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| 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).
Hi Henry,
ReplyDeleteVery sorry to hear you had a hard time last year. I hope things are going better now. It's great to see your blog back in action :)
Your lovely genet photo is a fine demonstration of what Birdcams can do. I've not tried them for motion sensing or flash, but maybe in future.
So far I've used my Birdcams for a nesting study that required timelapse mode, images every 5 minutes dawn to dusk (no flash to avoid disturbing the birds). Mostly good except for a few frustrating occasions when the camera stopped for no apparent reason, battery power fine and plenty of space on sd card.
I'd love to see/read more about your experiences with Birdcam out in the wild, if you have time.
Best wishes and many thanks for your fine blog!