Camera traps have been a key part of the conservation toolkit for decades. Remotely triggered video or still cameras allow researchers and managers to monitor cryptic species, survey populations, and support enforcement responses by documenting illegal activities. Increasingly, machine learning is being implemented to automate the processing of data generated by camera traps.
A recent study published showed that, despite being well-established and widely used tools in conservation, progress in the development of camera traps has plateaued since the emergence of the modern model in the mid-2000s, leaving users struggling with many of the same issues they faced a decade ago. That manufacturer ratings have not improved over time, despite technological advancements, demonstrates the need for a new generation of innovative conservation camera traps. Join this group and explore existing efforts, established needs, and what next-generation camera traps might look like - including the integration of AI for data processing through initiatives like Wildlife Insights and Wild Me.
Group Highlights:
Our past Tech Tutors seasons featured multiple episodes for experienced and new camera trappers. How Do I Repair My Camera Traps? featured WILDLABS members Laure Joanny, Alistair Stewart, and Rob Appleby and featured many troubleshooting and DIY resources for common issues.
For camera trap users looking to incorporate machine learning into the data analysis process, Sara Beery's How do I get started using machine learning for my camera traps? is an incredible resource discussing the user-friendly tool MegaDetector.
And for those who are new to camera trapping, Marcella Kelly's How do I choose the right camera trap(s) based on interests, goals, and species? will help you make important decisions based on factors like species, environment, power, durability, and more.
Finally, for an in-depth conversation on camera trap hardware and software, check out the Camera Traps Virtual Meetup featuring Sara Beery, Roland Kays, and Sam Seccombe.
And while you're here, be sure to stop by the camera trap community's collaborative troubleshooting data bank, where we're compiling common problems with the goal of creating a consistent place to exchange tips and tricks!
Header photo: ACEAA-Conservacion Amazonica
VerdantLearn
Sociable e-learning for conservation capacity building
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I am a doctoral student located in Germany. My topic is 'AI applications for nature- and wildlife conservation'. Currently I am working on the automatized identification of individuals with fur-patterns. But I am always open for new ideas concerning AI for wildlife.
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Wildlife ecologist with a special interest in machine learning
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Purdue University
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Georgia Institute of Technology
PhD student in Quantitative Biosciences
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I am a recently graduated Computer Scientist and Mathematician passionate about animals and nature.
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Team lead for the ARISE Biocloud team, developing an infrastructure for biodiversity monitoring and digital species identification. Also, project lead for the Diopsis insect camera project.
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Wild Spy
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Work with bioacoustic equipment, management, maintenance and testing, for the Bioacoustic Unit (bioacouistic.abmi.ca).
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Consultancy opportunity at ZSL for an experienced monitoring specialist to support species monitoring in rewilding landscapes across Europe
31 January 2023
Are you stuck on an AI or ML challenge in your conservation work? Apply now for the chance to receive tailored expert advice from data scientists! Applications due 27th January 2023
18 January 2023
2
WILDLABS and Fauna & Flora International are seeking an early career Vietnamese conservationist for 12-month paid internship position to grow and support the Southeast Asia regional community in our global...
11 January 2023
Careers
PhD position (m/f/d) in Insect Ecology and Conservation
Andrew Fairbairn
This position focuses on the ecology aspect of the project, while a second PhD in Ilmenau will be dealing with programming/AI development. Because of the high temporal resolution of our data, we can investigate how land...
9 January 2023
To assist with creative research project in the DC/VA/MD region
6 January 2023
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is seeking a research Post Doctoral Fellow to work in collaboration with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The position will focus on using Machine...
7 December 2022
First known baited underwater video match of an individual white shark, based on facial scars and other unique features White shark undertakes 1,100-mile (1800-km) transboundary swim from South Africa to Mozambique
25 October 2022
1
Five articles that include conservation tech published at Mongabay
20 October 2022
*New closing date!* WILDLABS and Fauna & Flora International are seeking an early career conservationist for 12-month paid internship position to grow and support the Southeast Asia regional community in our global...
19 October 2022
The device could help scientists explore unknown regions of the ocean, track pollution, or monitor the effects of climate change.
26 September 2022
Careers
The Senior Conservation Technology Specialist will be responsible for providing technical advice and capacity development to GWP project teams on conservation technology, distilling challenges and lessons from project...
22 September 2022
2
The European Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversa+, co-funded by the European Union, has launched a call for research proposals on “Improved transnational monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change for science and...
14 September 2022
1
May 2023
event
July 2023
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hey Tom,Since the output is dependent on a couple of factors such as the solar irradiance of the place, shading from the canopy, the type of solar panels (mono, poly or amorphous... |
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Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Sensors | 2 days 7 hours ago | |
Hi everyone. Titus here from the Philippines. We are currently working on creating a deep-sea dropcamera similar to Pau Anta's but... |
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Camera Traps, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions | 4 days 16 hours ago | |
@Stephanie as luck would have it, I recently released some firmware for Browning BTC-7E-HP5 and BTC-8E-HP5 cameras that contains a number of feature enhancements, including the... |
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Camera Traps | 5 days ago | |
Hi @vishnuthavara so you need a camera that does both timelapse and is motion activated? Something like this maybe: |
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Camera Traps | 5 days 6 hours ago | |
Hi @timmh I've posted a link to this on Twitter too so fingers crossed you get some replies! All the best, Rob |
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Camera Traps | 5 days 6 hours ago | |
Thanks Chris,Probably quite similar in size to your existing setup above, but we'd use two Li-ion rechargable batteries most likely (could be an 18500). I'll be sure to share more... |
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Camera Traps | 5 days 6 hours ago | |
The PIR motion sensor is at the top of the device board. You can see they are using a 3-pin analog motion sensor. From there it goes into a processing circuit. Unfortunately it... |
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Camera Traps | 2 weeks ago | |
My original background is in ecology and conservation, and am now in the elected leadership of the Gathering for Open Science Hardware which convenes researchers developing open... |
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AI for Conservation, Biologging, Camera Traps, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools , Drones, Emerging Tech, Sensors | 2 weeks 1 day ago | |
Hi Simon, i've popped you an email too, but actually sharing some more information here about what you're after will mean you'll be able to get better help from our full... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 2 weeks 2 days ago | |
Hi Ellie, did you compile this information and is it avaiblable somewhere?I need to upgrade the camera system in Baiboosun Nature Reserve Kyrgyzstan and this info would be of... |
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Camera Traps | 2 weeks 3 days ago | |
Hi everyone, I seek your help for the choice of my thesis subject, I hold a Master's degree in Management of protected areas and I have... |
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Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools , Protected Area Management Tools, Remote Sensing & GIS | 3 weeks 1 day ago | |
No, I was never able to figure out how to send these to anyone on here. I was hoping to learn how to clear these videos up if possible! |
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Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools , Open Source Solutions, Software and Mobile Apps | 1 month ago |
News: The Latest in Conservation Tech (March 24)

