# Camera Positioning

### Camera placement and angle recommendations

When setting up your camera, try to capture the license plate at as direct an angle as possible. Accuracy degrades beyond a 30° horizontal or vertical angle. If possible, mount the camera high enough and angle it slightly downward to avoid direct headlight/taillight glare.

Using a longer-range camera lens (zoomed-in) to narrow the field of view is one way to reduce the angle. For example, pointing a zoomed-in camera parallel to the road will provide better results than aiming a wider-angle lens more perpendicularly.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Choose angle and height

* Capture the plate as close to a direct (perpendicular) view as possible.
* Prefer mounting the camera high and angled slightly downward to:
  * Reduce direct headlight/taillight glare
  * Reduce solar/roof/hood/boot glare
* Try to keep capture angles less than 30° for best accuracy; up to 40° is acceptable but performance degrades as angle increases.
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Select lens / field of view

* Use a longer-range (zoom) lens to reduce the horizontal/vertical angle to the plate.
* A zoomed-in camera pointed parallel to the road usually outperforms a wider-angle camera pointed more perpendicularly.
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Ensure enough pixels on target

* Mount the camera at a maximum range of 40 pixels per foot (131 pixels per meter).
  * Calculation: horizontal camera resolution ÷ 40 = maximum distance in feet
  * Or horizontal camera resolution ÷ 131 = maximum distance in meters
* Use the camera’s pixel counter (see Focus & Zoom settings) to verify:
  * At least 100 horizontal pixels for USA plates (150 for EU)
  * At least 80 vertical pixels on the plate
    {% endstep %}
    {% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Keep the capture angle less than 40° horizontally and vertically — the smaller the angle, the better the results.
{% endhint %}

### Illustrations

![Mount the camera high and angled slightly downward to avoid glare](https://content.gitbook.com/content/Exr5RmSsIypa7hIm1B9c/blobs/b5egkbbc4H4bKjUZVenA/image)

![Maximum Vertical Angle](https://content.gitbook.com/content/Exr5RmSsIypa7hIm1B9c/blobs/Qg6y84qZapZ5oFGWQ6Co/image)

![Maximum Horizontal Angle](https://content.gitbook.com/content/Exr5RmSsIypa7hIm1B9c/blobs/PcBJnp6JjyZyvhlSXm5c/image)

![Ideal Horizontal Angle](https://content.gitbook.com/content/Exr5RmSsIypa7hIm1B9c/blobs/s6Lz6sL7BJ7MqQM7SHBm/image)

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