Gleb Sedash: A camera trap gives you a glimpse into the life of a wild animal. Security cameras or camera traps for hunting Search for camera traps in the forest

Who walks next to the reserve cordon Baigazan. February 2019Miroslava Sakhnevich, a researcher of the reserve, a resident of the Baygazan cordon, continues to talk about observations of the animal world of the Altai Reserve using camera traps. What did the camera trap see in the vicinity of the reserved cordon during the past winter months? -In the vicinity of the reserved cordon, winter is still in full force and frosts freeze and sometimes fall asleep with snow. However, the days have become noticeably longer, the sun no longer immediately hides behind the mountain, but makes a circle across the sky wider and wider, and in general, sunny days became more. AT...

Boars. Descendants of the ancient fauna of the preglacial period. First appeared in the Altai Reserve, on the eastern shore of Lake Teletskoye in the Bele tract in 1980-1981, they almost immediately became permanent residents of these places. At the same time, they gradually penetrated further to the north. In 1983 they reached the mouth of the river. Kokshi, which is 20 km from Bela. In the mid-80s, individual individuals began to appear, at times, on the northern shore of the lake, initially in the area of ​​​​the central estate of the reserve - the village. Yaylu. The boar is a representative of the order of artiodactyls. ...

Deer on the sunny slopes With the onset of spring in the near Teletsk part of the biosphere reserve, deer begin to actively go out onto open sunny slopes, where thawed patches and the first greenery appear first of all. On the frames obtained with the help of a photo recorder: marals on the sunny slopes near Teletsk, covered with freshly fallen snow. Installation of a photorecorder - Yury Kalinkin, a researcher at the Altai Biosphere Reserve.

March 31st, 2015

Again and again I am amazed at how many people in different parts light remains in complete ignorance of the animal world surrounding them. A tropical forest, savannah, the mountains in which they live seem lifeless to them.
Gerald Darrell, opening lines of "Around the World"

Animals and birds are everywhere, well, or almost everywhere. Lynx, bear and wolf live a hundred kilometers from Moscow. Foxes feed their cubs on the outskirts of a big city, flocks of birds rest on the migration and breed chicks in the Vinogradovskaya floodplain. Past the porch on the old suburban area a hedgehog hurries to hunt in the evening, and a lizard blissfully blisses on the foundation stone heated during the day. Everywhere life. You just need to look carefully. But going on an excursion into nature, most often we see nothing, at best, a swollen track on the old snow, an indistinct shadow in the stockade of trunks. Or the hearing sharpened on a dark evening separates the sudden crunch of a branch from the usual noise of a departing train. Who's there?

For many years I have been shooting wildlife, photographing animals, birds, insects and then telling readers and viewers about them. The camera is my constant companion on expeditions. But recently I have found myself indefatigable helpers who are day and night in nature. In an unfamiliar place, they look with all their eyes and then tell me about what is happening. These are automatic forest cameras, camera traps. Based on the results of their work, I draw conclusions, plan photo shoots and try to appear in the right place at the right time. Because now I know something. I will share my impressions.

I first heard about camera traps a few years ago at a serious meeting of directors of reserves and national parks. But somehow I didn’t expect that they would find their place in my backpack. The quality of the picture cannot be compared with a photograph taken by a person using a real camera. So it was until I met Elena Sitnikova from the Bryansk Forest reserve. She clearly showed me photographs, where you can see that wolves have passed in the very place where I stomped a few days ago. But the bears bathe in the dust, and then the wild boars. The very first installations of traps on a swamp island in the Polistovsky Reserve gave me a story about how raccoon dogs hibernate and what dangers they face. Forest cameras installed in the Kologrivsky Forest reserve told about where it makes sense to wait for the elk, and where it is almost impossible to meet. Forest life began to open up to me from an unknown side. Therefore, on a new expedition to Southern Urals, in national park"Taganai" I took several camera traps, which were provided by Petr Shpilenok and the "Sorokoput" company, for which they thank you so much.

