SWWASAS Posted December 15, 2013 BFF Patron Posted December 15, 2013 Before you put a lot of money into an expensive high end camera decide if you really want to carry it. I have a Cannon EOS 3 with a 300MM tele lens I bought for research but quite frankly I hate carrying it due to the weight, bulkiness, and camera shy nature of BF. I ended up with a smaller Cannon SX 260 HS. Which is a fraction of the cost, weight, is green in color, has a telephoto equivalent of a 500MM lens. That camera is for the situation where I see one that is unaware of my presence down by a river or on a ridgeline. I carry it in a bag attached to the shoulder strap on my pack. For other uses I have an instant on, Contour Roam camera, mounted on a hiking pole, with a sock cover that I am more likely to use if one should walk across a trail in front of me. The other cameras take too long to power up. There have been so many reports of BF being camera shy or not even coming around when a camera is evident I make the effort to hide what I have. Amazon has a 720p earpiece camera that records for 5 hours. I am looking at that to have a camera that is running all the time I am in the field. I have had so many missed vocalization encounters I keep an audio recorder running all the time I am in the field now. I hope that pays off eventually and the 720p camera is the same concept. If I look at something it will make a video and there is no power up delay. Whatever you carry you need a still camera to document footprint finds. Never leave a footprint without careful documentation. The first print I found only lasted about 20 minutes because I left it to look for a better one nearby and it was obliterated by a crowd of hikers with dogs. I only got a video of it before I left it. Not thinking very well because it was my first find and I was pretty excited. I had hydrocal to cast but it was back in my truck.
Guest Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 I have a Pentax X5....it's a "foux SLR" that's on pretty quick. I also modified a hiking staff with a camera mount point so my camera is always on a stable point, and it helps negate the weight of the camera. Basically I have a natural wood walking stick that I cut the top level on, then sunk a 1/4" bolt into it to mount the camera. Just an idea you might find useful if you already use a staff.
CMBigfoot Posted January 5, 2014 Posted January 5, 2014 My FLIR H-series 324 Command works pretty good. I can record a couple nights on a 16Gb SD card. The only downside about it is it doesn't record audio.
Guest Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) Here is a list of the gear I would eventually like to acquire... Flir BTS-X Pro (Thermal imaging camera for obtaining night footage) Reconyx Ultrafire XR6 (Trail camera for obtaining photographs/ footage) Garmin Rino 655t (GPS for waypoints, communication, photo's) Tascam DR-40 (Audio recorder for recording vocalizations) GoPro Hero3+ (Action camera for recording footage from behind) Motorola HT1250 (Two-way radio's for communication) OQO Model 02+ (Handheld computer for research data) Nature Blinds Stalking Shield (Shield blind for replicating natural concealment) Edited January 14, 2014 by GoodToGoGuy
Guest Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 I have been doing Paranormal Research and investigations now for almost 5 years. I can tell you the biggest issue with gear is knowing the best for the price and HOW to use them. I may suggest something here that you really need to look into. 1. Contour Camera, they use a headband and has attachments. The Go_pro are large and bulky. You want light and easily attatch to gear $200.00. 2. Olympus Audio recorders that can record MP3. Why? The audio otherwise sounds mono. At around $50.00 you cannot go wrong, they last up to 70 hours of recording. $50.00 3. Yukon Monocular Night Vision for around $375, has Component Video Out.. yes... right into a laptop via USB adapter (Roxio has one). Has Car Power, battery or electrical. WORTH every dime... $375.00 4. Spotting Scope, NEVER underestimate the ability to scan a hill at 1000 yards..Camera stores have ocular attachments to record the eye piece!! $100.00 5. Camera, well...I use Canon T3i with some more expensive lenses, does video, but I also do photography. It goes with me. $500.00 for starter kit without SD cards. 6. Thermal FLIR i5, only for Road Scanning, not worth distance shots, then I break out the Yukon or spotting scope... If possible break out the Canon for pics. $1200.00 (obviously optional) 7. Most important.... Camo netting, camo poncho to cover over as a makeshift hide while I scan. Never want to stand out, break your outline... $40.00 8. Parabolic Mic.. You can make one with Tupperware, a small mic and Olympus recorder.
NathanFooter Posted February 11, 2014 Author Posted February 11, 2014 Thread Bump ! I have tested the Plotwatcher Pro and am very impressed with it, amazing battery life and a couple weeks of images on 32 gig card. I recommend a Class 10 SD card for the best images. I wish I had 5 more of these, I would position them over looking all of the convergence points of resources and likely travel routes in my research area. It can be found on Amazon now for about 196 $ ! It use to be around 270 $.
hiflier Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Hello NathanFooter, I like this. It's a bit pricey but the testing and reviews/accesories looked good: http://www.spypoint.com/EN/trail-cameras/HD-12.html
Guest Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 I am looking at getting a new audio recorder as well. If anyone has a good one they recommend please post !!! Thanks.
JKH Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 I bought a Sony PCM-M10 awhile ago after much reading. It is well recommended and not too pricey. Last year I was starting out slowly in a new area, so didn't get to testing it before the mister confiscated it for band practice. He says it works well, LOL. I will try it out here once the rainy season is past us.
Guest Cervelo Posted February 15, 2014 Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) I am looking at getting a new audio recorder as well. If anyone has a good one they recommend please post !!! Thanks. Stan Courtney can be very helpful when it comes to audio...here's a review he did on his websitehttp://www.stancourtney.com/wordpress/field-recorders/ Stan directed me to these guys and they set me up with dual mic set up that I can pin to each side of my clothes near my ears....it works very well. http://www.giantsquidaudiolab.com/ This is the current version of what I have...it can be a little tricky to use at first...but if you get the dual mic set up with long cable, the recorder can be in your pocket and run the cable under your jacket and you don't even know its there and your hands are free http://www.rolandus.com/products/details/757 Edited February 15, 2014 by Cervelo
Guest Posted February 15, 2014 Posted February 15, 2014 Thanks Cervelo....I did talk to Stan and see what he recommended.
bipedalist Posted February 15, 2014 BFF Patron Posted February 15, 2014 Thread Bump ! I have tested the Plotwatcher Pro and am very impressed with it, amazing battery life and a couple weeks of images on 32 gig card. I recommend a Class 10 SD card for the best images. I wish I had 5 more of these, I would position them over looking all of the convergence points of resources and likely travel routes in my research area. It can be found on Amazon now for about 196 $ ! It use to be around 270 $. These only have daylight picture/video capacity though correct?
NathanFooter Posted February 15, 2014 Author Posted February 15, 2014 Yes , daylight only though they do really good even at dusk and dawn.
gigantor Posted February 23, 2014 Admin Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) I got a new trail camera, a Spypoint 8 Megapixel with black LEDs (which are supposed to be invisible) and a passive IF sensor. They make better ones, but I wasn't willing to spend the money. I'm very pleased with it and as you can see below, at least deer are clueless that it's there and snapping pics of them. I reduced the resolution because of the file size. These are animated gifs, you have to click on it to animate. Edited February 23, 2014 by gigantor
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