Deer Trail Cameras Buying Guide

For any person who decides to buy a deer trail camera, the task at first can seem quite daunting and overwhelming. There are so many countless types of trail cameras with their whole hosts of features. They are also many different manufacturing companies with their different makes and models adding to the already confusing mix, which makes the process of singling out one camera from among all the variety seem a more and more impossible feat to achieve. However, as with anything which gives you trouble when trying to understand it, you need to go to the basics of the deer trail cameras and then work your way up.

The Inners Workings of the Deer Trail Cameras

There are five major things to consider when buying deer trail cameras. First of all, and most importantly, you must ensure how well the detection circuit work. The detection circuit essentially ensures that the camera has detected any activity that has taken place close to it. Next up, you need to keep in mind the battery life of the trail camera. Trail cameras are meant to be left a spot for a prolonged time in order to get the best footage; this means that they also require a long lasting battery.

Infra red emitters are quite crucial to the camera as well as the kind of emitters the camera has. A red glow infra red flash is slightly detectable by the human aye as well as the animals’ eyes, but it is dim enough to not scare them away. There is also a no glow version, which is completely indistinguishable. Good picture quality is imperative when your buy something that is as much of an investment as a deer trail camera. Before you buy one, make sure that you look at sample pictures of each camera that you consider.

The last thing to consider for a trail camera is its setup process and its viewing screen. It would be ideal for you that the setup took as minimal time as possible while being as simplistic as possible as well. Additionally, if it has an internal viewing screen that would make matters easy for you as you could see the pictures being taken while they are still inside the camera as well. Going back to the basics not only helps you in understanding the workings of the camera but also gives you an idea of the basic features that you need to look out for. 

Detection Circuits

Thedetection circuit of the trail camera is essentially the sensory system of the camera. The camera’s sensor senses both heat and actual activity and takes this as a trigger to come in to action. There are three things to consider when deciding whether the detection circuit of one camera is better than another; trigger time, recovery time and detection zone. The trigger time is the time that the camera takes to sense an activity, and then to take a picture of it.

Recovery time, on the other hand, is the time that it takes the camera to store the picture taken to its memory and prepare itself to take the next picture. These are crucial times and the more efficient these are, the better the camera is. The detection zone of the camera is the maximum length around it in which it is able to sense any activity through movement and heat. It then sends a message of this to the camera to trigger it in to taking a picture. So, essentially the efficient working of the camera depends on the quality of its detection cicuits. 

Batteries

Taking pictures with trail cameras is not an easy task, but in fact requires a lot of effort and time. In order to factor in the time element of this equation, the battery of the camera has to be very long lasting. You get the most bang for your buck when buying a trail camera when you get a camera that has an impressively long lasting battery. There are two kinds to trail camera batteries; nimh camera batteries, they save you money and last a long while, and lithium batteries, which are the most reliable variety of batteries as well as the longest lasting. 

Infrared Emitters & Picture Quality

When buying a trail camera do not pay attention to its megapixels. Megapixels are a marketing gimmick when it comes to trail cameras as companies focus their attention on a higher megapixel while installing a lower quality lens in their camera. This on the surface gives you a lower priced camera with maximum megapixels, but in fact is just ripping you off as you are not getting what you deserve. High megapixels with a lower quality lens is a bad idea because it gives you low quality, grainy pictures.

The best means by which to judge a camera is to test out its sample pictures, which you can find easily online. Pictures taken at night depend on the kind of flash you choose; infrared cameras give you black and white photos, while white flash camera give you a better quality, colored one. Additionally, choosing a no glow camera means its undetectable by anyone, a red glow one is slightly more obvious, while the white flash camera is visible when it takes a picture and can scare animals away though its provides better photos. 

Setting Up & Viewing Screen

Deer trail cameras, in general, are slightly more complicated than an average camera and can take a little while longer for you to get the grasp on using them. However, there are some very reasonable options that have the right features as well as being a little less confusing, and a bit more comprehensible to use and set up. The viewing screen is the next and last important element to the trail camera. It is the screen that allows you to view the pictures taken by the camera while they are still in the camera.