Camera traps are not substitutes for the photographer. They are, above all, true storytellers. Their lens reflects the real, non-fictional behavior of the characters, as it seems to me. On the basis of these documentary filming, it is possible to plan future work, to find out when animals like to visit a watering place, a flutter, a salt lick. And will this be the right time for filming. You can adjust the position of the shelter relative to the sun and decide how rich life is in this particular place. If it is saturated (I call such places forest crossroads) then it may be worth spending a few days in order to quietly and discreetly observe. To do this, with the inspector Nikolai Pechersky (by the way, he is a Real Connoisseur of taiga life), they set up traps along the ravines and slopes, and they themselves began to untangle wolf tracks, capercaillie raids, and beaver dams in a completely different place. So several days passed, and the traps, independently of us, recorded everything that happened.

Let's digress for a while from the forest secrets and take care of the materiel. It happened to hear stories about how a difficult and difficult path was passed, traps were set, but there was no result. For different reasons. Someone could not understand the complexities of the English-language interface, someone set the camera so that only a piece of land fell into the field of view of the lens, or the object was very far away. Somewhere, branches fluttering in the wind forced the automation to respond to movement, and the memory card turned out to be filled with hundreds of empty photographs without the main character. Or they didn’t buy memory cards at all, and there were no instructions with the trap. Let's try to avoid all this.

So, there are three camera traps from different manufacturers. These are the big and heavy Spromise 128S, the more compact ScoutGuard 860U-HD and the elegant Lti Acorn 5310MC. All of them are united by the fact that the instructions are only on English language. Agree, not the most common language among nature conservation inspectors, mostly living in remote cordons, in villages among forests, mountains and swamps. Of course, there is no Russian language in the interface, but as far as I know, Russian firmware is starting to appear. There are in nature, for example, on the websites of sellers, instructions in Russian. I thought about this before the trip and downloaded them all, for each model. It turned out not in vain.

So, the largest and heaviest model. Weighs 370 grams without batteries and memory card.

For power, 4 to 12 AA batteries or accumulators are used. A set of 4, 8 or 12 batteries can be installed. After half a month of operation, the batteries had no signs of discharge, as if new. The latch of the lid is large, very convenient. And the only trap equipped with a snap-on plastic lock on the attachment belt. It is very convenient to install such a trap alone, in the field in water or snow, without fear of dropping it.

The camera is recording a photo or video. The photo resolution is 3200 x 2400 pixels, the focal length of the lens is 3 mm, it is wide-angle with pronounced distortion. The best sharpness and contrast is observed at the infinity point, objects closer than one and a half meters look not sharp enough. In the daytime, the camera's automation sets the value to 50 ISO, at night and twilight it randomly selects values ​​​​from 50 to 800 ISO discretely. The power of infrared illumination is regulated through the menu in the FlashPower tab.

An example of a daytime shot in clear sunny weather.

Night shot in absolute darkness.

At dusk, the camera works in black and white, or in color mode according to its own algorithms.

Or, under the same conditions, it suddenly switches to color mode, unreasonably raising the saturation. Sometimes it works.

And sometimes it leads to marriage and posterization, which cannot be corrected by simple discoloration.

The video camera records in a very high resolution mode of 1920 x 1080, but at 10 frames per second. With mono sound. In the daytime, when shooting video, artifacts in the form of strong color saturation were almost constantly observed. At night, the duration of the videos corresponded to the set duration. Video and sound can be edited in video editors, but the format is not recognized by all programs, it requires conversion to standard 1080i 25 frames per second.

How you managed to realize video shooting in this camera is up to you to judge. Of the usefulness, you can note watching the video right on the trap. Sometimes it helps to make a decision about rearranging the trap right in the field.
The camera is protected against misuse. If there is no SD card, the camera will ask you to insert it. Cards up to 32 GB are supported. The sensitivity of the device operation is adjusted. I set it to the High position, the ability to control and receive photos using mobile phone did not consider due to the lack of communication in the territory.

In general, any control of camera traps is carried out through the menu, confirming your actions and your choice through the OK button, otherwise no changes will be taken into account. Beginners should keep this in mind. Any short-term disconnection of the battery power leads to a failure of the date, then the frames lose their main quality - information content.

