Monitoring a Petrol Station: Which Camera, Which Height, Which Distance

The task: determining the vehicle type

DIN EN IEC 62676-4:2026-10 gives as an example for the level Characterise to determine vehicle type and category. For that the image needs at least 250 px/m. This is the task this page works out: you can tell whether a car, a van or a lorry stands at the pump.

The licence plate needs twice the pixel density, 500 px/m. That is a different case and not calculated here. It is covered on the page about the driveway.

The set-up in the 3D scene

The “Petrol station” scene in cctvfinder shows two pumps on an island under a canopy, with a shop and a price pylon next to them. The vehicle stands at the pump with its rear towards the camera. The area to be covered is 3 m wide, about one vehicle with a little margin. The canopy is translucent so that it does not block the view into the scene. Distance, height and width can be changed, and the pixel density at the target is shown right next to them.

The width of the image sets the pixel density

Pixel density is the number of pixels across the image divided by the width the image shows at the target. If the image shows exactly the 3 m, the result is at most as large as in the table. That is the best case.

For 250 px/m Full HD is therefore enough if the image fills the vehicle suitably. Vehicles do not always stand in the middle at the pump. Anyone planning with 4 m width has more room and is still at 480 px/m with Full HD. How field of view and focal length relate is covered in a separate article.

Distance and tilt angle: at most 13°

DIN EN IEC 62676-4:2026-10 allows the camera a tilt of at most 13°, measured from the camera down to the target. The tool calculates with a target height of 1.6 m. Anyone who fixes the camera to the canopy or a post usually hangs it close to the pump, and that makes the angle steep.

A camera at 3.5 m height must therefore be at least 8.3 m from the vehicle for the limit to be met. The tool shows a warning as soon as 13° is exceeded. More in the article on mounting height.

At night: light under the canopy, dark behind it

A petrol station runs around the clock. Under the canopy it is bright, the yard behind it is often much darker. When both are in the same image, some cameras struggle to render both areas well. That cannot be calculated from the data sheet, so a test at night is part of the job. Pixel density alone says nothing about it.

The scene’s night mode shows how the light under the canopy affects the image. How lighting and colour temperature affect the image is covered in two further articles.

Public space and customer data

A petrol station often borders public space, and customers and vehicles appear in the image. What may be recorded and stored and what has to be signposted is governed by data protection law. You clarify that before planning, not after. This article gives no legal advice on it.

Which cameras fit

The calculation uses the data sheet values of the cameras in cctvfinder, each at the zoom setting that just shows the full width. For each task up to five models are listed that meet the requirement with the tightest pixel density. These are not the most expensive cameras but the ones that just suffice.

This is a calculation from data sheets and not a purchase recommendation. Lighting, installation and price are not taken into account.

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