28 February 2016

Up Close And Personal

Large-Spotted Genet (Grootkolmuskejaatkat - Genetta tigrina) in a small cave at the Woody Cape

This photograph was taken last year at the Woody Cape using the Birdcam 2.0. The Birdcam is a strange camera trap. Despite some major issues it still manages to come through with some wonderful surprises, like this photograph above.

The biggest advantage the Birdcam has is the fantastic white flash which works surprisingly well at close range.

Like most commercial camera traps the Birdcam has a fixed focus, but the focus can be manually adjusted. This can produce very sharp images when the animal is in the sweet spot.

Although I do like the benefits that IR cameras offer, I still think there is a place for a good white flash camera trap. I really wish that the recent advancements in mobile phone technology will start to filter through to camera traps and pave the way for a few good quality modern white flash commercial camera traps to enter the market. The color night photographs are particularly useful for identifying small mammals (something the IR models struggle with a bit).