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As I recall my 16MP version Apeman explicitly said don't use rechargeable batteries!Does anyone use rechargeable batteries with these?
As I recall my 16MP version Apeman explicitly said don't use rechargeable batteries!Does anyone use rechargeable batteries with these?
From what I've read, symptoms of failing/less suitable batteries can apparently include a failure to record at night (due to the additional sudden power demand from the IR illuminators/flash), production of empty files (power insufficient to complete the writing process), and other assorted issues. My own limited findings seem to suggest that testing a new trail cam for a day or so with a fresh set of high quality batteries is probably OK, but I use Energiser Lithium batteries after I know everything is working OK. I also test each battery with a meter before installing them in anything new... you can occasionally get the odd dud one and it saves wasting time or blaming a perfectly good electrical item as a result of a dud battery!
In reference to the Apeman H55 trail camera; I've not measured it, but I'd guess around 1m or so. However, while it will record photos of birds and you should be able to identify the species and see how they fly (I think there are some examples in the reviews section of Amazon), don't expect even 'smartphone from 6 years ago' type photo quality, that's not what trail cameras are really about or designed for. The shutter speed may be too slow to crisply freeze wing beats, almost certainly so in dull weather. The camera on a trail cam has to cope with all sorts of lighting conditions and also infrared night vision, so it's always going to be something of a 'Jack of all trades' compromise.What's the close focus on these? I have wondered about trying to capture video of birds visiting my feeders in the garden with something like this.
In reference to the Apeman H55 trail camera; I've not measured it, but I'd guess around 1m or so. However, while it will record photos of birds and you should be able to identify the species and see how they fly (I think there are some examples in the reviews section of Amazon), don't expect even 'smartphone from 6 years ago' type photo quality, that's not what trail cameras are really about or designed for. The shutter speed may be too slow to crisply freeze wing beats, almost certainly so in dull weather. The camera on a trail cam has to cope with all sorts of lighting conditions and also infrared night vision, so it's always going to be something of a 'Jack of all trades' compromise.
Likewise with video, the footage at full HD (1080p) is taken at 15 frames per second which, while giving fairly good clarity, will often give not particularly smooth motion footage. Dropping the resolution to the 1280 x 720p setting provides 30 frames per second, which gives smoother looking footage (and is the setting I prefer), but you'll lose a bit of that crispness you get with full HD. Even so, even 30 fps isn't the best for recording flying and hovering birds, and I'd think 60fps+ would be better for producing fairly smooth-looking flight videos (without getting into high-speed type specialist stuff).
This said, it rather depends on your expectations; you'll probably get some interesting video footage from it, but we can't expect BBC broadcast quality video of birds at a feeder from a sub £50 trail camera. A good quality camcorder set up near your bird feeder would probably produce better footage of birds fluttering around and squabbling, and you'd have the optical zoom facility with that too. However, you don't get the PIR sensor, weatherproofing and self-activation like you do with a trail cam! In short, this trail cam should produce some watchable video of birds at a feeder or table (after a bit of trial and error to get the positioning of the camera right); whether you'll be happy with the video quality will probably depend on your expectations. Hope this is helpful.
It should be up to the job for that, wildlife monitoring/survey is really what they're made for. It may take a bit of trial and error to position the camera to get the best success rate and viewing position, also don't have it pointing towards the sun if at all possible to avoid lens flare (which trail cams are prone too as there's no lens hood!), particularly when the sun is low.Very helpful, I was mainly thinking for when I don't have the time to watch the feeders, and to see if anything different or the more uncommon visitors come to the feeders when I'm not able to watch them.