security camera recomendations home.

How big is the yard? And do they routinely go through the same spot and in the same direction with plate facing a potential camera location?

Reliably capturing plates, especially at night, typically involves a camera costing $1k+ pointed at a very specific area usually no wider than 20 feet or so (meaning it will only see a small portion of a typical yard) and mounted at the proper height and angle. Like on the side of a road or choke points entering/leaving a parking lot where plates are always facing the camera at the same location.

If you just point a regular camera at the yard, maybe you will get lucky every now and then and be able to read a plate if you adjust the exposure, shutter speed, etc just right and if the car stops in the right orientation or moves slowly enough to prevent motion blur.


My recommendation is to add some lighting and a camera or two with the intention of capturing the make/model/color rather than plates specifically. If you catch a plate, great, but at least I'd like to see the car clearly and which direction they came/went if relevant. And if they cause enough damage/trouble hopefully the cops will give enough of a shite to want your footage to maybe cross-ref with other cameras in the area to find a suspect.

I would just plant some cheap flowering plants in the area. That will make it even more attractive to the a-holes. Of course, those plants should be properly supported with a short piece of sharpened rebar driven into the ground. I've also been told that roofing nails are an excellent source of nutrients for those flowering plants.