And finally - a frame taken by all three camera traps of one object, that is, me. There were no moose nearby, so I had to work as a model. I will give this frame at the end of the description of each product in this story, so excuse me.

And framing so that the features of the lens in ideal shooting conditions are visible.

The second model - ScoutGuard 860U-HD. It looks traditional for many camera traps of this family, like a small brick with fasteners. Weighs 260 grams without batteries and memory cards. It seems to be nonsense, but when you have to go ten kilometers on skis wet snow, the extra 100-200 grams will make a difference. The focal length of the lens is 6.5 mm, it is not as wide-angle as the previous model, but rather has a traditional angle of view of 55 degrees. The device is powered by 4 or 8 batteries, the latter is much more reliable. From experience I know that the operation of such a camera within a month from a fresh set is possible, and there will still be enough energy left. In my case, the consumption for 15 days in the cold was about 10-15 percent of the full charge, and was identified both on the camera and on the battery.

Installing the camera alone is a little more difficult than the previous model. You can fix this if you buy a plastic latch yourself, but it is still desirable that the seller or manufacturer think about it. It is difficult to encircle a tree trunk in weight, thread the strap through the slot and tighten it at least in advance, so that the camera does not fall off. And if there is water below, snow. It won't harm a waterproof device, but dirt on the lens certainly won't add quality to a photo or video.

The most interesting for me was the option of separate focusing for near and far objects. If you set the lens to the NEAR position, you can shoot objects that seem nearby, such as birds, and the details will be sharp and recognizable up to 3-4 meters. If you set it to FAR, then objects in the zone further than 3-4 meters will be sharp.

Numerous shootings have successfully confirmed this, we got an interesting video about the daily life of moose, here you can see how the moose kneels, and the moose kisses the camera.

There were no color artifacts, no problems with saturation. Good detail appeared on the test videos of birds, which can be useful for professional ornithologists for the purposes known to them.

But during night video filming, instead of the set 20 seconds, for some reason, the camera reduced the plot time to 7, then to 2 seconds. I suppose, in doing so, she optimized the electrical consumption of infrared illumination. In the afternoon, everything returned by itself to the desired duration of the video. A secret hidden in the darkness or crooked hands of the user? And the most interesting thing is that you learn about the problem only after a month, for example.
Night video, assembled from 4 clips, can be viewed here

Video quality ( it is written without sound :-( ) 1280 X 720, half the file size of the previous model reviewed. Probably because the recording is at a frequency of 25 frames per second. When turned on, the camera will ask you to install a USB flash drive as a reminder. From criticism, I would like to note the clumsy design of the inscription, which is superimposed on the image when photographing, the absence of a temperature sensor, a strange spot in the form of a phase of the moon. And of course, the absence of power polarity markings on the battery slots.

Well, a traditional photo, in the NEAR position, the far object is blurred.

And in the FAR position, the distant object is sharp.

In conclusion of the story about this type of camera traps, I would like to say that I liked it the most and the main part of the working material transferred to the scientific department national park"Taganai" was filmed by her. But if I didn’t have instructions, if I didn’t know that I need to pay attention to the Object distance tab and what it affects, things could have gone differently.

The third trap looks like an alien from a completely different, not forest world. LTI Acorp 5310 WMC surprises with a different culture of production and technological solutions. Its case is divided into two parts, in one there are 4 batteries and all the electronics, in the other compartment for powering another 4 batteries. According to the manufacturer, this should make installation easier.

However, this is not how it turned out. It is very difficult to fix the product on a small pole or tree, you need to use wood chips, linings, a knife and the help of a partner. On the big tree you also need to select the angle of inclination with the help of improvised chips. And of course, there is again the problem of the strap, only here it is complicated by the "wrong" shape of the body like a backpack. Manufacturers are very proud of it, and such a decision made me look for non-standard ways when fixing the camera mount. Installation on a photographic tripod is very inconvenient, it can lead to physical damage to the camera, but simply speaking, it is almost impossible.