24 March 2022 12:00am
Experience with Microwave Motion Sensors!
23 February 2022 10:22am
20 March 2022 5:20pm
20 March 2022 6:05pm
Thanks @PaulG and @TomRS I've now ordered some of the same model units, so shall hopefully get to test em out soon!
Cheers,
Rob
Apply now: Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Kenya
8 March 2022 12:00am
Overview: Depth Sensing Technologies for Camera Traps
9 November 2021 3:06pm
30 January 2022 11:29am
I'm not sure its been tottally worked out. Molly Cummings told me she thought it could work. She has a few recent papers using polarized light with fish.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsif.2021.0703
https://opg.optica.org/DirectPDFAccess/153F482A-D3F4-4421-90E56D0D23AE4CA7_335662/ao-55-3-626.pdf?da=1&id=335662&seq=0&mobile=no
22 February 2022 2:24pm
For the more computationally-inclined, the Project Zamba software can also be used as a python package and the project codebase is fully available on GitHub.
22 February 2022 2:24pm
@hikinghack @Nycticebus-scientia We just ran an open-source competition on this exact question! DrivenData is a small group of data scientists, and we partnered with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) and the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) to compile enough hand-labeled data to apply machine learning to the depth problem. In your original post, this falls under the AI Prediction Based category. The code behind all of the top-performing models is freely available on GitHub. We're hoping to make these freely available in the future in the a more user-friendly way.
@JHughes to your point about motion sensor camera traps being continuously set off -our free, open-source web application called Zamba Cloud uses machine learning to automatically sort videos by either what animal they contain or whether they are blank. You just upload a set of videos, and the web application will output a list of labels for each video! This may not address the battery drainage problem, but can help with filtering out blank videos and identifying which actually captured animals.
Introducing the WILDLABS On the Edge Fellows

