IP Project Camera: Hikvision DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZS/P (2MP, 2.8-12mm MOTOZOOM, 0.0027 lx, IR up to 50m, WDR (120dB), LPR, IP67)

View of the camera

View of the connectors

View of the sticker and microSD card slot

The included accessories

The Hikvision DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZS/P professional compact IP camera belongs to the Darkfighter series and is dedicated for systems with license plate recognition (LPR). The high sensitivity of 0.0027 lx in color mode is the result of using large image sensor, 1/1.8" Progressive Scan CMOS, and advanced image processing functions. The Hikvision DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZS/P IP camera provides images with 2 MP resolution at 50 fps frame rate. The increased frame rate is helpful in monitoring very dynamic environments. Additionally, hardware wide dynamic range (WDR) with the depth of 120 dB ensures excellent visibility of details in dark and bright parts of the image. The camera is equipped with 2.8-12 mm motozoom lens with auto-focus, which allows for remote and quick adjustment of the viewing angle.

The DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZS/P camera is dedicated for systems with license plate recognition (LPR) of vehicles moving at speeds up to 120 km/h. The identification can be set for 4 traffic lanes, but it is recommended to use it for 1 or 2 lanes. There can be imported a list of number plates divided into two categories: White list and Black list. The recognition of a vehicle with the number plate contained on one of the list can be linked with triggering an available alarm event: notification of the monitoring center, saving a photo on memory card or sending it to FTP or NAS server. If the vehicle is not on any of the lists, it will simply be registered. The camera can operate in an autonomous way, but much greater functionality is available in combination with an NVR. The recommended IP NVRs for LPR systems are those from Hikvision K and I series. In the case of LPR systems based on the camera and an NVR, the list of license plates can be imported directly to the NVR. Both in the case of the camera and NVR the capacity of the list of imported license plate numbers is limited to 2048 items. In addition to the "white and black" list, there is a tab where the administrator can configure triggering of an alarm event for cars not listed. The range of alarm events that can be triggered from the NVR level includes: full screen preview, audible warning, alarm in the monitoring center, email notification, activation of any alarm output available in the system. The NVR also provides submenu dedicated for searching license plates enabling quick and easy finding of interesting number plates, displaying recorded pictures and and accompanying video files.

Recognition of license plates with the use of an IP NVR

License plate recognition (LPR) systems - part 1: Camera positioning contains basic information about camera mounting, viewing angles and calculation of the required number of pixels per license plate at a given distance. Based on it, the user can make calculations for a camera with any size of image sensor and resolution and properly select the focal length of the lens.

The camera provides H.264+, H.264, MPEG4 and MJPEG video compression options. The H.264+ algorithm is based on H.264 compression, but optimized for video surveillance. The results are very good, ensuring reduction of the data streams by 50-70%, while maintaining the same image quality compared with the H.264 codec. Three available video streams allow the user to configure the system in a convenient way, depending on the needs. The user can setup up to 4 ROIs (regions of interest). The video data from the ROIs is transmitted with lower compression ratio guarantying more detail without a significant increase of the total bandwidth.

A number of features can improve image quality in difficult conditions:

Applications for the management and operation of CCTV systems based on Hikvision devices article provides an overview of applications dedicated for installers and users of Hikvision-based video surveillance systems.

Main window of SADP application

SADP (Search Active Device Protocol) is a free and simple to use utility for searching Hikvision IP cameras and Hikvision DVRs/NVRs in the local network. The network device search tool can also be used for modification of network parameters of the Hikvision devices, including the change of passwords or recovery of default passwords. Detailed information on the software and its use is contained in the SADP application - LAN tool for organizing CCTV systems based on Hikvision devices article.