Garden camera for wildlife?

B0bbyEwing

We have a Ceyomur CY50 camera right now & while it's ok it's also a little annoying in its detection (and certainly battery usage). 

We have a few hedgehogs that have taken to making our garden their home. We put this camera out at night & it does pick them up but for example - yesterday we put the camera out & pointed it towards the bucket that we filled with hay for the hogs to take in for their bedding. This morning the hay was gone & the camera did at times detect the hogs roaming around but it didn't detect the hay being taken. It's all hit & miss. 

And then there's the battery issue. Initially we were using 'proper' batteries but we very quickly had to switch to rechargeables as it drains batteries so fast. It'd be better if a new cam was solar powered (I know there's not much sun at night but I was assuming a days sun would give it enough charge through the night?) or maybe mains (although I'm not sure how I'd work that one so perhaps batteries are our only option for now).

Just looking for recommendations from others who may have cams in their garden for different animals that come through.

YoungBlueEyes

I couldn't tell you a thing about cameras, but have you tried putting this on the diy forum? I'm sure I've read about this kind of thing over there. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/in-my-home-includes-diy-moneysaving

Tell them you've already asked on here, in case it's the first thing they recommend.

twopenny

Ha! Funny that because I was going to suggest the Techie Forum

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/techie-stuff

I know a couple of people in our camera club that use them. Both good though I think one was looking for a different one, better.

I can ask on Friday if that's not too late for you.

I often use the Amazon reviews to try and find out the truth about something. Go for the 3* or 4* first because they will mention any problems - the 1* tend to be people who've had a faulty or bad delivery

FreeBear

YoungBlueEyes said:

I couldn't tell you a thing about cameras, but have you tried putting this on the diy forum? I'm sure I've read about this kind of thing over there.

Someone was posting a few weeks back asking about cameras that he could install inside the house - That thread got deleted pretty quick. He asked again claiming it was to monitor mouse activity in the kitchen. Didn't end well second time round (thread deleted again)....

By all means post on the DIY forum, but be clear about your intentions and the targets of interest.

Dustyevsky

We have a Browning, the same one Springwatch was using a few years ago. It is OK on batteries, but we've used the expensive ones recommended. We've not tried rechargeables.

The camera works fine, but I wouldn't call the pictures it produces wonderful. As you say, it's also hit & miss with field conditions, wind moving branches etc, setting it off.

Here's a rat photo we had from it:

It was good to ascertain we only had two rats to deal with. (Now deceased ) You may be able to compare with the sort of b&w images you get and decide if paying around £180 is really worth it! I'm not convinced.

At present, we're using the Browning, which has a dark mode (no visible flash) in an attempt to ascertain who is the phantom wheelie-bin filler, but for reasons hinted at above, I can't go into use with human 'animals!'

Dustyevsky

Newsflash! We have just established the bags of ferret food in the barn were not nibbled by rats. Two local cats have been identified by facial recognition and their social credit scores 'downwardly adjusted.' 

FreeBear

Dustyevsky said: Two local cats have been identified by facial recognition and their social credit scores 'downwardly adjusted.' 

Photos or it didn't happen

alicef

We have a Victure Wildlife Trap Camera 20MP. The pictures are not as clear as those captured by Dustyevsky plus my OH thinks that the camera clock has to be reset everytime the batteries are recharged, (which we don't do).  The picture above was taken in the last day or so but the datetime stamp is way out!

531063

Would a smart doorbell be sensitive enough to pick up small animal movement, if left low down.

FreeBear

531063 said:

Would a smart doorbell be sensitive enough to pick up small animal movement, if left low down.

Some would appear to be.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-66429837

Dustyevsky

FreeBear said:

Dustyevsky said: Two local cats have been identified by facial recognition and their social credit scores 'downwardly adjusted.' 

Photos or it didn't happen

Will these do?