Originally Posted by
ItsJustMe
I have so far not had any camera that can reliably read a registration plate. They can do so at low speeds, but even that is sketchy. 1080p isn't really the problem, it's bitrate. Some more high end cameras like the current GoPro Black or the better Sony models might stand a chance at speed, but I don't know.
Even a $20 camera can read a plate of a car that's going close to your speed. But if they're going past you at +30 MPH it's extremely difficult, because the video compression tends to blur details.
I own the Sony AS100V mounted on my helmet, and frequently ride alongside a 45 mph(posted, but they travel 50 - 55) road. I use the 1080P 60fps setting along with the 50 Mb bitrate, and it is able to capture plates in daylight, if the lighting is favorable, at my average of 12 mph. But the plate has to be directly in a line with the lens, and the range at which the plate can be made out is limited to 2 car lengths or so. It's possible, but not what I would classify as reliable.
It has excellent low light image quality compared to other action cams I had seen at the time of purchase, but you won't be capturing plates after the sun sets with this model. I don't know of any waterproof high resolution action cam within my budget that is able to record a legible image of a plate at night.
Judging from your previous posts, you don't want this model anyhow. It gobbles up power; the battery lasts ~50 min @ 1080p60 50 Mb with Wi-Fi & GPS enabled, and ~70 minutes with Wi-Fi off at the same settings. It also lacks loop recording capability, so a 64 GB card needs a wipe every 2h37m.