10 February 2022 12:00am
Comparisons: Close-up Lenses for Camera Traps
9 January 2018 8:49am
14 January 2022 9:34pm
14 January 2022 10:28pm
19 January 2022 11:29am
Wifi trail camera
3 December 2021 8:47pm
16 January 2022 11:41pm
This seems like an eminently sensible thing to try. The main issue I've seen with most wifi cameras is that their antennas are omnidirectional - i.e. they send in every (horizontal) direction, because they don't know where the other wifi endpoint is. That means their signal doesn't go very far, but it's easy to connect. The tplink (and ubiquiti) long range devices have very directional antennas, so their signal is very focussed in that direction, which effectively means it remains quite strong for some distance. They also have to listen for the (more-interesting) return signal though from the wifi camera, and that could cause you grief. However, the highly-directional antenna can pick up fainter signals, from the direction they are pointing at, so it may be ok.
Getting wifi (or any radio signal) over any distance depends a lot on circumstances (distances, terrain, vegetation, weather, interference, ...) so I can't generalise to say this would/wouldn't work. You'd have to try it and see (or get into wifi signal strength measurements and calculations, which you can do with some apps). Some cameras also have removable antennas, so you could replace an omnidirectional (stick) antenna with something much more directional. Or, set up a wifi bridge, with e.g. a ubiquiti point-to-point link, with one end is close to your wifi camera (to pick up its weaker signal) and the other end at the house.
There are plenty of wifi wildlife cameras on ebay, which I understood use their own wifi hotspot to learn how to connect to a broader wifi network - same as the reolink, etc. when you first set them up. Lacking a broader wifi network they might offer their own as a fallback, so you can download while walking by. But I've not tried them, as they are quite expensive, and I have little faith their wifi signal would reach far enough (as per above) for our needs. I'm trying to build my own wildlife cameras now, using esp32cam modules and an external wifi antenna, just waiting on a few more parts :-)
17 January 2022 1:23am
Markusb very true but those camera are not truly wifi, they are a wifi /Bluetooth camera , meaning the create there own wifi network to down load the pics you have to connect to that network.
Now in saying that I have not experimented in writing a code using a programming language to be able to turn on and off wifi or Bluetooth and then turn it back off and tell the code to be able to do this ever two hours or so.
But using a small form factor pc that is connect to a ubiquiti or tplink long range wifi device this is possible to a Bluetooth / wifi trail camera
17 January 2022 2:27am
Ok, understand. Note, the bluetooth feature is very short range, just to configure the camera from your phone when standing nearby. Wifi will give you some longer range and greater bandwidth for image/video downloads. If it is only offering its own wifi network then that is sad, but unsurprising (they try to be very simple/cheap). Doesn't change my point though about the signal strength - if you are trying to get a really long distance (which is "over 100m" on most wifi cameras) then you will need to add something in between. A dedicated NUC/RPi/small-PC would be one option - but your reolink already has a simple PC built in, that offers the remote control and download features and storage to an SD card, etc. You can write your code to talk to that, from your home, using the reolink API/CGI (https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000625763-What-is-CGI-API). The small PC might still need to handle the "long-distance" wifi link if appropriate for your needs, in which case a ubiquiti/tplink wifi bridge (and a PC at home) might be more cost-effective? That can basically extend the camera's wifi back to your home.
This might need some whiteboarding and actual site-information to optimise :-)
Camera traps and community knowledge in Eastern India

