Trail camers/camera traps and posting videos
Nov 3, 2015 12:26:18 GMT
shirl100 and NellyDee like this
Post by Tringa on Nov 3, 2015 12:26:18 GMT
I have just seen the comments by Bryan and Faith about trail cameras/camera traps and posting videos so I thought I would start this thread and hope others will add to it.
Trail cameras
Trail cameras use passive infra red sensors. When the sensor detects a change in the heat it 'sees' in its field of view the camera is switched on and records a still photo or a short video.
If you want a little more detail about the sensors have a look at this Wiki page -
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_infrared_sensor
The cameras have lights to illuminate the scene at night and allow a record to be made when it is dark.
The lights in many cameras emit, along with infra red light, some visible light and appear red to the human eye. Some camera use 'black' lights that emit only in the infra red, which is invisible to humans. These can be useful (and safer) to use in locations that might attract attention from the public. I have read that some animals are disturbed by the red lights but have not seen this. Badgers and pine martens look at the lights sometimes and a fox once had a good sniff at the camera.
Here are a couple of links to information (admittedly from retailers so - caveat emptor) about trail cameras -
www.scottcountry.co.uk/spypoint-and-stealthcam-a-guide-to-wildlife-and-trail-cameras-n1008.htm
www.ukwildlifecameras.co.uk/trail_cameras.html
Trail cameras are becoming more easily available. I have even seen them on sale in Lidl and Screwfix.
Our experience -
We have a Bushnell trail camera (model 119446).
It works well and without it we would not have seen anywhere near as much of what is going on in the garden.
Initially the setting up was a bit fiddly – just careful reading of the instructions needed.
It came, as I think most do, with a strap to attach it to a tree or post. We found this not to be that useful and use an old tripod which makes placing it much easier.
Many allow the use of an external battery but if you are not going to use one, then rechargeable batteries are necessary.
There are some negatives –
the camera claims the lights illuminate up to 45 feet, I think about 20 feet is nearer the mark,
the field of view of the sensor does not appear to coincide exactly with that of the camera which means sometimes animals in the camera view are not recorded because the sensor has missed them.
However, these are minor points that when you know about them can be worked around.
Posting Videos
As free space on the WABI is limited I think it is better to host videos elsewhere and put a link to video in the post here.
I use YouTube. To set up an account you'll need a Gmail email address but that is easy to get and free. Each of the videos our camera records lasts one minute but are all over 30MB which is a bit large to upload especially as often the interesting part might be much shorter.
I have found MovieMaker(also free) to be a simple video editor that allows sections of videos to be cut out and saved before uploading to YouTube.
However, I'm sure there are other equally useful hosting sites and editors.
I hope the above helps and if anyone else has other experiences or information to add please do.
Dave
PS Checking the previous night's videos can become addictive.
Trail cameras
Trail cameras use passive infra red sensors. When the sensor detects a change in the heat it 'sees' in its field of view the camera is switched on and records a still photo or a short video.
If you want a little more detail about the sensors have a look at this Wiki page -
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_infrared_sensor
The cameras have lights to illuminate the scene at night and allow a record to be made when it is dark.
The lights in many cameras emit, along with infra red light, some visible light and appear red to the human eye. Some camera use 'black' lights that emit only in the infra red, which is invisible to humans. These can be useful (and safer) to use in locations that might attract attention from the public. I have read that some animals are disturbed by the red lights but have not seen this. Badgers and pine martens look at the lights sometimes and a fox once had a good sniff at the camera.
Here are a couple of links to information (admittedly from retailers so - caveat emptor) about trail cameras -
www.scottcountry.co.uk/spypoint-and-stealthcam-a-guide-to-wildlife-and-trail-cameras-n1008.htm
www.ukwildlifecameras.co.uk/trail_cameras.html
Trail cameras are becoming more easily available. I have even seen them on sale in Lidl and Screwfix.
Our experience -
We have a Bushnell trail camera (model 119446).
It works well and without it we would not have seen anywhere near as much of what is going on in the garden.
Initially the setting up was a bit fiddly – just careful reading of the instructions needed.
It came, as I think most do, with a strap to attach it to a tree or post. We found this not to be that useful and use an old tripod which makes placing it much easier.
Many allow the use of an external battery but if you are not going to use one, then rechargeable batteries are necessary.
There are some negatives –
the camera claims the lights illuminate up to 45 feet, I think about 20 feet is nearer the mark,
the field of view of the sensor does not appear to coincide exactly with that of the camera which means sometimes animals in the camera view are not recorded because the sensor has missed them.
However, these are minor points that when you know about them can be worked around.
Posting Videos
As free space on the WABI is limited I think it is better to host videos elsewhere and put a link to video in the post here.
I use YouTube. To set up an account you'll need a Gmail email address but that is easy to get and free. Each of the videos our camera records lasts one minute but are all over 30MB which is a bit large to upload especially as often the interesting part might be much shorter.
I have found MovieMaker(also free) to be a simple video editor that allows sections of videos to be cut out and saved before uploading to YouTube.
However, I'm sure there are other equally useful hosting sites and editors.
I hope the above helps and if anyone else has other experiences or information to add please do.
Dave
PS Checking the previous night's videos can become addictive.
