Kia ora Predator Free community
We have a couple of trail cams which provide useful data. We’ve got them entered as monitoring lines but a specific camera item would be good.
My question is what are the most reasonable cost trailcams that still do the job, day and night? We would like to add another four or five (we have 250ha). Not expecting data transfer as there are hills in the way so will swap data cards once a week.
I have started experimenting with some very cheap ($5 to $99) and small (2.3 x 2.3 x 2.3 cm) cameras. Google: “sq11 mini dv camera” and “sq12 mini camera wifi”. They claim they do the job day and night, but I have not yet had the results you would want. They do take good video (1920 x 1080P or 1280 x 720P) and are great as a spy or security camera.
You have to buy a Micro SD card to record on and you can play the video on laptop or TV. They come with very limited and hard-to-follow instructions, but you can find better readable full instructions on-line. They have two operating buttons which are used for multiple purposes, depending on sequence of depression and number of seconds to hold.
The sq11 has a problem with motion sensing which does indeed starts recording video, but does not stop (movement or not) until the SD card is filled up or the battery runs out.
The sq12 should not have this problem, but I have problems with combining night vision (and triggering) and motion sensing.
Is anyone else using these cameras? I would like to hear how you are getting on and suggestions are welcome. The SQ12 may be ideal to record stoat activity in daylight at the right price!
The Jaycar 1080p trail cameras do the job for me. Price decreases when buy multiple ($189 from memory). I haven’t tried the 720p model, although it could be worth testing. My concern with that one is that it has less LEDs lights, so we would need to make sure that the night lights are bright enough for what you need.
Otherwise I have used several Victure models from Amazon and also a cheap CamPark which has been great. Try to get cameras for 940nm LEDs instead of 850nm as the latter is noticed by cats and possums. Rats don’t care. Not sure about mustelids. I haven’t tried the popular brand cameras, but happy with the ones I use.
Do you get many false triggers? Has your camera got sensitivity adjustment? What is the smallest animal that will trigger the cam? Mice? thanks…
I don’t really get any false triggers with my cameras. I get the odd video with nothing in it, but it could have been a rabbit that ran past quickly or something just out of the camera range be inside the side sensor range. Bottom line is that false triggers are not an issue with any of my cameras. Knowing whether it under-triggers is more difficult to determine without using other cameras in the same place.
Most of my cameras have a sensitivity adjustment, but I don’t think the Jaycar does. I do have a problem with the wiring on one of the Jaycars where it cuts off the power where the door is in a certain position. Out of warranty. It is still working and gets opened everyday to check.
The size of the animal would depend how far away it is from the camera. I don’t have many mice here, but I do have videos of mice. It might not trigger if the mouse was >3m away, but I can’t be sure.