Vocal Voices

Does anyone one here have any knowledge of trail cameras or other night cameras? Reason I ask is that - sad as it may seem - I'd quite like to set up a night camera to see what's going on in my front garden at night esp as I now suspect I may have more than one hedgehog visiting there and The main function I obviously require is recording because i won't be up all night to watch . But :


1. from what I gather most cameras seem to need to be hooked up to a computer to record- something I don't have. I have a laptop; yes - but don't wouldn't want to leave that running all night; besides which after a certain amount of inactivity it switches itself off

2. cameras that aren't hooked up to a computer need to be plugged into TV which then needs to be connected to a recording device; again whilst I have said TV I don't have a recording device and to be honest I'm not really all that keen on having all these cables; I've got enough as it is.


So after, speaking to the people at a camera place they recommended a trail camera as it would do exactly what I want; it's wireless and records onto a SD card; and their recommendation for quality etc was this one: http://www.handykam.com/Trail-camera-an ... e.tpl.html , but it is rather on the expensive side of things. But on the other hand; going from the experience I had with my tablet it may make more sense to spend the money up front and get something decent that will last vs spending less on something that won't last.

So just wondering if anyone had any sage advice / ideas / input

We have 2 night cameras, Ria, that we set up to see the nocturnal activity
I presume you saw the videos of the foxes we took with them.
They run on 4x A2 batteries and a SD card.
You take the card out next morning and plug it into your laptop to see what
has been filmed.
We bought them in Maplins about £79.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/swann-outbackcam-n53kg
Very good results.

lissie

Such a simple requirement, yet so hard to solve.

The trail camera at first glance looks OK, but then come the downfalls:
* It is AA battery operated (4-8) meaning it needs to be switched 'on' and 'off' during the times you want your garden covered
* It only gives video bursts of up to 60 seconds - does not say how many or time between
* Not Wi-Fi upgradeable
* Night vision flash gives only an 80' field of view
* It is expensive

To me it is the sort of thing to take when camping to see what is about the site when you are asleep - more as temporary thing. It is, however, dedicated to the job, for other systems it's a side-line to security.

Go that way and as you mentioned Ria, and the price drops alarmingly; down to the £40 mark. However, you hit the problems you know about already - cables, using something else to view - TV /Laptop.

The middle way, for price and performance, looks to be to go for a Wi-Fi system with its own DVR, but even then you need power adaptors or (camera) batteries.

It looks as though there is not a dedicated system to do the sort of thing you want, well not unless you get near the £1k mark. Most of the reading I have done suggests that people have adapted security CCTV systems as I mentioned above.

ETA Glad Lissie posted as I was looking at this It can run off a 12v adaptor instead of batteries.

I bought 2 sets of cheap rechargeable batteries and a cheap charger and keep
one set ready. One set usually lasts 3 nights unless it has been very busy.

I have just put one of last night`s videos on You Tube (i find it easier than getting
it on here) and will put the link up when it is ready so you can see the quality, Ria
You set the time you want it to start and when you want it to end.

lissie

Thanks both for the replies - very helpful. Frank to be honest for what I want I think the set up that Lissie has is more than perfect for me. And good idea re the rechargeable batteries; hadn't thought of that - doh!

Lissie, unfortunately the link to the youtube video doesn't seem to work but I remember your other video which was perfect. And the price of that camera is loads better than the one I had the link to. And the one you have the link for Frank also seems really good. I'll be doing some homework

fun and games to be had - yay!

Sorry Ria, I read you OP the wrong way. I thought that you wanted to record all night, day after day. :slapforehead:

I agree about price, but there's cheap and workable and 'cheap' as we found with the tablets.

The next one I get will be the bee's knees and then I'll do away with the laptop.

Any ideas why Ria can.t see my video on You Tube, WM.?
What have I done wrong?
I am typing this on my IPad and it is good.
I bought a cheap one first about £90 but it is useless compared to this.
My lovely husband bought me this as he got fed up with me moaning.

lissie

The video is on a secure part of YouTube Lissie. that's why the address starts https://. To view it we need to have and e-mail address and password.

If you upload it to the open system all should be well.

The only thing I can add to the above is that you might want to look at Aliexpress. Most of the items are free delivery, they have a range of outdoor cameras with resolutions from 5mp to 12mp and they also sell solar panels to keep the camera's alive.

The major downside is the possibility of being slapped with 20% VAT when it arrives in the country although that is a lottery you have to run.

Some interesting options although I wouldn't want to try and use a GPRS model to send back video's....

I've bought from Aliexpress before. Seems reliable but you need to look at the sellers record, just like ebay.