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Show HN: Security Camera Lens Calculator

by maxshm on 11/29/21, 3:40 PM with 49 comments

  • by maxshm on 11/29/21, 8:18 PM

    We created Security Camera Lens Calculator with 3D graphics(WebGL) and a built-in camera database.

    https://www.jvsg.com/calculators/cctv-lens-calculator/

    It is a web app (Javascript+React) that runs in a browswer or on a tablet or a smartphone.

    It took our team more than 1 year to complete the calculator.

    Calculator functions:

    - calculate pixel density (PPM/PPF)

    - clearly see dead zones in 3D

    - check DORI zones (detection, observation, recognition, identification) based on pixel density calculations and IEC and EN 62676 standard.

    - calculate lens focal length

    - load a floor map to see camera coverage on your plan

    - over 9,000 video surveillance camera models embedded in the CCTV Lens Calculator.

    - 12 languages supported.

    Today we launched our Security Camera Lens Calculator also on ProductHunt.

    We would love to get some feedback. Particularly from people using it to solve real world problems.

  • by GistNoesis on 11/29/21, 6:49 PM

    The link https://www.jvsg.com/online/ redirect to https://www.jvsg.com/calculators/cctv-lens-calculator/ which doesn't have all the functionality of your whole software https://www.jvsg.com/

    The following is commentary for the web app cctv-lens-calculator (not the whole software).

    For face recognition applications, taking the picture from a camera too high make the face harder to recognize (even more so when people look down); (And the portrait of the person doesn't show the rotation).

    Some camera have both horizontal rotation and vertical rotation, and depending on whether you mount it on the wall or on the ceiling, and the camera model (and their axis-rotation order), the field of view and the up vector may not be up.

    Add affiliate links to buy the chosen camera model.

    Add multiple cameras and their respective field of view to check for blind spots.

    Allow loading sketch-up or 3d model of the building (I couldn't find how to "load a floor map to see camera coverage on your plan" )

    Bug : Clicking on the "Meter" button scale the person up indefinitely.

  • by buro9 on 11/29/21, 4:59 PM

    I like it and immediately see a secondary use-case... the purchase of cameras and lenses for home broadcast studios and the upper end of vloggers and video conferencing.

    Meaning... OK, so you're going with a Sony and you want a prime lens and you'll be x distance from the camera and want to be frame with head and shoulders... which prime lens is the one you should choose?

    For a single camera + lens you'd probably experiment and a shop can rent you variations. But as soon as you're into the "I'm setting up a home studio and need several cameras" then you'd want to spend less time experimenting and get closer to the final configuration on the first pass, i.e. to use a tool to help get it right first time.

  • by azalemeth on 11/29/21, 4:44 PM

    Very shiny. I've never bought a CCTV camera in my life, but I understood everything intuitively. I didn't see how to change the scene beyond adding the woman / car, but it was enough to make things clear. The only minor comment I have is a cultural one – I got a pang of annoyance seeing the flag of the USA by "English" as a language!
  • by jaclaz on 11/29/21, 4:52 PM

    About the Italian version:

    >Calcolare la lunghezza focale dell obiettivo della fotocamera, la densità dei pixel e vedere le zone della fotocamera in 3D

    In actual Italian that would be:

    Calcolo della lunghezza focale dell'obiettivo della fotocamera, della densità dei pixel e visualizzazione 3d delle zone di copertura

    The current one is understandable, but sounds a bit like native americans talk in old westerns.

    And - if I may - you have colours "reversed", I would instinctively expect green to be "good, OK", red "No good", yellow something midway.

  • by bmcahren on 11/29/21, 5:19 PM

    Your color scheme is the opposite of what I would expect.

    Worst resolution = Red/Orange

    Acceptable resolution = Yellow

    Best resolution = Green/Blue

  • by scottlamb on 11/29/21, 8:39 PM

    Neat tool!

    Since this discussion is attracting IP camera-savvy folks...I'm struggling to find cameras to buy/recommend. In particular, ones that:

    * Aren't made by the big Chinese companies (Dahua, Hikvision, Uniview, Huawei) that are actively participating in the Uyghur genocide [1] and/or are considered a security threat by the US. (Most of those are banned for US government installations by the National Defense Authorization Act [2]; future models won't get FCC approval for private use either, according to the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 [3].)

    * Support direct RTSP use rather than require a fast/reliable Internet connection and/or proprietary cloud service subscription. (This excludes eg the Nest and Ring stuff, as far as I can tell.)

    * Are reasonably priced, although not necessarily as cheap as the Chinese vendors.

    * Have decent night image quality. I'd be thrilled to find a model with the larger 1/1.8" sensors.

    I know I should renew my IPVM subscription and see what they say. I'd love to find (other) quality review sites or forums that aren't super invested in Dahua/Hikvision (like ipcamtalk seems to be).

    [1] eg https://ipvm.com/reports/dahua-uyghur-warning

    [2] https://ipvm.com/reports/ndaa-guide

    [3] https://www.cepro.com/security/senate-passes-secure-equipmen...

  • by mtmail on 11/29/21, 3:41 PM

  • by daenz on 11/29/21, 6:27 PM

    Super cool! I've built something similar and adhoc for an art piece[0] that used cameras. It used a thermal camera which has fixed focal length (due to the optics of heat (technically not accurate, you can do variable focal length for thermal but it's way expensive)), and so knowing exactly what I was going to see was critical before dropping a few grand on the camera. A tool like this would have been super useful!

    One small bit of feedback, the installation height doesn't impact the rendered person. I was expecting the rendered person to be a 3D model that was rasterized into the target resolution, but when I put the camera nearly overhead, it doesn't show primarily the top of the model's head, it still shows a mostly frontal view.

    0. https://www.arwmoffat.com/work/dawn-of-an-old-age

  • by maxshm on 11/29/21, 5:13 PM

    More screenshots on our ProductHunt page: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/security-camera-lens-calcu...
  • by CTDOCodebases on 11/30/21, 5:25 AM

    Very cool. So often I see poorly positioned CCTV cameras that are effectively useless because the installer has not considered blind spots.
  • by pseudosavant on 11/29/21, 9:57 PM

    I don't currently have a use for this, but it is still very impressive. Incredible amount of complexity exposed with an easy to use UI. I especially liked the mug shot on the right illustrating the level of resolution you'll get. I will definitely use this the next time I'm shopping for a security camera.
  • by Gys on 11/29/21, 4:34 PM

    Interesting concept. A few days ago I bought an outside camera and seems I choose well for my use case.

    One thing: the left side menu is not scrollable but should be? On my MacBook Pro with Firefox 94.0.2 I see 'FOV Width' at the left bottom and I assume there is an input field below it, but I cannot see it.

  • by sirmoveon on 11/29/21, 5:40 PM

    I tried to use it but it didn't seem as user friendly as the one @calculator.ipvm.com which I have used before. Maybe take some ideas from their interface.
  • by fennecfoxen on 11/29/21, 4:51 PM

    If I try to use the mouse to scroll, it zooms out, which is 100% acceptable and fine, except if I zoom out too far I see the scene upside down, which is funny.
  • by emmelaich on 11/30/21, 3:45 AM

    The FOV/distance from camera at the bottom is not reachable on a 11" screen. (Mac air 11", chrome)
  • by linux_is_nice on 11/29/21, 6:42 PM

    Heh, setting "distance from camera" to zero causes it to error.
  • by kingcharles on 11/30/21, 1:50 AM

    Can you add Amazon/Ring/Blink camera specs? :)
  • by atum47 on 11/29/21, 11:21 PM

    Congratulations on the launch.