# Trail cam time delay preference?



## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

SO, I just bough my first 3 trail cameras........I know, I finally got with the program. i'm going to set them this weekend in my elk spot.. I already know where the elk will be but, I'm doing this more so just to get elk on camera so I can look at them and confirm some things I already know..

I will be putting these cameras pointing down trails and not so much on the seeps that I know of particularly for 1 reason. There are cattle in the area where I hunt and if I put the camera on the seep I will blow up my camera with moo cows but, I know where the trails are that lead to the seep that are "less" traveled by moo cows and more traveled by elk, and that is one way I'm going to try to minimize cattle pictures.

I'v run cameras before with my buddy several time so I know the hows, whats and whys about it but, I'm having a hard time determining what time delay to use.

Right now I have it set for .30 seconds.. I'm debating on going to .15 seconds because I'm worried if an elk is moving down the trail quick enough I may only get 1 picture and it better be good. or I may get a half picture etc.. My concern is that if/when the cattle move down that trail, they will explode my SD card with pics if I'm on .15 seconds ( because Cattle move slow as hell in the mountains)

I bought 3 moultrie A-30i
they are pretty straight forward cameras. it can be set on .15 seconds .30 seconds 1 minute or 5 minute time delays. or .15 sec video 
.7 sec trigger speed 
60 foot flash range although I'v been able to set this camera off at 40 yards.
picture quality seems to be pretty dang good.
they came with 8GB SD cards and 8 AA batteries 
I'm going to pick up some 32GB SD cards and maybe thats the solution to my problems and just not worry about getting a million pics of cattle

you can lock the SD card with a lock and also the camera to the tree.
it doesnt make it bullet proof but, better than nothing
good camera for $100 


what trigger speeds do yall prefer??


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I didnt know people could set cameras to delay the initial triggering, IDK why anyone would want that. Retrigger, the NEXT picture after first picture is taken is adjustable on most all cameras. Which of these do you mean?

My cameras I've switched over to video now... my camera does a 10 second video with a 30 sec delay, it will repeat as long as there is action. I love the audio and video.

When I used pictures, I liked a 3 shot burst with a 1 second delay between, then a 10 second delay between the next 3 shot burst. Those usually always had at least one good pict.

But video is just sooooo much more interesting. I just set out my camera this past weekend, cows and calves are about now. Young bulls will start showing in a month, then the big boys in the weeks following.


-DallanC


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## CAExpat (Oct 27, 2013)

I do the 15 seconds but after reading Dallan's post I think i'm going to switch to video on a couple cameras. I just set out a couple A-30's last weekend, very nice and easy to work with. Depending on what type of spot you have, set them to the lowest delay, I would rather quickly delete some unnecessary pics than to potentially miss something big.


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## muddydogs (Oct 7, 2007)

Captured this with one of my older cameras with a preset 30 second delay, wish I would have had a better camera set here as the cat was gone before the camera reset.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

muddydogs said:


> Captured this with one of my older cameras with a preset 30 second delay, wish I would have had a better camera set here as the cat was gone before the camera reset.


You need to right click on the image to get its actual address and post that. Here is your picture:










-DallanC


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

I would think that you want your trigger speed as fast as possible. With as short as possible delay between shots. The 3 pic burst also works ok but it does tend to fill a memory card pretty fast (especially if there is a sapling in front of your camera setting it off every minute...mind the vegetation!)

Your original post said a 32mb card...I hope you meant a 32GB card. I can have my camera out in the woods for 6-8 weeks, set to one shot per trigger, every 3 seconds and still not fill a 32GB card. My friend messed up his settings last year (see sapling comment above) and recorded 10,917 pics before his card was full.

I also use the expensive Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries..have yet to run a set of those down in a season.

I would record video but my hunting area is a 3hr. drive + 45min. ATV ride + 20min. Hike away from my house so I just don't get there to check it and empty the card as often as I'd like.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Love the videos.

http://www.huntingnut.com/movies/bulls2.mp4

http://www.huntingnut.com/movies/bulls1.mp4

Mem cards are dirt cheap now. 32gb is nothing, 64gb and even 128gb are reasonable.

*edit, just realized I need to re-edit those and get rid of the watermark in the center. I was testing software at the time prior to buying something and used the elk AVIs for testing.

-DallanC


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I was just re-editing some of my better bull videos... ran across one with a small bull farting. Ever heard an elk fart? Yea me either... until now. 

Never get that kind of insight with a still image LMAO! I'll post the video later.


-DallanC


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

DallanC said:


> I didnt know people could set cameras to delay the initial triggering, IDK why anyone would want that. Retrigger, the NEXT picture after first picture is taken is adjustable on most all cameras. Which of these do you mean?
> 
> My cameras I've switched over to video now... my camera does a 10 second video with a 30 sec delay, it will repeat as long as there is action. I love the audio and video.
> 
> ...