20 December 2021 12:00am
Identification of Wildlife in Camera Trap Images

20 December 2021 12:00am
Feedback Needed: Wireless Camera Traps
4 October 2017 3:33am
16 November 2017 7:14pm
Just be aware of the limitations; you'll be transmitting at a very slow baud rate on frequencies that may have strict duty cycle (transmission time) and ERP (transmission power) limits. Check up on the rules for the region in which you intend to operate and make sure that the restrictions fit in with your intended application.
27 November 2017 5:03pm
The following two papers describe our attempst to develop an open source RPi camera trap platform with long range communications capability, and may be of interest:
Nazir, S., Fairhurst, G., Verdicchio, F., 2017. WiSE - a satellite-based system for remote monitoring. Int. J. Satell. Commun. Netw. 35, 201–214. https://doi.org/10.1002/sat.1176
Nazir, S., Newey, S., Irvine, R.J., Verdicchio, F., Davidson, P., Fairhurst, G., Wal, R. van der, 2017. WiseEye: Next Generation Expandable and Programmable Camera Trap Platform for Wildlife Research. PLoS One 12, e0169758. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169758
More details can be found here: https://erg.abdn.ac.uk/wise/
/Scott
7 December 2021 5:54pm
Vasudev
I have had no issues using ubiquiti device and pushing internet out to 5 miles line of site, what I am curious what are you using for you camera on the other end, I have always wanted to try and build a long distance wifi trail camera ( true wifi ).
is it solar powered or battery powered that has been my issue trying to figure out the power issue
Cellular and Lora camera traps
20 May 2021 10:51am
21 May 2021 8:36pm
Hi Antoine,
I am intrigued myself about how well a LoRa-based trail camera might work. I wonder if the 'LoRa' element is a more traditional radio connection? And of course the system still appears to rely on a cellular connection at the base station end. But interesting nonetheless.
On the radio side, there's also the CuddeLink model: https://www.cuddeback.com/cuddelink
However, I'd be sitting down when you look at the price.
I've had reasonable success with older model 3G cameras such as the Bolymedia MG983G-30M. From memory, it couldn't transfer video files larger than 10sec in length and it gets a bit glitchy if the batteries are running low. But, it worked well enough for me at the time.
If you do end up looking closer at the 'LoRa' model, please let us know how it works.
Cheers,
Rob
24 May 2021 4:09pm
Hi Antoine,
I had not seen these before, but I'll echo Rob in wondering if the radio links in these are truly what most would consider 'LoRa'. That tech/protocol generally has very low data transfer rates and would be quite challenged in sending pictures. That said, what they call it may not be relevant if it works for you. I would just be cautious of thinking it could integrate with other 'LoRa' devices or networks. Some other web sites that mention this system describe the radio link as 'proprietary'.
Kyler
7 December 2021 4:51pm
Antoineede they are a mesh style of camera, one links to the other and then send pictures back to the home unit where you either send them via cellular or you check the sd card. The cover Lora and cuddielink cameras do this but they play hell on battieries.
I had a cuddelink system and got rid of it , the home unit was to hook up to a pc and then from there you could easily wept a scrip to send to txt message or email etc but they scrapped that idea
Try our open-source automatic camera trap detection/labeling tool!
12 November 2021 8:31pm
1 December 2021 10:37am
This sounds so cool! I will try it out and spread the word.
6 December 2021 5:40pm
Wow, Zamba looks like a great tool. I'm curious about the terms of data use and privacy of the data uploaded to Zamba by users. I couldn't find that info on the website, could you point me in the right direction?
7 December 2021 3:55pm
Hi Morgan! We're currently still working out the exact terms. Are there any specific concerns that you had?
Low-cost underwater camera trapping and deep learning

30 November 2021 12:00am
Technical Difficulties: The Promise and Pitfalls of Machine Learning for Conservation

23 November 2021 12:00am
Caiman: Images as Sources of Intelligence

18 November 2021 12:00am
Technical Difficulties: Pangolin in a Haystack

11 November 2021 12:00am
Mesh camera trap network?
9 April 2017 1:29pm
8 November 2021 9:53am
Hi Capreolus, hi all,
As this thread seems to have come alive again, I thought it might finally be time to share some of the progress that's been made on a LoRa connected camera trap system developed by the Zoological Society of London called Instant Detect 2.0. There are already some blogs on this site about Instant Detect 2.0 so I’ll just focus on the LoRa camera here.
Sending images using an off-the-shelf LoRa module and protocol isn’t possible, so we had to develop our own protocol (MAC and Application layers) from scratch using the LoRa physical layer.
We designed this protocol to meet with EU radio emissions standards and usage restrictions (duty cycles) so that the system can be CE certified, and we have also designed protocol variants for many other countries based on their radio regulations. Our goal is to have variants developed that allow the system to be used legally in every country.
The Instant Detect 2.0 LoRa cameras have now been undergoing testing and optimisation for almost 3 years. The key requirements we have designed for and now have working are:
1. 100% reliable transmission (no images are lost in the ether),
2. maximise range (regardless of terrain and vegetation),
3. maximise speed (this reduces power consumption and on-air time),
4. multiple cameras sending images at once (deconfliction management and queuing),
5. minimise power usage so the whole network can run off batteries (including the base station),
6. easy to set-up by non-technical users (it just works).
The Instant Detect 2.0 system is now undergoing field trials to prove its capabilities and find its limits and if all goes to plan we hope to have it available sometime next year.
8 November 2021 12:44pm
Hi Sam,
I´ve been waiting for your Instant Detect 2.0 .
So great to hear about your progress. Please keep us updated!
Greetings from Austria,
Robin
8 November 2021 1:05pm
Hi Sam,
Impressive! Any chance the LoRa code is open source? I should like to take a gander.
Thanks
Opportunity: Wildlife Connectivity Technician (Seasonal)

