Trail cam observations!

[barry]

We've been putting out trail cams for years.
When the no-flash Infra-Red came out we thought they would be the ticket so as not to spook those weary old bucks, but it seems that every other photo of deer taken with IR cams the deer are looking directly at the camera. Plus nite pics are often blurry.
Then came the Black Flash that claimed to be even better, we haven't tried these but friends have and they don't care for them for the same reasons.
After using a Flash cam this summer and fall we found that none of the deer were looking at the camera and the flash has no effect on the deer, and it's nice to have non-blurry color pics of the game.
What I'm gettin' at is we will not buy another IR cam, flash cams only from now on!

[Salty Bum]

i have to agree with what you said

[teke]

I agree strictly flash for me

[RutnNStrutn]

Barry, I agree 100%!! We've tried flash & IR versions of several cameras on our property in SC. We also have the nighttime blur problem, and it is very aggravating when you can make out antlers but can't tell if he's a good buck or not. Also, when we first got them, we would walk in front of them to check it out. When the IR comes on it makes a click noise, which is why I think the deer are looking at the camera.
When you add in the extra cost of an IR camera, we prefer to go with a flash cam. Like you, we haven't had any issues with them spooking deer. The only problem is finding them. It seems like Cabelas, Bass Pro, Sportsman Guide, and all the other major catalog stores are going to almost exclusively IR.

[GSLAM95]

IR & white flash cameras have been the subject of testing for years.  Years ago when the Sony P32 and Sony P41 cameras were first being hacked by homebrew camera guys I used to frequent a site called hagshouse.com
There was a wealth of knowledge on that board and I am sure there still is to this day for the homebrew camera builders.
I met several guys who were into the builds much more than myself but I have about 10 of them to date that I still use.  Two of them being IR converted units.  Simply put there is no game camera out there that will not be detected some of the time by some of the deer. 
I know of several test put in place where IR cams usually get more pictures from the same spot but overall no matter the camera the pictures will always decrease if left in the same area.
Game cameras are a great pre and post season scouting tool to let you know what is in the area (for deer) but they will always end up skirting that area or stop using the area entirely after time (mature bucks certainly)!
Turkeys on the other hand I have found it has no effect on.  I opt for the white flash set ups overall due to the picture quality always winning out.  I have to this day still found nothing any better than my P41 Sony in a Pelican 1040 case with a SnapShotSniper digital control board.  The speed of Gary's board and the clarity from the Sony P41 is just hard to beat.
There are some good commercial cams out there as well but there is a lot more junk than good.  Simply put you get what you pay for just like anything else...

[turkey_slayer]

Gslam I agree. I got into homebrewing just before the d380 and p32 came out and guys were hacking the old canon 35mm owls with rs232. I've got both IR and white flash tho majority are white flash. We stumbled onto something years ago by accident. We have a huge bear problem here and everyone knows how they love cams. We couldn't keep em for a week without bears damaging them so we started hanging them around 8 feet high. Bears would still get a few but nothing like before. We also weren't getting pics of deer spooking or looking at the camera. Here's a video that explains what we found but goes into detail why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQUSR5BdIk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[blackswamp]

turkey_slayer...nice video I always wondered if mounting a camera up higher would help some how.

[jblackburn]

I got a Primos Blackout for Christmas.  Totally disappointed.  Horrible night pictures, marginal day pics.  I think the 35 is a better camera!

[hookedspur]

I agree strictly flash for me

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