I dont recall mentioning anything about trigger delay. I dont think thats a thing... I'm talking about the time between each picture.."time delay" Right now I'm on .30 sec between each picture but, I am going to get the 32GB SD cards and set it to take a picture every .15 seconds..


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

KineKilla said:


> I would think that you want your trigger speed as fast as possible. With as short as possible delay between shots. The 3 pic burst also works ok but it does tend to fill a memory card pretty fast (especially if there is a sapling in front of your camera setting it off every minute...mind the vegetation!)
> 
> Your original post said a 32mb card...I hope you meant a 32GB card. I can have my camera out in the woods for 6-8 weeks, set to one shot per trigger, every 3 seconds and still not fill a 32GB card. My friend messed up his settings last year (see sapling comment above) and recorded 10,917 pics before his card was full.
> 
> ...


I ment GB......... its all the same thing to me, I dont know the difference either way... I thing I'm going to set my time delay to take a picture every .15 sec and get the 32 GB Sd cards and I was thinking of using the lithium Energiger batteries too...you say they are the real deal??


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Yes, those batteries will power my trail cam for weeks on end with juice to spare. I trade them for a new set each time I check the card just because...the old ones go in my backpack to run my GPS, headlamps, flashlight, etc. or in my junk drawer to be used around the house.

They run my Garmin Rino for about 2.5-3 full days. When they're brand new.

They sure cost a lot though.


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

I'll chime in a bit. 

I've tested and played with just about every trail camera from every brand that folks have heard of and several that folks haven't. 

There are a couple of schools of thought here. So I'd ask a couple of questions if I may.

How far away is your spot that you're putting cameras out? That depends a lot on the camera settings that I'd recommend. 

The setting that you're adjusting is the recovery time setting. How long does the camera take to reset and take another picture. The shorter the recovery time, the more battery the camera will use. Granted, it's minimal time, but it can affect battery life. Especially at night because the batteries have to power up the LEDs for flash more and that is really what saps the battery life. 

What you're looking to do really depends on what camera settings to put on. If you're just looking to get pics of a lot of critters, put it on the water hole, set the MP on as low as it will go, put it to three shot burst and put a 16-32 GB card and you'll get probably 12-15k image space on those settings. The lowest MP settings will be sufficient to see what you need to see especially on a phone or a computer screen. If you're blowing the image up on a TV or really zooming in to count points or ticks, then higher MP will help, but there's a lot of software mumbo jumbo that goes on to get the higher MP. 

If you're looking for a certain critter and you know where it will be, lowest recovery time, 3 or 5 shot burst is a good option. Video is a great option but you have to be able to check your cards fairly often because storage can become an issue. Video files are obviously much larger than a photo. 

One thing can help is putting out a mineral lick or something to get critters to stop and enjoy for a bit. Then you can increase your chances of seeing different angles of critters. but if there are a lot of cattle around, they can reduce a salt lick to nothing in a hurry. 

A note about batteries and SD cards. Alkaline batteries are cheaper. But you will pay for it in performance of the camera, especially flash. Alkaline batteries are much more susceptible to heat and cold, which will affect performance. Also, as the battery power reduces, so does the energy put out by alkaline. So at 50% power, you're getting 50% flash. Lithium batteries, while expensive, are far superior to alkaline. Lithium batteries give 100% power output until they die. Trouble with those is your battery meter on the camera will register full, when it shows lower battery %, be ready because they won't last long after that. You also can generally get about double the images out of lithium batteries than alkaline. Lithium isn't as affected by heat and cold extremes. It is difficult to promise battery life in cameras because there are so many variables to the settings that all affect life. Having designed and tested cameras, there a too many scenarios to imagine to be able to promise a certain amount of images.

Now SD cards. Please purchase Class 10 Cards. They are a bit more expensive than the $4.99 64GB cards from a lot of places. However, the performance is vastly superior. The read/write speed is faster, the memory retention is much better, and overall performance is better. When you erase a lower class card, then you just reduced the storage capacity forever on that card. Say it was 8GB, it will now be 7GB because the memory is lower quality. Probably 60% of the returns I deal with are usually not camera defects, but SD Card defects because of cheap, old, or damaged cards. 

Cameras are so much fun to play with. One of the huge perks of my job. I get to test them and play with them all year. 

Have fun! With multiple cameras, you can try multiple settings and see what you like. Good luck!