3 November 2021 12:00am
Technical Difficulties: Understanding the Realities

13 October 2021 12:00am
Technical Difficulties: A Deployment Checklist

13 October 2021 12:00am
Advice needed: Beginner's Conservation Tech Starter Kit
22 September 2021 6:06pm
5 October 2021 11:52pm
Hey Rob!
Thanks for all the tips! Getting 2 SD cards was a good reminder. I'd put extra batteries on my shopping list, but forgotten an extra SD card. Do you have a recommendation for a minimum SD card size?? I don't have any understanding of how long it'll take one of any size to completely fill up.
I also think I'll try a little of both for video vs. still images, but the majority of it will probably be video to see how the squirrels are behaving/fighting.
And I'm way ahead of you with the picnic table idea. These squirrels will be treated to some very fun props and dining opportunities along the way.
5 October 2021 11:56pm
Hey Harold, that'd be amazing! I'll get in touch for more info, thank you!
8 October 2021 1:02am
Hey Ellie--
Glad to see you getting started with this.
I'll speak to the data-storage question, it might be worth it for you to do something like paying for extra google drive space rather than go through the external hard drive process. That way you're ensuring you don't have to worry about losing your drive or just leaving it at home. It's $30 US for 200GB of space for a year, which is quite reasonable, especially for a single recorder / camera trap.
I'd also make sure you have an SD card reader, and maybe a sealed card holder/wallet to keep data safe while it transitions from the field. How much to budget for batteries will depend on exactly what sensors you end up purchasing but in my experience, ordering high-end alkaline batteries is the best bet (for example, in the Duracell line, their Procell D batteries really do perform better than the normal consumer level coppertop batteries). I'd recommend playing around with the scheduler software for whatever acoustic sensor you end up obtaining to figure out whether you'll be limited by power or storage depending on how you set things up.
Old camera traps go cellular
6 February 2020 12:00pm
27 August 2021 4:30pm
Oh very cool Robin. Do you mind if I ask how much it is for the unit?
27 August 2021 5:43pm
Hi Rob,
prices drop but I payed 88€ for mine.
7 September 2021 5:18pm
Thank Capreolus,
for your feedback, did you try it where the cellular network is weak?
Thank you.
How do I use animal-borne imaging technology in marine and terrestrial environments?

16 August 2021 12:00am
Workshop in analysis of camera trap data using distance sampling
7 August 2021 1:15pm
Tech Tutors: How do I use tech ethically?
5 August 2021 3:28pm
App Development Environment for Commercial Trail Cameras
1 July 2021 6:17pm
4 July 2021 12:27am
much appreesh @StephODonnell
21 July 2021 12:40am
I've put together a short slide deck outlining the concept and status (see attached PowerPoint). Critcally, I'm looking for a 1 to 3 "inaugural open source developers" to help launch the effort. Ideally, these developers would be associated with a project in need of enhanced firmware. I've already spoken with @Alasdair about this, and it looks like there could be an opportunity based on one of his projects. Please repond on this thread (or message me directly) if you know of anyone who might be interested or available. Skillset looks like:
•C (C++?) for Feature Development
•Python (for tool development)
•Thread-X RTOS
•Embedded System Software Design
•GitHub/Colab/Open Source Development Environments
•Ability to Operate (and to help define) a Nascent Software Development Environment
30 July 2021 2:18pm
@Freaklabs
Akiba may be interested?
How to dissociate the detector sensor from the camera in a camera trap surveyed area?
19 July 2021 8:36am
19 July 2021 7:11pm
I think it would be technically possible. Something like the camera being put to sleep, and only activated when an outer sensor is triggered. I would be more worried about getting ethical approval for such a study where the aim is to have a live domestic animal being attacked by a predator in a confined space.
20 July 2021 10:18am
Hi Egil, indeed, ehtcial approaval is of course needed and I will ask for it for sure! (But note that it is hard to explain farmers that I need ethcial approuval for that project aiming at reducing attacks, while they get attacks every other weeks despite fences, livestock guarding dogs and/or shepherds !!).
30 July 2021 12:29pm
My guess is that the camera triggering will prove to be far less of a challenge than getting ethical approval for penning livestock where predators can reach them. If you have such a high rate of wolf attacks in free-ranging flocks then you can directly measure the decrease in rate of attacks in flocks that have the repellent vs those that do not.
Tech Tutors: How do I get started with Wildlife Insights?
29 July 2021 12:04am
Wildlife Insights Launches

