Homebrewed trailcams

[glang1]

Well I just finished up making my first homebrewed trailcam. I used a Sony P32 digital camera housed in a Pelican 1020 waterproof case. I bought an XLP controller card to complete the build. I bought the Sony P32 on Ebay for $32, so I have about $120 invested in this trailcam. Not too bad when the cheapest commercial one's are about the same price. Here are some pics.

George

 

[blargon]

I made one about 10 years ago when the commercial ones were $3-400. Its real pretty.

It used a 12v battery and a canon 35mm, crude, but it did the job back then.

 

[glang1]

Blargon,

That is a really cool looking retro trailcam. Is that a surplus ammo can you used for the case? Was it really weatherproof? Nice job.

George

 

[Gylar]

Wow! Great setup Glang! Considering the costs of the new ones and such, you've got a good idea going. Don't know if i could make one myself, but i really like what you've done.

 

[pottsy]

Not too shabby glang1. You apparently have more free time then I do. ; )

Nice craftsmanship on that beast blargon!

If you want a place to host your images... check out my sig line.

 

[Demonical]

Well I just finished up making my first homebrewed trailcam. I used a Sony P32 digital camera housed in a Pelican 1020 waterproof case. I bought an XLP controller card to complete the build. I bought the Sony P32 on Ebay for $32, so I have about $120 invested in this trailcam. Not too bad when the cheapest commercial one's are about the same price. Here are some pics.

George

I am impressed!

Can you explain a bit more though? What is the XLP controller card and how the heck do you wire something like that up to control a digi-cam?

The Pelican cases I am familiar with...

 

[glang1]

Can you explain a bit more though? What is the XLP controller card and how the heck do you wire something like that up to control a digi-cam?

The Pelican cases I am familiar with...

To make a trailcam you need a way to control the camera's power & shutter controls. That is where the controller card comes in. There are many different makes & models of passive infra-red (PIR) digital camera controller cards on the market. I chose the XLP card because I liked it's features & small size.
The other part of making a digital trailcam is modifying the camera to connect to the controller card. I did mine myself, but there are places that will mod the camera for you for a small fee. You will need a precision soldering iron & at least some soldering experience to mod a digital camera. I should also mention that mod'ing a camera voids the warranty. The Sony P32 & P41 camera's are some of the easiest to modify as you only have to connect 3 wires; 1) ground, 2) power, & 3) shutter, to the controller card. This site has some good tutorials on modifying digital camera's for use as trailcams.
http://www.shomeoutdoors.com/Trailcam.htm

I have another Sony P32 that I am going to make into an IR trailcam. By modifying the camera to record infra-red instead of visible light, I can take night flash pictures without disturbing the wildlife with a visible light flash.

George

 

[heavyBullet]

Great job ! But I have to add that commercial cams are pretty darn cheap now. You can get a Moultrie 4 mega pixal infrared for $200 and a standard flash 4mega pix one for $99. All in all though, you did a great job.

 

[RobSmith]

I wonder how sensitive those trailcams are, as I'd be tempted to set one up around the bird or the hummingbird feeders.

 

[heavyBullet]

Some great pics by memebers here if you search "trail cams". Not sure about little birds like humming birds, but one guy here had some awesome pics of an eagle among many other animals. I myself will be picking up the Moultrie 4.0 infrared real soon. Cannot wait to see what is lurking around my stands.

 

[lackeyse]

I made one about 10 years ago when the commercial ones were $3-400. Its real pretty.

It used a 12v battery and a canon 35mm, crude, but it did the job back then.

Good job! Where on earth did you find that extremely rare, super expensive, chimney air foam? I noticed that you have used some for the camera to sit on.

 

[blargon]

Blargon,

That is a really cool looking retro trailcam. Is that a surplus ammo can you used for the case? Was it really weatherproof? Nice job.

George

Yep, $5 ammo can, water tight. though had to put some silica inside to keep the windows from fogging up. 3 toggles were for sensor power, one for camera power, and one for the red light on the front. By shutting the camera off, but leaving the sensor powered, you could walk in front of it and the red LED would flash when the sensor picked up the movement. That's how I adjusted the sensor sensitivity, with tape.

This unit was the envy of all hunters in 1998.

 

[CV32]

Nice job on those homemade trail cams. Cool thread.

 

[hakx]

I bought the STEATHCAM in 35mm before the proliferation of Digital Cam's for $70 bucks. The picture's aren't all that great, and I have to wait for a 1hr photo for the results - but it get's the job done.

Great job on the homebrew.

 

[glang1]

I wonder how sensitive those trailcams are, as I'd be tempted to set one up around the bird or the hummingbird feeders.

The PIR sensor is quite fast, the weak link in speed is the digital camera itself. You have to realize that the camera is essentially turned off when not taking pictures in order to conserve the batteries. When a motion event is recorded the Controller card does what you have programmed it to do. In most cases you want the camera to take a picture as soon after the motion is detected. However the camera still has to power-up, then trip the shutter. With older digital camera's this can be 5 seconds +, not really enough time to catch a bird in flight, but definitely enough time to record an animal walking past. In a feeder or scrape situation you may want to delay the picture(s) after the initial motion has been detected. A good controller card like the XLP has lots of options for capturing pictures.

George

 

[yyyyy]

Very cool!

Is the flash being diluted or spotted by the window? I noticed the foam in there, that looks like it would take care of any backsplash by sealing the spaces around the lense. Good work! Looks like a great unit.

I have a Sony DSC-V1 for sale, awesome camera, but just becoming a safe queen with all the other gear I have that is newer. But it has an amazing IR/Night mode... So I might convert it like yours... Hmmm...

Are you shooting in night vision mode, or have you applied an IR hack to the camera? I would love to see some pictures!

How far away does the sensor work? I would think that the flash range being limited you would need to be quite close to the game trail etc if shooting with flash and color.

Your mod is so good I am sure an external flash or video light could be hooked up as well. Speaking of video... Can the card trigger the camera to record video clips. Thanks for sharing.

 

[glang1]

Very cool!

Is the flash being diluted or spotted by the window? I noticed the foam in there, that looks like it would take care of any backsplash by sealing the spaces around the lense. Good work! Looks like a great unit.

I was a little concerned about flash bleed, that is why I put the piece of foam to block light bleed to the shutter. Seems to work well.

Are you shooting in night vision mode, or have you applied an IR hack to the camera? I would love to see some pictures!

The Sony P32 that I decided to use doesn't have factory IR capability, so I will just be recording visible light to this trail cam. I do have another Sony P32 that I have mod'ed to record IR. You have to practically disassemble the camera, & replace the regular glass covering the CCD with a replacement IR glass. Sounds intimidating but it really isn't that hard if you have some precision screwdrivers & steady hands.

How far away does the sensor work? I would think that the flash range being limited you would need to be quite close to the game trail etc if shooting with flash and color.

I have tested the PIR sensor out to about 30ft. Your right about the flash, I would only give the factory flash about 20ft illumination. When I place a camera on a trail, I place it about 10ft to one side of the trail, looking down the trail. I will get a picture either way the animal travels past the camera.

Your mod is so good I am sure an external flash or video light could be hooked up as well. Speaking of video... Can the card trigger the camera to record video clips. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, the XLP card does support a slave flash, & will trigger a short video sequence if your camera supports it. Video is quite memory intensive, so if I was inclined to try it, I would limit the clips to about 15 seconds.

George

 

[Nester]