Trail cam tips.

[powder burner]

So I am new to this as well. From your experiences, what should rookies do to get the best shots?

I set mine up yesterday in a promising spot. I tried to eliminate any branches that might set it off. I picked up a moultrie 50 (5.0 megapixels) at bass pro in calgary. They were in a bin for 100.00 if anybodyis around Calgary.

 

[fogducker]

i have the same camera but only in the 4d model..........
few months back i set it up in the bush...went to check it out a few weeks ago..
camera was reading that it was in hibernation mode...so no pics for me

practice with the camera at home,with setting it up...

but then again..........me and electronic #### dont mix to well
but i dont give up easy

 

[HeadDamage]

When you first get into game cams it is a good idea to set it up in your yard or someplace to test run it and make sure that you have a handle on how it works. Another tip is to point it along trials not across them or use some sort of bait, scent, etc... to stop animals in front of it.

 

[powder burner]

i have the same camera but only in the 4d model..........
few months back i set it up in the bush...went to check it out a few weeks ago..
camera was reading that it was in hibernation mode...so no pics for me

practice with the camera at home,with setting it up...

but then again..........me and electronic s**t dont mix to well
but i dont give up easy

Electronic contraptions and i dont get along most of the time. I hope mine didnt have a hibernation mode. I set it to take pics every 5 minutes. Now I am assuming it will only take a pic if there is movement during that 5 minute interval???

I got some good pictures of our cats on the living room floor fighting, before we set it up in the woods. kinda funny. One cat heard the camera go off and immediately stared down the camera. I didnt hear it go off, so i can see why people get pics of deer and other animals 6 inches from the lens.

Im not sure if the infrared will take pics during the day, and what the will look like if taken during the day? can anybody help out?

 

[jaydog]

Daytime pics with that camera should look fine, just the colours will be a bit off. For some reason, every trail cam I have used does that.
Aim down trails not across them.
Don't aim into the rising/falling sun so it blinds the camera.
Set the lockout interval so you don't get 100 pics of the same deer in five minutes.
Keep the manual with you for the first while until you are 110% with the menus. Hell, keep it with you always.
Spend time making sure you have the camera aligned well with what you want (bait pile etc.). I have used a laser pointer to help on occasion.
Check it only as often as you have to (memory limitations) and make sure your hands are clean or mr. bear will be happy to clean the camera for you!

Good luck!

 

[scruffee]

My advice to you, don't go on the cheap side... I've ruined a lot of good pics with my cheap trail cam... Invest into something that works good and is dummy proof

 

[heavyBullet]

I own two camera's, a moultrie and a new Bushnell. Unless things have changed, the Moultries are twice as big as other cams out there, and my Moultrie also makes noise when the pic is taken(not good), where as my Bushnell is dead silent.

One tip is to set your cam facing North or South when possible because if the cam is facing the rising or setting sun, you will get blurred or over bright pics.

Try to place your cam above eye level, angled down, especially if you have a flash model, and if you use video mode on a IR cam. Most cam instructions will advise you to set it up at waist level, but I find the flash or even an IR flash can make animals nervous. Another reason to place it higher up is so you have less chance of it getting broken. My first cam got mauled by a bear when I had it at waist level.

If your not putting it on private land, you may want to camouflage your cam, or put it in a locking cage to prevent theft.

making a little roof to go over your cam will help prevent dew and frost on the lens.

Make sure the tree you attach your camera to is big enough so it does not sway in the wind and cause unwanted photo's.



Here is a pic of my Bushnell cam.

 

[powder burner]

I own two camera's, a moultrie and a new Bushnell. Unless things have changed, the Moultries are twice as big as other cams out there, and my Moultrie also makes noise when the pic is taken(not good), where as my Bushnell is dead silent.

One tip is to set your cam facing North or South when possible because if the cam is facing the rising or setting sun, you will get blurred or over bright pics.

Try to place your cam above eye level, angled down, especially if you have a flash model, and if you use video mode on a IR cam. Most cam instructions will advise you to set it up at waist level, but I find the flash or even an IR flash can make animals nervous. Another reason to place it higher up is so you have less chance of it getting broken. My first cam got mauled by a bear when I had it at waist level.

If your not putting it on private land, you may want to camouflage your cam, or put it in a locking cage to prevent theft.

making a little roof to go over your cam will help prevent dew and frost on the lens.

Make sure the tree you attach your camera to is big enough so it does not sway in the wind and cause unwanted photo's.



Here is a pic of my Bushnell cam.

are those LED's for the flash?

 

[heavyBullet]

Its a infrared flash, all you see is a faint red glow when it takes night pic's. Much better than a flash model in my opinion. If you have money to burn, you can now get IR black flash, which is not noticeable at all.