A very wide-angle lens is installed, it is even defined and written in EXIF ​​like this -0.4 mm. Minus 0.4 mm is something new in optical engineering. And accordingly leaves an imprint on the style of shooting, the location of the camera. The subject must be very close, a meter or half a meter from the lens. For example, it can be placed near the exit from a hole in a beaver dam. But the camera is silent. The light filter is mechanically moved during shooting with the help of an electromagnet, I can clearly hear it at a close distance, of course, animals can also hear it. In other traps, this also happens, but there the object is quite far from the camera, but here it is desirable that it be very close. The camera simultaneously records video and takes photos, first a photo and then a video is connected.
Daytime shooting is distinguished by a somewhat specific color rendition, as if you are looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, but still it is better than the posterization effect. The image size is 3000x2212 pixels, although 12 MP proudly appears on the box and in the menu. During operation, the camera selects day and night sensitivity from 50 to 1000 ISO, in each case its own. I understand that this is all electronic virtual sensitivity, but there were no overexposures or underexposures in the filming sequence.

In the bright sun. Notice the crossbills look very small but are 50cm away from the camera.

In cloudy weather, the picture looks more like monochrome. For our purpose, this does not interfere, but still it is a pity, it will be difficult to consider individual coloration, which is different in all animals. Let's rejoice at the pink glasses that the manufacturer gave us for free.

In complete darkness, there is no expected overexposure from infrared illumination, which could be expected at such a focal length.

The camera has a very good time operation, the delay after the signal from the sensors is, according to the manufacturers, only 0.6 seconds. Although, whether the climax gets into the frame depends on luck, the nature of the movement of the animal, on the settings, so I prefer video. Here you can choose both, which of course is wonderful. And do not forget to confirm our choice with the OK button, as in all previous models.

The duration of the video and the interval between them can be flexibly adjusted, it is only necessary to observe a certain relationship between the expected frequency of the object's movement. If it is a large object in a little visited place, we choose one parameter. And if a colony of noisy birds with chaotic constant movement, then the settings will be completely different, otherwise the memory card will fill up very quickly.

The video is recorded at 1280 X 720 resolution, its weight is half that of the ScoutGuard camera, but the frame rate is reduced to 20 per second. It can be viewed, and part of the frame can be enlarged right on the spot. Although personally for me - it's more convenient to do it on a computer. I especially take into account the complexity of installing this particular model of traps. You move the camera by chance and then there will be a skewed horizon, one sky or earth in the frame. So my method is to download the contents of the traps to the laptop and turn the device back on when you carefully leave.

An example of a night video is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHyhAIqB_wk
You can notice how the infrared illumination weakens in the middle (10 seconds).

And finally, the traditional reference plot with me instead of an elk. You can see how different the angle of view of the lens is from previous models.

Summarizing the long experience of dealing with three photo traps, I want to say that they all meet the goal, some are better, some are worse. They still have room to develop, there can be so many useful, innovative solutions. Here you have a Russian-language interface in the menu, and a double focusing system, like in ScoutGuard 860 U-HD, sound recording (optional) like in Spromise 128, unobtrusive date imprinting, like in LTI-Acorp, video + photo selection. And of course, a special glass lens with a quality at least like that of a Smena or Kyiv-30 camera from the time of my childhood. I want too much. It will already be a completely different device, something like a GoPro with a motion sensor. But I believe it will.

In the meantime, I will say that the information provided by the photo traps made it possible to take a picture of an absolutely wild elk in the Taganay forests.

The exact timetable for the arrival of crossbills to the Kialim cordon in the center of Taganay was also given by camera traps. From 10 to 12 in the morning they descend from tall fir trees, and then fly back to their frosty spruce forest.

Therefore, at exactly 9.30 am, I settled in the old house on the porch, buried myself in the swept snow and tried to be invisible. Waited. And of course they came.

We have collected answers to the most frequently asked questions in one place. Starting with the description of the device itself, through installation recommendations to the non-obvious moments of software configuration.

Once we turned to avid hunters with a request to help determine the location of the camera trap. But having heard in response: “we don’t take pictures of game”, it became clear that even for advanced hunters, a camera trap is such a reduced photo gun. But the difference even between these devices is colossal. And if there is a misunderstanding in such a simple matter, we decided to collect information from many sources, structure it and try to convey it in a convenient form to you.

