Assistance using CHDK to photograph vandals!

jmahon

1

« on: 24 / June / 2012, 07:32:13 »

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I everyone, I hope this is the correct subforum!

I have used CHDK before for timelapses and some other bits and bobs, so I am not quite a noob, but by no means an expert either!

My grandparents car (and other cars) have been repeatedly vandalised. The police are pretty much useless, but I figure if I can get a picture of these people to report then it may help things along a bit.

I have an S3 IS, and a mains adapter. I was hoping I could set the camera up in a window, zoomed in at the car (12x optical should help!) with some sort of motion detector script. There seem to be quite a few scripts around, and I am not sure which would be best/easiest to set up.

Some of the vandalism has happened during the day, some during the night. Would my camera be alright running for a couple of days straight? Also, would the day/night cycle throw off the motion detection?

Sorry if there are lots of questions! I am worried about the safety of my grandparents, and just want to get these scumbags caught! Many thanks in advance!

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oronocova

40

Re: Assistance using CHDK to photograph vandals!

« Reply #1 on: 24 / June / 2012, 08:41:14 »

I have used the fast motion script. I used it all day on a feeder designed for -squirrels- here are the results :-/
"Squirrel" Corn Feeder

It seems to capture pretty well. I would turn off the picture review. You might be able to combine the script with putting the camera in burst mode so it takes a few shots at a time (not sure how your camera is set up.) (I think this would be most useful so if you could set it to take XX pictures it would start when it first saw motion and keep taking pics, then start looking for motion again.)

Not sure about the changing from day to night deal... as I understand it the motion detection scripts in general work off what you see on the LCD so at night it will be harder for it to "see" anything so it might not work as well/at all.

If you have some money to play with and can put the camera closer this would maybe work:

http://www.amazon.com/Primos-Hunting-Truth-Blackout-Camera/dp/B004R1FKDA
or this:
http://www.cabelas.com/trail-cameras-accessories-primos-truth-cam-blackout-trail-camera.shtml?WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleBaseUSA&WT.z_mc_id1=1229739&rid=40&mr:trackingCode=5D3BFFB0-5EA4-E011-9A77-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA

I have one that does not have the blacked out IR film, you can see the LEDs glowing red. This one has the ability to be pretty undetectable if you conceal it well. They are fun to play with even if you don't hunt...

Hope you can catch them!

« Last Edit: 24 / June / 2012, 08:47:29 by oronocova »

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reyalp

14079

Re: Assistance using CHDK to photograph vandals!

« Reply #2 on: 24 / June / 2012, 16:45:33 »

Quote from: jmahon on 24 / June / 2012, 07:32:13

Some of the vandalism has happened during the day, some during the night. Would my camera be alright running for a couple of days straight? Also, would the day/night cycle throw off the motion detection?

If you have a mains adapter, should be fine for days on end. It's possible the camera will crash, but that just means that you don't get the photos.

If there aren't any streetlights etc, it probably won't work at night. Depending on the settings, sensor noise at night might trigger the motion detector.

While CHDK might do what you want, it should also be pointed out that you can get purpose built security camera systems pretty cheap these days. They will probably be more reliable, and many are setup to work at night. CHDK may give you better resolution to identify the suspects.

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