Best Quality Trail Camera for Sale By Blaze Video USA

2. A GUIDE TO COMMON TRAIL CAMERAFEATURES Just like the world of conventional digital cameras, there is now a bewildering array of makes, models, specifications and prices of trail cameras (camera traps), making it hard to choose the best one for you. This guide to common trail camera features, written by experienced camera trapper Dr Stephen Ellwood from Wildlife Savvy Ltd, aims to help you understand what’s what. And, acknowledging that there is a world of alternative sources of information out there, to help or baffle you, Stephen keeps things simple, while also explainingsomejargon-inbolditalics-thatmayprove useful in websearches.

3. HOW TRAIL CAMERASWORK A basic description of how trail cameras work provides a useful contact in which to understand their various features. Trail cameras are designed to exist in a state of almost complete electronic sleep, much like a TV left on stand-by. The bit that is fully awake is the motion-sensor. In most trail cameras this is a Passive Infra-Red (PIR) detector, essentially the same as those seen in burglar alarms. When the PIR detects motion, it ‘wakes up’ the rest of the camera and triggers a rapid chain of events: light levels are detected and the flash turned on accordingly; focus is achieved; shutter speed is determined; one or more pictures or video are taken by the image-sensor; pictures/videoarestoredonanSDcard(SecureDigital);thecameragoesbacktosleep.Justhowmuchthecamera sees(fieldofview)andwhatitcanphotographislargelydeterminedbyacombinationofthelens,thetype ofimage- sensor receiving light from the lens, the level of illumination (sunlight or flash) and the trigger-time (time between movement detection and a picture being taken). Importantly, most trail cameras these days will take colored images/videoduringdaylightandblackandwhiteatnightbyusinganinfra-red(IR)flash-asopposedtothewhite- light flash of a conventional camera. The parameters required to control the camera, and mentioned in the features below,arepre-programmedbytheuserviaascreenanduserinterfaceonthecameraitselfandcanbechangedas required.Somecamerasevenhaveabuiltinscreensuitableforviewingimageson.

4. KEY TRAIL CAMERAFEATURES Therearetenkeyfeatures oftrailcamerastoconsider: Ability to detectanimals Trigger-time (time between movement detection and a picture beingtaken) Recovery-time(time betweenapicture/videobeing takenandthecamerabeingreadytobetriggeredforthenext) Lens Flash/illuminators Picture/Videoquality Picture/Video settings and theireffects Memory (SD)card Powersupply Other bells andwhistles

5. 1) ABILITY TO DETECTANIMALS Although some trail cameras can be plugged into external motion detection devices, most use PIRs. PIRs detect average changes in the thermal landscape in front of the trail camera and not the specific heat sources a thermal imager does. These changes in temperature occur whenever anything moves that is a different temperature to its background.Assuch,PIRsareasequallysensitive tocoldobjectsmovinginfrontofwarmbackgroundsastheyare to the more usual warm objects i.e. animals, moving in front of cooler backgrounds – it all amounts the same thing. Similarly, a big animal moving far away is likely to be detected as easily as a small animal moving close to the cameraifbothrepresentthesametemperature changerelativetothebackground.Ifaverybiganimalisveryclose to a PIR, but is motionless, then it won’t be detected. It then follows that the faster the movement, and therefore the greater therateofchangeintemperature,themorelikelythePIRistotriggerthecamera.ThesensitivityofaPIRto detect these subtle temperature changes will depend on the make and model of trail camera used and only testing can determine this. Fortunately, it is easy to find independent tests on the web. Some trail cameras employ up to three PIRs, pointing in different directions, designed to anticipate animals moving into the field of view of the camera.Heretheriskofpictureswithnoanimalsinshotmust beweighedupagainstthevalueofanticipationand oftenasinglegoodqualityPIRwillbemorethanadequate.

7. 2) TRIGGER-TIME (TIME BETWEEN MOVEMENT DETECTION AND A PICTURE BEINGTAKEN) Onceananimalhasbeendetected,thetrigger-timedetermineswhetherornotananimalisstillinfrontofthe camerawhenthepictureistaken!Thisisentirelyafeatureofthemakeandmodelofcameraandcanbeasfastas 0.1 seconds or as slow as 1+ second and may represent the difference between a fast moving animal being photographed or being missed altogether. Trigger-time is generally quoted by manufacturers on their websites becauseafasttrigger-timeisarealsellingpoint.Trigger-timeislikelytobeslowerwhenrecordingvideoasittakes longerforthecamerato‘wakeup’videorecordingsystemsthanthoseusedforstillimages.Therefore,ifyouwantto video fast moving animals, you should choose a camera with a quick trigger time on its video setting. Our recommendation would be to go for a fast trigger-time on still images as you’ll miss far fewer animals with this feature.