What is a camera trap?

Let's start from the very beginning. A camera trap is a specialized device that is triggered by movement in the working sector. And since there is a prefix “photo” in the name, the result of the device’s operation will be a series of photos or videos, at the moments when the motion sensor is triggered. That is, formally, a camera trap can be imagined as a camera combined with a motion sensor.

Already here you can see the main difference between the camera trap and the same photo gun. The first works in fully automatic mode, and the second only in manual mode. The first aims to capture all moving objects in its sector, for the second the quantity does not matter, the quality of the material obtained is important there, even if this is the only successful shot. The first one works with a wide capture angle, and for the second one, long-focus optics will always be native.

In general, it makes little sense to compare a camera trap with any other hunting equipment, just as there is none when compared with a photographer's equipment. This is a separate device that performs a completely unambiguous task. This is a photo or video recording of any movement in the working sector.

A camera trap is often referred to as a hunting camera. This reflects the main target audience similar devices. It is when hunting that it is important to know as much as possible about the number of individuals and their habits. The camera trap acts as an event recorder. How to use the information received, each hunter is determined independently. Remember the order in which the colors appear in the rainbow? And where are the hunters and the pheasant?

How a camera trap works.

These devices should work in any weather, in any light, in a completely autonomous mode and for the maximum possible time. This immediately imposes a number of mandatory requirements for the device, and restrictions for the manufacturer.

In particular, any camera trap must have:

• dust- and moisture-proof case;
• autonomous motion sensor;
• infrared illumination for night shooting;
• capacious battery, relatively small physical size;

In addition to the mandatory requirements, the following are desirable:

• vandal-resistant case or external case;
• the possibility of remote data acquisition by means of GSM communication;
• backlight operation in an absolutely invisible range, with a wavelength of 940nm.

Let's start from the end. Light is a stream of electromagnetic waves of a certain length. The range of reflected waves visible to the human eye has a relatively narrow section, with wavelengths from 380 to 740 nm.

An approximate sensitivity curve for the human eye is as follows:

The color most perceived by the eye has a wavelength of 540 - 560 nm. And it looks green. The most common matrices used in camera traps have a sensitivity curve with a peak in the 600nm range. Accordingly, the illumination from this range will be the most effective. The only problem is that such illumination is well seen not only by people, but also by animals. Accordingly, instead of observation, we get a deterrent effect.

In most large animals, the area of ​​sensitivity of the eye is very close to that of a human, but they have peaks in slightly different areas. And to minimize the distraction of the backlight - it must be taken to a range above the visible one. Two wavelengths have become the de facto standard - 850nm and 940nm. The closer the wavelength to 600nm, the higher the efficiency, the higher the 740nm, the lower the probability of detection, but also the worse the efficiency. If we mark two indicated wavelengths on the matrix sensitivity curve, then we can see that the backlight efficiency differs by a factor of TWO:

Although the eye itself does not see infrared illumination with a wavelength of 850nm, the radiation source is clearly distinguishable at close range. It looks like a number of pale crimson dots. Since camera traps are placed in close proximity to the object of interest, the probability of an animal detecting a dim glow is still above zero. And it is often more reasonable to choose a backlight with a wavelength of 940nm, which neither the human eye nor the eye of a large animal detects. In this case, it must be understood that the backlight efficiency is reduced.

We rise above. Why do you need remote data capture? Everything is quite prosaic here - the camera trap is placed in a place convenient for observation. It can be a salt lick if you watch elk, roe deer or wild boar. And maybe the entrance to the hole, if you watch the fox. If you are interested in general migration, then the camera trap is carried high on a tree. And now imagine the process of taking data from the top of the tree, and preferably several times a day. To put it mildly, tiresome. In the case of the top of the tree, it is more logical to choose a model with a built-in communication facility. In this case, it is first necessary to examine the possibility of installing a GSM connection in the right place. And check which of the telecom operators provides the most stable coverage in the area of ​​interest. After that, the SIM card of the selected operator is installed in the camera trap, preliminary settings are made, and the camera trap starts sending images via GSM connection, according to the settings. Forwarding is mainly carried out using MMS messages, both to the phones specified during the settings and to the specified e-mail addresses.

