A camera trap can be a hunter's best weapon and a researcher's best friend, but what happens when you get it out there, get it all set up, and take hundreds of pictures only to find out that you aren't getting any usable images? The sad part is that this can easily eat up weeks of your valuable time.
Well, if this sounds familiar, you've likely made a common mistake when choosing your trail camera. Or, maybe you haven't made your purchase yet and are simply looking for mistakes to avoid. Either way, here are some troubleshooting tips to help you determine the cause behind your camera's failure.
Your Camera Trap Only Catches Legs And Hind Quarters In The Images
If you find that you're constantly missing the deer or animals setting off the trail cam's sensor, you're experiencing issues with the model's trigger time. The average model requires approximately six seconds from the moment the animal triggers the sensor until the actual image is taken and saved.
If you're in an area where animals are generally standing around and feeding or moving slowly, you'll be fine. But, if you've set up on a trail where animals are moving from one location to the other, you'll need a model with a much faster trigger speed. Or, you'll need to find feeding areas where animals will spend more time in one spot.
You Can't Get Usable Night Pictures Or It Doesn't Reach Far Enough
If your camera trap seems unable to light far enough ahead to catch your target or if you can't get the quality nighttime pictures that you were expecting your problem is likely the flash. When choosing a trail cam, there are two features you need to consider when it comes to the flash. First, you need to consider the angle and width of the flash. Generally speaking, this ranges from a width of 3-60 feet and has an angle of 5-90 degrees. The bigger the angle and width, the farther away you can take a quality image.
Next, you need to choose between an infrared and incandescent flash. If your target animal is only active during the day, an incandescent flash is fine. But, if your target animal is active at night, you want to choose an infrared one. This will ensure taking excellent pictures at night or during the day, so you don't miss a thing.
The Sensor Doesn't Seem To Go Off When It Should
A trail camera can only be as good as the sensor that triggers it. Therefore, if you've chosen a poor quality camera trap with a narrow angle, you'll find the camera won't likely go off. In general, the wider the angle, the bigger the target zone will be. In fact, you can get models that easily handle images from 30-100 feet. With an angle ranging between 5 and 90 degrees, you'll have a target zone from 3-60 feet. That's pretty impressive.
As for the style you choose, the more it is able to do, the more expensive it will be. However, what you'll choose will ultimately depend on the area and the species you're working with.
Choosing the right trail camera isn't easy, but the research you put into buying a trail cam is extremely important. If you're experiencing issues or just aren't sure what to look for when choosing your camera trap, you can use this troubleshooting guide and know exactly what it is you need.
Author Resource:-
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on a camera trap or trail camera, visit http://www.trailcampro.com/.
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