Capturing car tags at 50 MPH or less

[mrdquick]

I drive a school bus and my job requires that I record the license plates only, no driver plates or anything of that nature, and report them on a State Department of Education log sheet for statistical information. No fines or like that are issued unless an officer is present.

My question is what kind of equipment do I need to capture such a moving image. I have a Sony Handycam something or other with a windshield suction cup mount (high quality) that I use for storm spotting and that nature.

I usually just aim the camera out the left side window so I don't have to watch the cars but just the kids when then are getting on and off the bus.


I've taken the bus out and parked on the side of the road and aimed it at the oppossing lanes of traffic and put it into manual focus. But when I review it on the computer it's just a tad bit blurry. Any suggestions of what equipment that is in an affordable price range I might need or I might make changes to my current setup?

Thanks,

Daniel

[another view]

That's quite a challenge. An autofocus SLR in the right focus mode ("C" for Nikon) can handle this pretty easily - but all of your attention and both hands would be on the camera.

On the other hand, how sharp does the image need to be? Just enough to tell what the number is (beyond the shadow of a doubt? ;))?

If that's the case, then some of the better compacts still might do a good job. Here's why: These cameras have short focal lengths. My Nikon Coolpix 5000 has a focal length of about 7-21mm. It's a 28-80 equivalent, but the way optics work a lens that short has a lot of depth of field. Bottom line, as long as the focus is close enough, you'll get the number. Cars move in predictable motion, it's a lot easier to shoot them than something like a football player from the sidelines.

I'll keep all this in mind next time I'm in OK...

[mrdquick]

I received an email yesterday, thanks for asking - always nice to stay informed, about what exactly the cars are doing to warrant their license plates / tags to be captured on film.

State Law in Oklahoma required that all vehicles appraching a school bus, except on a divided highway - physical median in between opposing lanes of traffic - stop their vehicles at least 20 feet from the front or rear of the bus and equal distance ffrom the left and right sides until the red loading lights have been turned off or in some counties, off and the bus begins it's travel in which ever direction it's going.

I sought the camera solution due to the fact that our main priority is the safety of the children, so while I'm managing kids, the camera can do the rest of the work for me....

This is the origin of the first composed post.

[another view]

Basically the same as Illinois, and with good reason. I'm sure you don't want the distraction of a camera with other things to think about - if you can get something readable, even if not perfectly sharp, I would think that would serve the purpose.