27 July 2021 12:00am
Time lapse camera: recommendations needed
20 May 2021 3:20pm
28 May 2021 6:40pm
Hi again,
DSLRs are not that complicated and they are also used in rainforests by photographers (for "nice" non-sccientific images). I have heard reports that termites can be rough though! I have seen people making heavy duty metal "overboxes" to protect against asian elephant "vandalism".
I have no experience myself with Reconyx ultra fire models and merely mentioned you might want to consider them as they have higher resolution and can thereby potentially record smaller details. With these small sensor cameras, as trail cameras are, the actually resolution is likely limited by the quality of the lens though!
With a DSLR you have a large sensor (= good quality pixels (less noise)), full control over the lens quality and angle of view BUT the setup will be considerably more expensive. I believe you could get comparable syncronisation of multiple cameras with either DSLRs or trailcameras.
18 June 2021 2:57pm
Hi Ivonne,
Have you considered using a GOPRO? They have some pretty natty features now and they have a good range of mounting and waterproofing gadgets. If you don’t need traditional camera trap features these work well and you can dial up the image quality to suit your needs.
Dave
22 July 2021 6:02pm
Do you need the photos during the timelapse, or just all at once at the end? If the latter, how many exposures will you need per timelapse recording? Depending on your answers, that might limit you to only options that let you retrieve images during recording - perhaps requiring wifi or celular?
Not knowing your requirements there, just some general thoughts:
GoPros
I too would think a GoPro would be an option, iff wide angle suits your purposes (though, if resolution isn't a high priority, GoPros do have exposure-time cropping options). Cheap, robust, with myriad accessories easily available. They also have wifi support - though, last I checked, you can't browse & download images while the GoPro is in recording mode (not even between exposures). Maybe newer models have removed that limitation?
There's also relatively novel options like the GoPro MAX with 360° video recording.
Trail cameras
I've used several different trail cameras that have timelapse options - they're pretty common. I haven't used Reconyx ones, though. In general I find trail cameras to be pretty useless photographically - fine, maybe, for just monitoring wildlife activity.
Mirrorless / DSLR
If you do go for a 'real' camera, go for one with (at least the option of) a pure electronic shutter. Few DSLRs have this option. Some - but not all - mirrorless do. Mechanical shutters (a) can cause motion blur and (b) tend to break after a few hundred thousand exposures. e.g. if you're doing one exposure per minute, you'd get less than a year from most consumer cameras.
The Sony a6100 (or later) cameras are good options for this - they're old and therefore can be found very cheap, but the image quality is still light-years ahead of trail cameras & GoPros.
A slightly more up-market option - probably only of any interest if night-time exposures are important - would be a Nikon Z5. Alas they're current-model so you probably won't find big discounts, but you get:
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Excellent image quality (provided 24MP is sufficient resolution for you - are you aiming for 8K timelapse?). There are higher-end options (Z6, Z7) as well as Sony a7r options if you need higher resolution or (marginally) better image quality.
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The ability to use practically any lense ever made on them (their Z mount supports adapters to practically any other mount system). In case you have particular lens requirements, or existing lenses you want to use.
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Twin UHS-II SD card slots, so you can record to two cards simultaneously if data loss (from a faulty SD card) is a concern.
Keep in mind, though, that most mirrorless/DSLRs have limitations on how many exposures they'll allow on their built-in intervalometers (e.g. 9999 for Nikons). But there's usually ways around that using $10 plug-in intervalometers, if need be (and fancier options if you want more control, such as "bulb ramping" for recording across day & night smoothly).
16 March 2022 3:07pm
@TomRS @greghall and @htarold my initial (and brief) tests with the microwave sensor (same as this one: https://wiki.dfrobot.com/MicroWave_Sensor_SKU__SEN0192) I have suggest it's really sensitive to movement at fairly close range (~2m or less). Whilst this is impressive (like, it can detect my finger moving a few mm @ ~1-2m), it suggests that in order to avoid a lot of false positives/blank images, a fairly high tolerance or threshold would have to be set in the code. This will take a bit of trial and error to get right I reckon. Even though it has an in-buit potentiometer to toggle 'sensitivity' (equates to distance), even at the lowest setting, which is what I have it at, it's still really sensitive out at several metres. It definitely does appear to have an ability to tell the difference between a 'one off' or superficial movement, and more consistent movement that might be expected when an animal moves through an area. Maybe a combo PIR (interrupt) and microwave sensor (double checks after wakeup) could be a goer...although that could be a bit slow...Anyway, thought I'd share...