8. 3) RECOVERY-TIME (TIME BETWEEN A PICTURE/VIDEO BEING TAKEN AND THE CAMERA BEING READY TO BE TRIGGERED FOR THENEXT) There is reduced benefit in a fast trigger-time if the camera has to spend the next minute mustering the energy to make another attempt. The very best trail cameras have no recovery-time at all and keep on taking multiple pictures in a row, but this feature is often overlooked. Imagine the scenario where a herd of deer walk in front of a trail camerabutyouonlygetapictureoftheleadanimalbecausetheslowrecovery-timemeantthattheresthadpassed by before the camera was ready to take another picture. This problem can be partly remedied using video settings but,youguessedit,slowrecovery-timeonstillpictures oftenmeansanevengreater recovery-timeonvideo.

9. 4)LENS Generally, most trail cameras come with a fixed focal-length (and therefore field of view) lens. This includes a fixed near-point of focus. Choosing a wide-angle lens is great for getting a lot in the picture, but individual subjects risk appearing small on the image. Whereas a narrow field of view, zoom lens, can miss a lot of detail. Some manufacturersoffer achoiceoffactoryfittedlensesforaparticularmakeandmodel,andBushnellmaketheNature- View camera with user-changeable lenses specifically designed to have a very close near-point of focus – great for photographingbirdsonfeeders.Againitispossibletofindinformationonlensesonmanufacturerwebsites.

10. 5)FLASH/ILLUMINATORS Trailcameraflash/illuminatorunitsarefactoryfittedandtherefore,becausethescenariosinwhichacameracanbe used are largely determined by its flash/illuminator type, the choice of model is critical. We refer to flash and illuminator as one and the same because they are the same unit – if a still image is to be taken then the lights flash oninstantaneously,whereas forvideotheyilluminateforlonger.Therearethreetypesofflash,i)whitelight–justlike a conventional camera and used for taking color pictures/video in the dark, ii) low-glow infra-red and iii) no-glow infra-red(akablack-flash,covert-flash).Infra-redflashproducesblackandwhiteimagesandisnormallyonlyusedat night. Infra-red light sits at the boundary and just beyond the visible light spectrum, and so infra-red flashes are far lesslikelytodisturbshynocturnalanimalsthanawhitelightflash.Standardlow-glowflashesuseLED arrays emitting infra-red at a wavelength of around 850 nm. Most cameras are less sensitive to 850 nm infra-red thantheyaretowhitelight,butcanstillgenerateagoodqualityimageunder thisillumination.Thedownsideof850 nminfra-redisthatthereisstillafaintredglowvisibletothehumaneye,andjudgingbyexperience,alsovisibleto animals. However, as new cameras are even more sensitive to infra-red it has become possible to use LED arrays emitting light further into the infra-red spectrum at around 940 nm. Under this illumination pictures/video may be more ‘grainy’ and flash range is reduced, but the visible glow is hugely reduced and only really visible to the human eye when staring directly into the flash unit Apart from not disturbing your subjects, infra-red flash is also useful for trailcamerasecurity.Thismeansthatcamerasarelesslikelytobestolenbecausetheirpositionsarenotgivenaway bybrightflashesoflightinthedepthsofnight.

11. 6) PICTURE/VIDEOQUALITY We’vealreadymentionedhowflashtypecanaffect imagequality,butthefeaturehavingthegreatesteffectonthisis the resolution of image-sensor used. Resolution is stated in Megapixels (MP), and is simply the number of pixels recorded in a digital image. One Megapixel is one million pixels. The more Megapixels, the better quality the image is likely to be, but with the downside that a high Megapixel count will result in you using up your camera’s memory storage (its SD card) more rapidly. Most trail cameras are now 5 MP or greater, but beware of ‘interpolated’ values because these represent lower resolution image sensors but where the camera’s processor has estimated what an imagewouldlooklikeathigherresolution–a12MPinterpolated imagewon’tbeasgoodasafully12MPone.