Here, it depends only on the necessary tasks which camera trap is better to choose. If there are two slots, one for a microSD card, the other for a SIM card, then the camera trap will by default use whichever channel is available to save pictures. If only a microSD card is installed, it will save locally to it, if there is a SIM card, it will send MMS messages, if both cards are installed, two copies of the footage will be saved, one in original quality, for transmission over a local connection, the second - reduced, so as not to exceed the size of the MMS message allowed by the operator. All parameters are customizable.

Even higher we have the desire to use an anti-vandal case. Here it is worth stopping in more detail, analyzing how it can help, and how to use an external box for a camera trap. If you look from one side, then the outer metal box can be an excellent protection against a large animal, since it is more convenient to hang a camera trap to a height not exceeding two meters to observe it. The external anti-vandal box looks like this:

This is a sturdy metal box, painted in a khaki color that enhances protection from physical impact. If the camera trap is fixed on a tree, then this box is additionally fixed with a lock with a cable. This greatly reduces the chance of unintentional damage to your equipment by forest dwellers. Strongly, but not completely. Since the main danger for the camera trap left in the forest is not an animal, but ... a person who has discovered someone else's good in a deep forest. And if it is extremely difficult to remove a camera trap reinforced with an external cable without a special device, then almost any “hunter” can use your equipment as a target. Here, the “hunter” in quotation marks is not accidental, because real hunters in difficult conditions are more likely to help their colleagues. After all, they themselves may find themselves in a situation where they cannot do without outside help.

It is the protection from a person for a camera trap that is most difficult to organize. There are a few suggestions here:

• always secure the camera trap using an anti-vandal box with a reinforced cable;
• choose an installation site that is inconspicuous for a person (although, given the specifics of hunting, it is not difficult to predict the installation location of camera traps);
• use models with invisible backlight, it is also “black”, it is also with a wavelength of 940nm;
• if possible, place a camera trap inside specially prepared stumps, knots, embankments, inside objects that are common in a particular situation and do not cause much interest to either the animal or the person;
• use a model with GSM notification, in the event of a theft, in most cases, the camera trap manages to send several pictures of the pest. The hunting circle is a very closed area, and it is very easy to lose reputation there. Any forest ranger will be able to identify the local, and it will be possible to reasonably present your claim in any way.

Where are camera traps used?

Climbing up the list, you can already consider where and why camera traps are used. The first and obvious place is population control. To do this, the forestry places camera traps in key places, which practically do not move from year to year. The triggering of the camera trap shutter makes it possible to count the total number of individuals of the controlled species. The time and date recorded on the images will allow you to monitor the movements of the population.

The second of the main uses is hunting. Many people know how uncomfortable and difficult it is sometimes to sit in an indefinite place in a damp cold shelter. Often they don’t wait for the beast, and all the hunting then affects the general well-being. in the best way. If you approach the process with your head, then you can first place camera traps in the most likely locations the appearance of the beast. Sometimes it is more correct to independently organize a salt lick, which will be not far from the animal trails. Observe the animal for a while. And already knowing the habits, the approximate time of arrival, the approximate number - you can hide for an hour - one and a half before the arrival of the beast. Then it all depends on the hunter and his skills.

The third, not entirely obvious use of camera traps is the protection of one's territory. If you live far from the metropolis, then early notification of motion detection will help you take appropriate measures, and a photo or video sequence located at a great distance from the scene of events will be very protected, since hiding traces will be quite problematic. Oddly enough, but it is this use of camera traps that is gaining popularity in recent times. The quality of the resulting material allows you to reliably determine the identity of the intruder, and the secrecy of the installation, the unexpectedness of the installation site, the invisibility of the backlight and long-term (up to 6 months in good models) battery life allows you to successfully cope with seemingly non-core use.

To understand which camera trap is better, you need to understand the conditions in which it will have to work. From right choice the result depends.

