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Trail Cam Settings?


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I'm guessing pretty much all TC's will offer much the same range of settings? Just that my Bushnell doesn't give any bloody advice on what to expect from what seems like some of the most important ones!

Let's try to sort this out, eh? Anyone got any views / insights into the following settings, please? WTF do they actually do? Which works best under what conditions / circumstances?

The suck it and see route could take a man fukking Months of 24 hour usage and close record keeping. Maybe if we club together and exchange notes here?

My settings include:

"  LED Control " High / Medium / Low.

" Sensor Level " Low / Normal / High / Auto.

" NV Shutter " High / Medium / Low.

WTF do they even mean??? I have my LED on High. Sensor on Auto. NV on High.

Shit's a tad light saturated, at night. I also have crazy shit like a badger, simply appearing in mid feast?! How come it doesn't trigger when he wanders into view? It doesn't capture him fukking off either.

Putting it out again, tonight. Watching my foxes over my morning mug is addictive. But, I'd really like to refine these settings.

Anybody?

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Hmm. Well, this mornings results really looked no different from before ?

I'm still very concerned though that shit Must be going on and I'm just not getting it.

I left a lot of peanuts out, last night. I thought badgers would eat them, rather than foxes? But, they were completely gone. And no sign of any badgers on my clips ?

Carries on at this rate, I may well end up considering a second cam. Just to keep an eye on what this one's doing.

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Been discussing this with my boss, as you were typing, Walshie. I was telling him how I'm posting each step, on here, so I have a record to refer back to?

How fukking handy is that! Because, I read to him that my LED was at High. " I'm about to go feeding shit. And tonight I'll set it to Medium." Then, I found I'd already set it to Medium, this morning.

Wrong! Of course! Going back over my posts here, I saw that was last nights try! Just set it to Low.

See what I have tomorrow morning. I'm aware of how aware the foxes are, of the red light when the cam activates. Lessening that reaction would be a start.

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Much better!!! I'm pretty sure I mentioned, somewhere above, how I'd like to remedy the washed out, over exposed effect? Done it! LED Low.

Last nights stuff is much more clean. (Nice little interaction between the vixen and the badger too! :D)

  That's that sorted then. Next off, I'm trying to sort this thing where by a creature just suddenly appears, mid view. Why is it not capturing them arriving, or even leaving? That's my next challenge.

I've also noticed how a decent wind can knock the camera and cause an empty clip. Probably play with Sensitivity next.

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Sensor Level set to High? Don't do it!

All That got me was the ability to pick up the eyes of a fox along the coast! Nothing more. In fact, the target area seemed dreadfully dark much of the time. I often had to work out if it was an up close fox or a badger, just on the size and movement of the eyes.

Nope.

Okay. I've just set to Sensor Level LOW. I'll put it out tonight and tomorrow we'll see where that gets us.

 

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Sensor Level Low.

Again, dark as Hill St Blues. Particularly notable was after daybreak. I normally catch the crows and small birds feeding. On this setting, I just saw the light of the sky. The track where the birds (and foxes) feed was black. I even saw crows drop down into this blackness.

A very strange setting. I've now set it to Sensor Auto, for tonights test.

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Sensor Level Auto.

This Worked! In truth, it's a bit like watching broad daylight, on a black and white TV. And to think, yesterday, on Low, I was squinting at the film to even make out what might have triggered the cam. This one's a keeper!

For tonight? I've set the NV Shutter from High to Medium.

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" NV Shutter from High to Medium. "? Hmmm. To be honest? Something went wrong in there. Of a normal night, I expect to get around thirty clips of activity. All through the night into the birds feeding at daybreak.

This morning, I had Three! And the camera wouldn't spark up when I tried to open the menu.

Checked all the batteries, on two different meters. All come up as better than just okay. Dunno.

But, would this whole thing seem right, if I allowed a test of just three clips to stand? Two of which featured me, wearing a head torch? I think, to be fair, I'll have to run this same setting tonight. Brand new batteries too. Any proper test needs consistency.

Life's a bitch. Then we lose a day ?

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" NV Shutter from High to Medium ". Forget That!!!

I see it even has a Low setting? No fukking way!!! I had it out again, last night, on Medium. Got about Three clips. Two of which were me setting it up. Medium needs a fukking mammoth to walk past. Low? I dread to think!

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  • 1 month later...

W. Katchum asked me, on another of my threads, about this cam. I'm answering him here, so we can keep all relevant information together, as best we can.

Katch; You say: " Decent camera that, think it would work watching over traps? An over carcasses? "

Frankly, mate? Don't Buy A Bush!!!

" @Greyman " said, elsewhere, how he found the more up market cam's just started failing? Famous last words! Having had this fukking thing about five years? The moment I started actually starting to Use it? Naah!

I've tested the crap out of the Settings ~ see above! I'm watching ~ and Testing ~ the batteries. How come I've dropped from Thirty clips a night, to TEN?!

Have my foxes just suddenly stopped coming? Has the day not broke? Have no more birds appeared in front of it? And How The Fukking HELL can a Transit van drive over a Hundred yards, straight at it ... And yet not trigger it till it's backing out past it?!

It's simply become Catch As Catch Can, Katchum. You don't want to be paying good money for That!

But, " @walshie " mentions, again above, about the shit we'd get from a chink cheapo? So, I dunno if He has anything to add? What brands are chink?

Fox watching friend asked me about cams. I could only tell her 1. Don't get Red IR's. They light up, bright and red, when the cam activates. Foxes will look at them. People will smile and come for them! Get a " Black Light " model.

2. ? Don't bother spending too much. Mine was about £80.00, back then. Now? I see cam's for £50.00.  No idea how'good' they are?

My friend showed me a link to a guy getting crippling clips with his Browning cams? I looked ..... £250 / 300+!!!!! For That money? I'd sit and watch your fukking trap!

Bottom line then? I wish I fukking knew! Because, I'd like another cam. But, I really don't know where to look :( And, at £50.00 starter? 'Suck it and see' is not the ideal option, is it?

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