Trail cams..?s and suggestions

[andreanar]

I want to set up a trail cam to watch my coop. I know absolutely nothing about them. If I point it towards my coop and run, how do I keep from just getting a zillion pictures of my chickens moving around? Any suggestions on brands??

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

No suggestion on brand, most do okay, it just depends on how pricey you want to get with pixels and storage capacity.

We turn it on at dusk and off in the am. In your situation I might mount it on a pole that shows the outside of the run, and hopefully doesn't pick up on any chicken movement, and you should be able to use it all day. Though we have had lots of photos of the wind blowing a bush around, but thankfully you can just erase them and start again, and attempt a different position.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Oh yeah I forgot you should see what batteries they take and whether that makes a difference to you.

 

[andreanar]

No suggestion on brand, most do okay, it just depends on how pricey you want to get with pixels and storage capacity.

We turn it on at dusk and off in the am. In your situation I might mount it on a pole that shows the outside of the run, and hopefully doesn't pick up on any chicken movement, and you should be able to use it all day. Though we have had lots of photos of the wind blowing a bush around, but thankfully you can just erase them and start again, and attempt a different position.

That's my plan, use it during the day. LOL. At night they are pretty tightly locked up, altho I don't put it past an animal to find a way in!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

At night you will see if anyone is sneaking around, certain predators like raccoons will only come at night.

 

[mechanic57]

They all have the same basic functions: Still pics or video option, motion activated, night vision capability and weather proof. The differences come down to pic/video resolution, trigger & recovery speed, field of view, range of motion detection and type of night flash. Consider these features and compare to your purpose for the camera:

Detection is usually by a combination of motion and (body) heat. Better cameras have adjustable sensitivity so a tree branch blowing in the breeze does not set off the camera. You also want to look at the width of the detection zone and its distance straight out in front. This will help you determine where you can put the camera in relation to the target area. Most cameras are more sensitive to things moving across their field of view vs coming straight at them. Wider, longer range detection zones will cost more.

The field of view of the photo lens is almost always wider than the detection zone. That way, something entering the detection zone will be in full view of the camera. Just because a camera boast a wide field of view does not mean the detection zone is that wide. It could be significantly narrower.

The trigger/recovery speed is the cameras ability to take a photo, save the data to memory and be ready to take another pic. Trigger speed is the time between detection and taking the first photo. Recovery is the time it takes to record photo data to memory and be ready to take another pic. Mid range and higher end cameras will have features like adjustable photo resolution and burst firing. A camera can take pics faster at a lower resolution but better cameras can still take pics fast when at a higher resolution. Burst firing will set the camera to take a preset number of photos each time motion triggers it to shoot.

For video settings, you'll have settings to have it shoot video as long as it has motion, or to shoot a preset number of seconds each time there is a motion detected. Video eats up memory way faster so pay attention to video resolution and camera memory size. I personally like a removable memory card. That way I can go out, swap out the batteries and memory card quickly without having to bring the camera inside to download/recharge it. Less trips into the woods to mess with the camera is less chance for animals to pick up your scent and avoid the area. Obviously this is not an issue for your own back yard.

The option to add the date, time stamp and moon phase to pics and videos are another feature you'll see. The moon phase is typically more important to hunters, but date and time can be useful to nearly everyone.

Infrared flashes are not detectable by the animals that walk in front of the camera but they produce black and white night time photos/videos. White flashes produce color photos at night but can scare the animal away after it triggers a photo/video. Also, cheaper cameras will click or make sounds when taking photos. This can be detected by some animals.

 

[andreanar]

@mechanic57 thank you for all that info. Very helpful. It helped me understand what I'm looking for now!

 

[Sublight]

If you have a computer, then you may want to invest in a "security Camera". You can get good software for the computer and it will help stop false alerts. And you can access it from your PC, or your smartphone. You don't have to retrieve the memory card to access pictures, you don't have to worry about how you have it pointed when you "rehang" it.
Just wake up, click a button, delete files off the comp, go make some grits/eggs. Yummy. They have a pretty decent range, so unless your coop is hundreds of yards away, this may be a option.

 

[Pstock44]

A security camera is a good idea. They usually plug into 110vac but use a converter to run 12vdc to the camera so a small rechargeable lawnmower battery with solar panel can keep them running easily. They are a also available with a wireless transmitter with the receiver in the house just be careful of range limits. They usually come with multiple cameras so you get the advantage of multiple angles or use them for home security too. Most of them are about the price of mid range or high quality game cameras and have great daytime color resolution as well as IR night imaging.