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I need to buy one for a Christmas present, but don't have any experience of them.
I think it'll mainly be used in a garden to take videos/photos of birds during the day, and badgers at night.
There isn't good mobile coverage, so a 3g or 4g one would be wasted.
Are there any makes which are really good? I've seen sites selling Bushnell, Hawke, Minox etc.
In the specs they say the video records for up to 60 seconds. Does that simply mean it records for a minute each time the sensor is triggered, up to the capacity of the memory card?
I suppose it would need to have the best picture quality (day and night), and maybe a screen or viewfinder to allow it to be positioned accurately etc. I'm not sure what other features are critical.
Is there a better way to record these subjects, such as an IP camera, a POV camera, or a housing/gadget for a DSLR?
I'd be looking at a GoPro or it's equivalent (sjcam/ Polaroid cube)
They've got a setting that triggers record when something enters the frame (motion detection)
I noticed that I had to turn off that feature on my sj4000 when it only recorded for ten seconds at a time (doh!!!)
Works great now:)
The 'techmoan' bloke on YouTube is well worth a look.
Will a GoPro-type camera record in the dark, and is the motion detection invisible?
Also, is it more of a hassle to swap batteries and memory cards? I spoke to someone a few months ago who was filming big cats in a zoo, and he said he left the cameras running, so had to go into the enclose to replace batteries and cards every four hours.
I've been using a ltl acorn for about 18 months and it's been fine - easy to set up, good enough photos to see what's going on (you dirty little squirrels) but not David Attenborough quality. Only problem can be the flash over exposing some things at night, it sometimes gets a bit confused around dawn & dusk and there's a small delay before the shutter is triggered so you get a few empty shots or videos of where something just was.
Good point re: night filming
I still haven't found the f value for my sjcam, but I'd guess it's nowhere like the f2 of the Polaroid cube lens.
These action cams can be powered from the USB connection like a dash-cam, but this means removing the waterproof housing.
I'd think about some kind of solar panel to power a) some kind of ambient light to assist the cameras auto focus, and b) to power the action cam (housing removed but in a weather-proof box of your own design).
A GoPro doesn't really work for this. For night filming, a visible light will scare off the wildlife. So you need an infrared light for flash/video. But a GoPro is not sensitive to infrared, so it won't see anything. Also battery life - a GoPro will only last a few hours. Whereas a proper trail camera can last for months on batteries.
I also have an LTL Acorn. Mine is a couple of years old, and the screen has stopped working, and it doesn't seem to record video any more. But still OK for photos. And as thepurist says, sometimes doesn't expose properly. So not sure if I would recommend it. I think I would try a Bushnell or Minox instead, though they are a bit more expensive.
Depends on what you are recording, but in my experience the batteries will run out before the memory card fills up. Yes, you can record video for 60 seconds, but at night that means the infrared light is on for 60 seconds, which uses a lot of battery. I found the batteries usually lasted a couple of weeks (with Eneloop rechargeables). They lasted much longer if only taking photos.
Image quality is not that good (especially at night), but still, its great to see what's happening in the garden. Got quite a few badgers visiting regularly, plus squirrels, pine marten, and occasionally deer.