a mini 0806?

9098978_orig.jpg

http://www.mini0806.com/2/post/2014/11/november-19th-2014.html

OK, that is a single channel camera so you would need two, but then you would have good resolution front and back instead of decent at front and low resolution at the back.

I think Hong Kong plates are the same size as UK plates, much easier to read than USA plates.

I think that "Hawkeye Witness X8" is clearer than the picture you posted. I can see from the product page the license plate is still very clear for car from 3~4 car length.
I also saw some video in Taiwan (where the license plates look similar to US plates) and the results are good too.


By the time you have magnified the image that much there is so little light left that the motion blur is terrible making plates unreadable even in full sunlight.

Plus when you mount the camera behind the rear view mirror, it is very difficult to drill a hole in a laminated windscreen in order to stick the lens through!

I thought of attaching some 8x zoom lens for smart phone to a dashcam and mount it in the grill. But that means I need to do something to waterproof it...
 
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I can't help feeling all's not right with that advert. One system shows 4 cams, the 'zoomed' cam on the truck seems to have lit up the plate quite well (compared to the non-zoomed) Strange.
The 8 cam system on the taxi shows a different date/time stamp overlay (would they not use the same date/time) but also, the reflections across the back of the taxi look completely different.
 
I can't help feeling all's not right with that advert. One system shows 4 cams, the 'zoomed' cam on the truck seems to have lit up the plate quite well (compared to the non-zoomed) Strange.
The 8 cam system on the taxi shows a different date/time stamp overlay (would they not use the same date/time) but also, the reflections across the back of the taxi look completely different.
I'm always suspicious of manufacturer's claims and try to get independent verification/confirmation.
 
UK and other countries non-white background numberplates are easier to read / record at night than plates with white background.
 
headlights tend to be at the same level as rear plates for majority of vehicles. The reflective background of the plates also means that the headlights 'light up' a rear plate but this has a tendancy to 'whiteout' the plate
 
As an economy move, my state no longer has reflective paint on it's newer plates, and with the various 'vanity' plates, plain B&W truck plates, and older reflective plates not yet expired there will always be some harder to capture than others day or night regardless. Quite a few plates are stolen so their numbers are a dead end anyway. If you want that much clarity on an all-the-time basis it's going to cost more than most of us will spend on dashcams. Nice if you can get it, but maybe not as necessary as it may seem to be for the average dashcam owner.

BTW, drilling the windshield for the extended lens takes too long- I use a sledgehammer instead.

Phil
 
I use a shaped charge, just have to make sure all doors and windows are open before i blast.
 
I use a shaped charge, just have to make sure all doors and windows are open before i blast.
Do you blast from the inside out, or the outside in?
 
In/out, just dont do along a curb where other is parked or you will ventilate several cars :)
 
I do hope NSA have a good irony detedtor, otherwise i am screwed and on the no fly list :(
 
Sorry to bring this thread back to life, I just figured I didn't need a new thread, but wanted to share my findings.

I've been happy with my Mobius, however with the reflective plates it's been hard to see them even when right up close. I drive a Prius that has LED daytime lights so while stopped I turned them on vs. headlights to see if there was a difference. Here are my findings:

Lights On.jpg

Daytime Lights.jpg

I did it again while stopped at a light with a plate from out of state:

lights on2.jpg

daytime.jpg

The pictures didn't save the best, they look better on the original video and then of course I can zoom. One thing I wish I had thought to try was to turn my lights off completely while downtown. Obviously there are many factors and combinations of things to try, but I was pleased to find out that I could do this.
 
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