In any model, data is stored on a microSD card, which is purchased separately. In the presence of a GSM module, it is most convenient to carry out the initial configuration through a computer. The setting comes down to launching a special application in which the GSM part is configured, the phones to which MMS messages will be sent, e-mail boxes to which sent messages can be duplicated, the resolution for local images, the resolution for sent images, the resolution of videos, the period and the number of shots taken after the motion sensor is triggered. Passwords for users are also configured (there may be several of them, with different privileges), the current date and time are configured, or synchronization over the operator's network. The settings pages look quite simple, you probably won't have to resort to the instructions.

Features when setting up a camera trap

Despite the simplicity of setting up camera traps, we want to pay attention to some points that users stumble over when they first set up models with a GSM module:

• if yours is not in the list of operators (and even if it is), it is best to perform the settings in manual mode by entering the data previously received from the operator.

This is how they might look:

URL=http://mmsc/ ← here they often forget to put the last line, without it it may not work

APN=mms.mts.ru

IP=192.168.192.192

Port=8080

Account=mts

Password=mts

Server=smtp-devices.yandex.ru

APN=internet.mts.ru

Account=mts

Password=mts

Email user=box_for [email protected]

Email password=mail_password

Phone1=+79хххххххх

Email1=box_for [email protected]

• GPRS service must be activated on the SIM card and MMS messages must be allowed; it is better to switch to an unlimited MMS tariff, there are 2 rubles per day up to 300 MMS daily;
• some parameters are better set like this:

Send Mode=Instant ← is an instant send on an event;

Max Number = Unlimited (or 99 if set from remote) ← this is a limit on the number of photos sent per day;

Time Lapse = off ← then it will be triggered only by movement, otherwise - just after a specified period of time;

ISO=400 ← noticeably better pictures are obtained;

Interval (min) = 12 ← the default value here is 1, the moose can wander in front of the camera for hours, with an interval of 1 minute you will get a quickly spammed box;

• after configuration, all data is saved in one file, it can be called PROFILE.INI, we recommend that you immediately make a copy of it, after applying this file with microSD cards it is deleted, and if necessary, it will take much longer to make changes; it is also convenient to use the same file when setting up several camera traps;

How to spot an installed camera trap in the forest

The most correct thing is to enter the location of the camera trap in your hunting notebook. Also note the installation date. This will make it easier to keep track of the battery replacement time.

Camera traps are powered by four or eight AA batteries.

Battery life strongly depends on the model of the camera trap, on the distance to the nearest GSM cell, on the level of GSM reception, on the number of photographs taken, on the duration of the dark time of the day, and on many other factors. In a real application, the battery life from one set can be from 2 weeks to 6 months. If battery life is a critical parameter for your application, then you should pay attention to this model, this is one of the favorites in terms of battery life. But in any case, if you need to increase battery life, then you can go at least three different ways:

1. replace batteries with more powerful ones of the same size;
2. make a separate external box in which you can use at least a battery from BelAZ, if there is somewhere to hide it;
3. use an external solar panel, which will replenish during the day the energy spent at night.

If the location of the camera trap was not fixed in a notebook, then use the following tips:

• connect the SIM card of the camera trap to the remote detection service from the operator (this can be done remotely if the card is issued to you), this will allow you to limit the search square to several tens or hundreds of square meters, which will already help a lot;
• monitor incoming MMS messages; if empty messages began to arrive - this is the first sign that the battery is running out, and you need to hurry up with the search;
• at night, knowing the approximate location of the camera trap, you can use any video camera that does not use a non-switchable infrared filter; it can be a simple old black and white camera, or your smartphone camera; what the eye does not see, the camera sees perfectly, at a relatively large distance; thus, in the camera lens, infrared illumination will look like a flashlight for an ordinary eye;

• always change the default passwords to your own, in extreme cases this will make it very problematic to continue using the stolen camera trap;
• pay attention to models controlled from the remote control and not having any control buttons on the case, for example this one. With a changed password, it is simply impossible to change the settings in this camera without a remote control.