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

caddis8 said:


> I'll chime in a bit.
> 
> I've tested and played with just about every trail camera from every brand that folks have heard of and several that folks haven't.
> 
> ...


so, my cameras are going to be placed strategically because of all the cattle. I'v been hunting this area for the last 10 years and have learned which trails the elk use most so, I'm gong to wand down those trails a bit and shoot the camera down the trail into "on coming traffic"

I'v had awesome results putting salt out but, up in this area we the elk just seem to not care for it so much...Too many cattle, and who ever they belong to the rancher puts out 2 salt blocks in about 3 areas .. we tried running a salt block one year in there with my buddys trail cam and we didn't get 1 elk on that camera... just moo cows.. thats why I'v selected highly traveled trails going to and from a particular seep.... However, a mile up the canyon there is another seep that is fairly isolated and hidden, the cattle still get to it but, not as much.. I'm going to put 1 camera on that seep and I may get a molasses mineral lick instead of a mineral lick from IFA. Maybe a change of flavor would be more enticing to these elk.. There are defiantly spots where up there where you are better off setting the cameras ambush style, and some spots that would be good Bait spots..

i'll see if I can set my on a 3 shot burst and set it on a 30 sec recovery time, if I cant figure that out then I'll just set it on a 15 sec recovery time.. I'm planning on putting at least 16GB cards in and I'm going to run lithium batteries and change them out every time I make my rounds..

I'm going to set them this friday and let them sit for 1 week.. My buddy already has 3 cameras up there so when we go to check his, we will pull the cards out of mine and put 3 new ones in.. I like to have a couple cards for each camera so I can just pull the cards and bring them home..

I cant wait to actually get pictures of some elk. there are some pretty sweet bulls in there for sure!

Defiantly keep ya'll posted!


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

Sounds like a great area. sometimes if you put a salt or mineral lick out, you need to sprinkle it with something that smells good to get the critters to find it. The aroma of the stuff gets them to the mineral, but the mineral and salt keeps them coming. But with cattle in the area, that can be a challenge. They smell it and hit it. darned cows.

One thing I do with my SD Cards is I number them and have at least two SD cards so I can pull the card and switch it out. I know what camera is what so I don't mix them up. 

I'm usually running several dozen at a time so it can get really confusing sometimes if I get a card mixed up. I'm looking more at camera performance than critters usually, but critters are much better to look at. I've often put a camera I want to stress and test on a cattle site so I get a bunch of pictures. 

If'n you have issues, let me know. I can help and if I can't help, I can get you in contact with folks who can.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Sounds like you've got a solid plan for an area you are already familiar with.

I'd guess that swapping Lithium batteries out every week is overkill and can get quite expensive though. if you're truly going to be in there that often, you can get way more than a week out of a set of the good batteries. Like I said, I've had mine go 8 weeks and still have juice in them.

Good luck, and make sure you share the good pics!


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

depending on the time of day, you should be able to get 8-10k images out of a set of lithiums. 

No need to swap out weekly. I usually swap out at the beginning of a season and run through. If I run out of batteries, it is usually because of grass or trees in the camera, or a camera internal issue. If you have a full card and dead batteries, you've had a lot of activity, usually not critter activity, or a bunch of cows.

Here's some of my favorite pics over the years. There is a series of pics that I witness and testify under oath came from my cameras and is a trail camera first for me. I still laugh about it and it happened a couple of years ago. This is real, not photoshopped, and not staged.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

-O,-










-DallanC


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

caddis8 said:


> depending on the time of day, you should be able to get 8-10k images out of a set of lithiums.
> 
> No need to swap out weekly. I usually swap out at the beginning of a season and run through. If I run out of batteries, it is usually because of grass or trees in the camera, or a camera internal issue. If you have a full card and dead batteries, you've had a lot of activity, usually not critter activity, or a bunch of cows.
> 
> Here's some of my favorite pics over the years. There is a series of pics that I witness and testify under oath came from my cameras and is a trail camera first for me. I still laugh about it and it happened a couple of years ago. This is real, not photoshopped, and not staged.


That is funny stuff right there!


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

it is a work legend. 

A couple more fun pics


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## Christine (Mar 13, 2013)

Lions seem to follow me around, for them I prefer at least an hour delay. 

As far as camera settings go, I use 3 shot bursts with 1 sec delay. I don't usually have a problem with the cards filling up.
















This camera is 8+ years old. Ignore the Sept 2010. I can't change any settings on it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


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## Christine (Mar 13, 2013)

Caddis, do you think guy saw the camera and stripped for it, or was he just wandering around naked? 

I had a friend decide he was going to moon my camera. He waited until dark, on a cold December night, dropped his drawers and backed into sensor range. He waited for a flash but nothing happened. So he hopped around for several minutes. Still nothing. 

This was back in the 35mm Camtrakker days. I had only put in a roll of 24 exp film. Thankfully the roll was done.

I only know this all went down because my friend was so mad he went through all that effort to no avail that he had to tell me of his giant fail. Lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

I think this guy was just walking. From where it was on the trail and based on how far back in the woods it was, I think the guy would have a real hard time seeing the camera. I would have seen him first. and then seen him again. 

Keep in mind, it was a very wet year and I had probably killed 50 ticks off my kids at least on the walk in. Poor guy.


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