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Entry Level Trailcam


Guest young sasqua

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Guest young sasqua

i have zero experience with trail cams and im ready to get my first. Is there such a thing as a decent trail cam for under $100? In the future I'll be spending real money but not without having some experience. for now I'd just like to get started without having to worry about it getting damaged or stolen. of course I'd like to be able to identify whats in the picture. actually any thoughts along the same lines as far as digital audio would be appreciated as well.

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Guest ajciani

If all you are interested in is daytime color photography (possibly with a nighttime flash), then there are some decent ones that can be had for $80-ish. Actually, at that price, about all you get is a camera to monitor a trail or bait, that will snap pics no more often than once every 30 seconds. You will definitely be able to tell what the animal is, unless it's a bigfoot, in which case it could also be a bear with mange or a trespasser in a ghillie suit.

If you want to do nighttime IR, then I think you should read some of the camera placement and choices and Vermont trail cam picture revealed topics. You will see that not all IR cameras are created equal, and many are not up for the job. Most of the better IR ones will be in the $200 to $300 range, but even then, you have to be careful. Just because the camera says, "IR flash to 60 feet", does not mean that the shutter speed at that distance might not be a full second.

Also, for covert nighttime use, many trail cams have blinking indicator LEDs, their IR LEDs may glow red, and they may emit mechanical sounds, all of these things tipping off everything to the camera's presence.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest TooRisky

Probably the best and cheapest way to go is to get a daytime plot watcher cam... They are cheaper and gives you a good feel of what your next buy may be in the way of an investment... It may be that you dont want to invest the time or money and do something else... Test the waters first before jumping head long into the lake...

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BFF Patron

TrailMaster event recorders can also be used and set to record movements at differing heights, etc. That can give you idea of traffic through a suspected area. Also, don't forget any plastic trail cam can probably be smelled. Some use pipe cleaner arrangement with essential oils and natural scents from trees and shrubs endemic to an area to cover scent. Never hurts to think they can smell the cam too.

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Guest TooRisky

TrailMaster event recorders can also be used and set to record movements at differing heights, etc. That can give you idea of traffic through a suspected area. Also, don't forget any plastic trail cam can probably be smelled. Some use pipe cleaner arrangement with essential oils and natural scents from trees and shrubs endemic to an area to cover scent. Never hurts to think they can smell the cam too.

Very interesting idea and well worth a try... Can you please explain deeper in how this is done, attached or applied...???

Thanks...

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BFF Patron

There is rigid honeycombed plastic packing material which can be attached to the backing and tops of gamecams (depending on design, my experience is with old reconyx models) which allows (with the addition of hook and loop tape) camouflaged fabric or hoodies to be attached. There are channels in this honeycombed material which are conducive to insertion of pipecleaners soaked in essential oils such as oak, pine and other herbaceous distillates which can be acquired at numerous suppliers, often with eyedropper applicators installed in their caps.

The TrailMaster event recorders are http://www.trailmaster.com/showposts.php a strange beast. Don't have a lot of familiarity with them, just know they can help you assess what is bypassing your cameras if you use them intelligently (know of several people who have used them).

PM me for member name.

Actually there is a new member just signed on for the first time recently that shared this information with me. I can PM you his forum name as he is a pretty private individual who may not participate in forum threads that often.

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Wonder what the trigger speed is on those?

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The material to make sun/rain/snow shields is called 'corrugated plastic board', sometimes called sign board. 20"x30" and 4 millimeters thick. Made by Elmer's. Easily cut with a razor knife. Can be attached with hook & loop type material. The black version passes my UV reflectance test.

Doubled up cotton pipe cleaners are treated with essential oils ( pine, fir, spruce, cedar ) and inserted into several flutes of the sign board. There is risk with essential oils. They are expensive and if the vendor cuts them with vegetable oil to boost profits, you will draw in a bear due to vegetable oil. A little essential oil goes a long way.

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I don't know bipedalist, something like six minutes (j/k). I saw a pretty good review of one or both of them, and for the price they seemed like a good buy.

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BFF Patron

Yep, for entry level the price is right and it might just be a five or ten second delay or more but that's part of the equation.

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Guest TooRisky

Catmandoo got the E-Mail and thought that was genius... If anyone knows what the material is called I would love to know, because I plan to put this into practice...

Thanks again...

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BFF Patron
'corrugated plastic board', sometimes called sign board. 20"x30" and 4 millimeters thick. Made by Elmer's.

This material, he posted to the thread above?

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Looks like Elmer's no longer handles this product. It appears to be 'Coroplast Stock Sheet' which is a fluted polypropylene sheet. I purchased my sheet from a display products company. No info on their website tonight. Searching.

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