Even the first persons in the state resort to the help of camera traps. Everyone remembers the curious story of Putin's personal tigress, who gnawed a camera trap worth 100,000 rubles. Moreover, this was the first, and so far the only case when a tigress ruined a camera trap. But tracking it brought a lot of useful information about the diet and habits of a particular individual.

In fact, we only briefly illuminated possible options use of camera traps. More useful information can be emphasized from specialized forums where they compare various models in a real application, where they share the secrets of the location of camera traps, where people are passionate about what they do. For our part, we can provide the models of camera traps you have chosen with a full warranty period from the manufacturer.

Photography is also an art. To get an impressive result of your work, not enough expensive equipment, you also need to have talent. Photographing animals is very difficult, because they do not pose for cameras like people do. To capture them, quite recently they came up with an excellent device - a camera trap. By placing such a camera in the forest, you can see how animals behave without distracting them from everyday life.

What is a camera trap?

A camera trap is a modern device that takes photos and videos. It appeared quite recently, but has already gained considerable popularity among hunters and just nature lovers. This is usually a waterproof camera that works on its own, without human control. Photos taken with this camera are most often used to track animals.

Appearance

Thanks to special sensors that work immediately after the animal enters the zone of their control, the shutter of the device is lowered and the result is a photograph. It is stored in the device's memory. The size of the camera trap is quite compact, which is its advantage, because the camera should be invisible. The color scheme is small, dark shades: brown, gray, black, khaki. The best option is the last one.

Types of camera traps

There are several types of camera traps. All of them differ in their technical specifications. This aspect affects the price of the gadget: the more functions there are, the higher the price, respectively.

• Digital type - photos are stored on regular map memory. This is very convenient, because they can easily be moved to another device (computer or phone).
• Film - filmed.
• FROM laser beam. Its presence makes it easier to choose a suitable place for placing a camera trap.
• With backlight: sometimes pulsed - with it the device can shoot at night at a distance of up to five meters and infrared - makes the camera trap even more invisible.
• With sound. Attracting animals with special sounds to the device's coverage area.

Features and brief characteristics

Image recording can occur every minute or only when an animal appears. It all depends on what settings you set. A device with LED backlight makes it possible to see in detail the inhabitant of the forest and not scare him.

Pulse illumination has its advantages:

• the area around the gadget is well lit (up to 18 meters), which increases the chances of taking an instant photo;
• regardless of the time of day - high image quality;
• picture clarity even when animals are moving.

Its disadvantages:

• a sharp flash sound that can scare away animals;
• with it, the camera trap becomes not so invisible;
• video recording is not possible at night.

The presence of infrared illumination in the camera trap has its advantages:

• animals will not react to it, because it does not make sounds;
• invisible to the human eye;
• Much longer battery life than other types of devices.

Its disadvantages:

• image clarity is lower than that of camera traps with pulsed illumination.;
• small area of ​​the device.

Where can they be used?

The scope of camera traps is not as wide as one might think. This may include:

• Use to monitor the number of animals. In this case, foresters install devices in the most popular places visited by forest dwellers. As a rule, these areas then do not change for a long time (a couple of years). The camera trap makes it possible to count the population of certain individuals of the controlled species and monitor their movement.
• Hunting. You can pre-install the device near animal trails. You will observe them for a couple of days, their habits, and only then can you safely go hunting. This is necessary if we want to get the desired prey.
• Territory protection. Tracking tools can be used instead of a conventional camera. With a camera trap, it is very easy to figure out the criminal. It is here that the main plus of the device finds its application - a long battery life.
• For nature lovers. With this gadget you can get unique pictures

How can it be found in the forest?

The most important thing is to remember the installation location of the device and write down the date in order to pick it up and recharge it in time. The battery life is affected by the quality of the pictures taken, the maximum distance to the subject, the time of year, and weather conditions. The minimum working time is 2 weeks, the maximum is six months. Each model comes with a spare battery. If a malfunction occurs, it can be easily replaced.

To facilitate the detection of a camera trap, the remote detection service can be connected using the SIM card of the device. And at night, knowing approximate location finding the gadget, you can use the phone's camera - in the lens you will see infrared illumination, which for the human eye looks like a regular flashlight.