 

[Gargoyle]

I've been playing with angles and setup spots for a few years, but I find I don't have to hide it from the critters too much, just slap it on a good tree in a good spot and I usually get a few hundred shots in a two week period from each of my cams. And they seem to go about there usual animal actions without noticing...lol

 

[fogducker]

I've been playing with angles and setup spots for a few years, but I find I don't have to hide it from the critters too much, just slap it on a good tree in a good spot and I usually get a few hundred shots in a two week period from each of my cams. And they seem to go about there usual animal actions without noticing...lol

like a car crash.........looks like a rear end her

 

[glang1]

...and make sure your hands are clean or mr. bear will be happy to clean the camera for you!

This tip is probably one of the most important if your camera will be in bear country. I run several bear baits with trailcams & after 3 years I only had one camera munched on, & that was cubs playing with it because I had it set too low. I am religious about keeping food scent off my camera's.

George

 

[TonyMo]

I have the same Moultrie D50
(like this: http://www.cabelas.com/fryprod-0/product--Moultrie-D-50-Trail-Camera--734850.uts.shtml)
I do like a friends Bushnell that uses AA batteries and has a built in picture viewer.
Like already said be aware where the sun rises/sets. I have mine set to highest quality photo and a 1 minute delay between photos.
It does not make any sound when a photo is taken.
I think, for the price, they take great photos.

 

[powder burner]

I have the same Moultrie D50
(like this: http://www.cabelas.com/fryprod-0/product--Moultrie-D-50-Trail-Camera--734850.uts.shtml)
I do like a friends Bushnell that uses AA batteries and has a built in picture viewer.
Like already said be aware where the sun rises/sets. I have mine set to highest quality photo and a 1 minute delay between photos.
It does not make any sound when a photo is taken.
I think, for the price, they take great photos.

How is the video mode? Does it take up a lot of battery?

 

[TonyMo]

^^^ I have never used the video mode. I have a corn feeder set up and get a lot of racoons, so I would probably waste a lot of battery/memory card on those little buggers.
I see Wing Supply has the D50 on for $70 too + shipping h t tp://www.wingsupply.com/shop/Scripts/prodViewSKU.asp?SKU=MFHD50

I like the Bushnell 8MB. A buddy has one at his bear bait. But you can get almost 3 of the D50 cameras for that and set up different locations. Not as big a loss if a bear plays ping pong with it.

 

[Demonical]

I think a viewing window on the camera is a waste of money. I pretty much got my fourth camera half price, by opting to get my first three cameras without that.

I got the metal case for each of mine, to help keep them bear safe.

If your camera is going to be on a game trail, place something on the trail that will catch the attention of an animal and make it stop, even if just to pause. Let's you get better and maybe more pics.

If you're not set up on a trail, and if it's legal, use bait, minerals etc to get them to stop, or if you can find a natural lick (which I have), then that's as good as it gets!

 

[heavyBullet]

I agree, I see no use to have a viewing window. I have also heard of people having problems with the little screen when its cold out. I honestly cannot believe you could see anything in any detail, especially with night time shots, viewing on a 2in. screen. When I want to peek at my pic's before I can get home with the memory cards I pop them in my Garmin GPS.

 

[powder burner]

The salesman at Bass pro suggested buying a few SD cards. when you take the one out of the camera quickly replace it with a fresh card. That way you dont have the camera sitting out there not keeping any pics.

makes sense, i guess.


How long should 6 D Cell batteries last? The weather is not below freezing here yet, but will get colder soon. They were duracell if that really makes any difference.

 

[Demonical]

The salesman at Bass pro suggested buying a few SD cards. when you take the one out of the camera quickly replace it with a fresh card. That way you dont have the camera sitting out there not keeping any pics.

makes sense, i guess.


How long should 6 D Cell batteries last? The weather is not below freezing here yet, but will get colder soon. They were duracell if that really makes any difference.

One of the advantages of the new cameras, like the Bushnell Trophy is that they run on AA batteries. If you use the Lithium Ion AA's, they will supposedly last an entire year on one set. I'm a bit sceptical of that, but I'm going to try to find out. I'm gonna run mine as long as the batteries hold out.

As to the memory cards, it's a no-brainer to have extra memory cards.

 

[heavyBullet]

The salesman at Bass pro suggested buying a few SD cards. when you take the one out of the camera quickly replace it with a fresh card. That way you dont have the camera sitting out there not keeping any pics.

makes sense, i guess.


How long should 6 D Cell batteries last? The weather is not below freezing here yet, but will get colder soon. They were duracell if that really makes any difference.

That's how I do it, I have two cards for each of my camera's, its the best way to do it.

As for battery life, it depends on which model camera you have. Is it an I50 or a D50 ?? The I50 will last longer since it uses IR instead of a flash. My I40 is actually pretty good on batteries. If I remember correctly got at least 900 or more pic's one one set of batteries, though my bushnell I think will surpass that.