12. 7) PICTURE/VIDEO SETTINGS AND THEIREFFECTS Still pictures versus video The choice between cameras providing still pictures or both video and stills seems obvious,andwewouldsuggestthatitmakessense togoforbothgiventhatthisisaprovisionofmostcamerasnow and at a reasonable price. However, consider that some of the most robust, reliable and power efficient (see 9. below) trail cameras and, critically, possessing some of the fastest trigger-times on the market, only provide still images. On top of this, also consider that video needs the flash unit to provide illumination for the full duration of video(atnight)andvideoalsousesalotofmemory.Therefore,theprovisionofvideo mayalsobeimpracticalforlong deployments. Single still pictures versus bursts of stills versus video Building on this direct comparison of still and video, consider that most cameras now allow a sequence of stills to be taken (say up to 10), with almost no recovery- time in between, and some even offer ‘near-video’ at around two individual pictures a second. These ‘bursts of stills’ are likely to capture much of the action that video will, but with a much lower battery power and memory storage overhead. So, aiming for a camera that specialises in better quality bursts of still images might, again, be a better optioncomparedtoageneraliststills/videocombination.

13. 8) MEMORY (SD)CARD We have already covered how various settings are likely to fill up your trail camera’s SD card either faster or slower, so you might think that it makes sense to buy the largest capacity SD card you can afford (2, 4, 6….128 GB capacity). However, you must check with the camera manufacturer what the maximum capacity SD card is for your chosen camera. This is because the file system built into SD cards is different at different capacities and you may find, for example,thatyouarelimitedto16GBSDs.So,ifyouplantotakealotofvideoyoumaywanttooptforacamerathat supportshighcapacitySDcards.YoumustalsoconsiderSDcardClass.Classeffectivelyreferstothespeedatwhich pictures/video are written to and from the SD card, with 5 classes currently available (2, 4, 6, 8, 10). The higher the number the faster the card but the more they usually cost. But, picking too low a class SD is likely to be a false economy as it will slow down the trigger and recovery time of your camera and may even prevent your camera workingatall.Againmanufacturerswillrecommendwhichclasstogofor.

14. 9) POWERSUPPLY Trail cameras are generally powered by a bank of AA batteries within the camera enclosure. However, some models dohaveprovisionforexternalpowersupplies.Thiscouldbeoneof,oracombinationof,DC(transformedfrommains power), an external high capacity rechargeable battery (e.g. 12V lead-acid or lithium), or solar panel. These external poweroptionshavetheeffectofdramaticallyincreasingcameralongevityinthefieldcomparedtoAAbatteries,and may be especially useful if there is likely to be a heavy use of flash, especially for video. More important though, to most users, is what type of AA battery to use, or more correctly what battery chemistry – I’ll stick with ‘type’. Batteries canbesplitintorechargeableandnon-rechargeable(primarycells).Commonrechargeable include,Lithium-ion(Li- ion), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Nickel-Cadmium (NiCad). Lithium-ion batteries tend to have specialized high voltage applications, whereas NiCad's are now a largely defunct technology. This leaves NiMH. These have a lower capacity(equatingtoshorterdeploymenttime)thanprimaries,butofferacostssavingthroughmultipleuse. However, some manufacturers do not recommend the use of rechargeable because they operate at a slightly lower voltage (1.2V) than primaries (1.5V) and may also be incapable of delivering high current. This can result in a loss of performance e.g. weak flash. But, high performance NiMH batteries do exist, for example Panasonic Unloop, which shouldbeconsideredasacostsavingalternativetoprimarybatteries.Non-rechargeableprimarybatterieshavetwo common types, Lithium (Lithium-iron disulphide) and Alkaline. Lithium batteries can provide higher currents and have a greater capacity and therefore longevity than Alkaline, but they are considerably more expensive. So the choice comes down, as ever, to application, with shorter deployments and/or daytime scenarios favoring alkaline primaries or NiMH rechargeable, through to longer deployments and/or heavy night-time use of flash favoring Lithiumprimariesorhighperformance NiMH.

16. 10) OTHER BELLS ANDWHISTLES Remote access topictures/video Anincreasinglyavailableoptionnowisforacameratohaveabuiltinmobilephonemodem(3G,4G;Cellular),or Wi-Fitransceiver,sothattrailcamerascanbeaccessremotely.Thisallowsremotedownloadofpictures/video,a very useful feature if the camera is in a particularly inaccessible or hazardous place, or indeed where there is a great risk of ecological disturbance via human visits to cameras. However, remote access comes at both a financialcostbutalsoapracticalonebecausethetransmissionofimagesrapidlydrainsbatteries. Time-lapse This is a feature to look out for, if nothing else because it can be so much fun to experiment with. In time-lapse mode a trail camera is set up to take a picture at regular intervals - say one a minute - and not only when movement is detected (some models can do both at the same time). The sequence of images can then be joined together into a movie, effectively speeding up whatever sequence of events has been recorded (one picture a minute, played back at the standard 25 frames per second of movies, equates to a 1500 fold increase in speed). Thisisthetechniqueusedforrecordingplantsgrow.Time-lapseisveryusefulforpickingupcoldbodiedanimals thatmaynottriggeraPIR,orindeedcapturingimagesofwarmbodiedanimalsthataremovingtoo slowly,orare too far away, to trigger thePIR.

17. Scheduling Schedulingistheofficialtermforsettingon-offperiodsandisagreatwayofsavingpowerandcuttingdownon unwanted pictures/video that will use up battery power and fill up SD cards. For example, you may only be interested innocturnalanimals,soyouscheduleyourcameratoonlyworkatnight. Security Trailcameras areexpensivepiecesofkitandthereisnothingworsethanreturningtoasite,excitedlyanticipating theamazingpicturesyouareboundtohavetaken, onlytofindthatyourcamerahasbeen stolen.Althoughthefirst line of security should always be to set up you camera in a hidden place using as much camouflage as you can muster,alittleextraphysicalsecurityisuseful.Manytrailcamerascomereadyfittedwithaholethroughwhich a Python cable lock can be threaded (for attachment to a tree). Then there are ‘cages’ sometimes referred to as ‘bear-cages’intowhichtheentirecameracanbefitted,butwithapre-cutholeforthelens,PIRandflash.Asthe namessuggest,thesehelppreventdamagebywildlifeaswellastheft.

18. Screen Mosttrailcamerashaveatleastaminimalscreen,onedigithigh –morelikeapocket calculatordisplay –thatis used for setting many of the various parameters mentioned above. Some, however, also come with a built in screen on which recorded pictures/video can be reviewed, but which can also be used to see what the camera seeslive-averyusefultoolforaimingthecamera,eliminatingalotoftrialanderror. Walk-test Again, used when aiming a trail camera, a walk-test function usually flashes a light on the front of the camera when its PIR is triggered. By moving a hand or foot, in front of the camera a user can test to see if an animal movinginthedesiredpartofthecamera’sfieldofviewwilltriggerthePIRandthereforetakeapicture.Walk-tests aregreatateliminatingblind-spotsinthePIR’sdetectionrange,wherethecameracanseesomethingbutthePIR fails to trigger a picture. Simple re-positioning on a camera – may be just tilting it a little – can ensure greater success.

19. Shutterspeed Those familiar with conventional photography, will know that if you want to take a picture of a fast moving object thenyouneedafastshutter speed–thatis,astillimageiscapturedoverashortperiodoftimeduringwhichthe subjecthaslittlechancetomoveandcauseablurredimage. However,fastshutterspeeds allowlesslightintothe camera and so may produce dimmer pictures. These conventions apply equally to trail cameras, but it is good to havetheoptiontoadjustshutterspeed,evenifitisatthebasicleveloffast,mediumandslow.Itcouldbethatyou justwanttogetpicturesofbirdsanddon’tmindifthepictureisabitdim.Someprofessionalgradetrailcameras givetheuseralotmorecontroloverbasicfunctionslikeshutter speedandthesemaybeworthlookingoutfor.

20. About Us - Blaze Video TrailCameras About BlazeVideo BlazeVideoisaregistered brandname, whoareamanufacturerwhofocusondesigning,makingandsellinghigh quality Trail cameras. We are committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. We also offer product wholesale, OEM, brand distribution and brand agent for our trail cameras. We are seekingthelocalbranddistributor,brandagent andresellersforourtrailcamerasallovertheworld.Weareatop brand on AmazonUS. Blaze Video is a global online retail company that delivers products directly to consumers around the world. Founded in 2016, Blaze Video has offered customers a convenient way to shop for a wide selection of hunting productsandoutdoorsportsproductsatattractivepricesthroughwww.blazevideo.net andotherwebsites,which areavailableinmultiplemajorlanguages. BlazeVideooffersproductsinthefourcorecategoriesofapparel,trailcamera,sport&outdoor,smallaccessories and homegarden.

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