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Trail Camera Tests
By: The TrailCamPro Staff
• What we test
• Why we test it
• How we test it
 Trail Camera Shootout
The Trail Camera Shootout is designed to quantify how quickly a game camera will take a picture when the subject walks into the field of view.
The Shootout is the ultimate test for any trail camera and is invaluable data for you to read before deciding which camera is right for you.
The Shootout puts all the other tests together, it is the cumulative effect of; trigger speed, detection zone, and recovery time.
The grid that you see on the above picture is
split into 8 different sections. Each section is given a value (1-8
points). The earlier the picture is taken of the subject, the higher
the score (8 being the highest). The
test subject will walk left to right and then right to left in ten foot
increments for a full 100 feet. Each picture is put under the
grid-lines and scored. The scores are then tallied and the cameras are
ranked in order from quickest to slowest.
Trail Camera Shootout
 Trigger Speed Testing
Trigger speed is defined as the
amount of time that elapses between when a camera first detects motion,
until it captures a photo of what caused that motion.
A trail camera’s effectiveness is determined by
several test criteria, however, if you had to pick just one as the most
important, it would definitely be “Trigger Speed”. Plain and simple,
if your scouting camera doesn’t have a quick trigger, you’re going to
get numerous photos with just half an animal and many blank photos with
no animal at all.
Trigger speeds vary from a lethargic 6 seconds to a lightning fast 1/5th of a second. The best performing game cameras have speeds of 0.5 seconds or less.
We test trigger speed with our proprietary, computer controlled testing device – The Triggernator.
Most other testing facilities simply wave their hand in front of a
camera and haphazardly calculate the time which elapses until a photo is
snapped.
The Triggernator swings a heat source across the face of the test camera,
triggering a stopwatch at the precise instant the heat source bisects
the camera’s PIR detection sensor. A photo is captured, revealing the
test camera’s trigger time accurate to 4/1000th of a second. The
consistency is incredible.
Trigger Speed Showdown
 Detection zone (Range & Width)
A trail camera’s detection zone is the area in which; when movement is detected, triggers the camera to take a picture.
Detection zones vary from
short and wide to long and skinny and everything in between. Although
you don’t hear much about this in manufacturer's advertising, it is the
#1 determinant in how many pictures you capture. After all, no matter
how fast your trail camera takes a picture, it really doesn't matter if
an animal never enters your camera's detection zone.
If the detection zone matches the field of view,
anything the camera can see will be in the detection zone. The instant
an animal walks into the camera’s field of view, the triggering process
starts.
We test detection zones using a
heat source to define the boundaries of the zone. We flag this area
and then calculate max width and depth and ultimate square footage of
the detection zone.
Detection Zone Test
 Recovery time
Recovery time is defined as the minimum amount of time required, for a camera to take the second triggered picture.
Recovery times vary anywhere from
as little as 0.5 seconds to a full 60 seconds. Being limited to only 1
picture every 60 seconds, produces some serious gaps in your scouting
capabilities.
Imagine the common scenario of a buck chasing a doe.
The doe triggers the camera and if the buck passes in the next 60
seconds, he does so undetected. We prefer recovery times of 1 second or
less. Scouting cameras with quick recovery times and fast triggers
never miss any activity and rarely produce empty frames, if ever. As a
result, quick recovering cameras capture multiple images of every animal
which visits the camera site.
Recovery time is measured by
producing continuous motion in front of the camera and calculating the
elapsed time between triggered photos. Note: Recovery time can vary
based on user programmed resolution. Larger mpxl pictures use more
storage space and require additional time to write to memory. This
usually results in a proportional increase in recovery time. Also,
recovery time is not to be confused with "burst mode." Burst mode takes
a rapid succession of pictures regardless of an animal being present or
not.
 Night Flash Range
We define flash range as the
maximum distance a trail camera is able to project its flash and
illuminate an animal for sufficient identification.
Flash range testing has a tremendous margin for error if
performed
incorrectly and is also subject to manipulation by testers (or
advertisers) with fraudulent intentions. It is imperative that testing
be done with all the cameras on the same night, under the same
conditions.
Moonlight, cloud cover and
tree canopy density; all have an incredible influence on flash range.
The exact same camera can vary as much as 50’ under different conditions
on different evenings.
For instance, a camera placed in an open field on an evening with a
full moon and no cloud cover may reach out a full 80’. However, that
same camera placed back in the woods on a cloudy night with a crescent
moon might only reach out 30’. To fairly compare flash range pictures
it is absolutely essential all pictures are taken on the same night
under the exact same conditions.
As you might expect, we perform our
flash range test for all our cameras on the same night under the same
atmospheric conditions. We place full size animal decoys at various
ranges from 10’ – 80’ so you can get a good idea of that camera’s
potential for identifying game.
Flash Range Test
Battery life
Battery life is defined as the number of days a game camera is able
to operate in the field on a single set of batteries. We titled this
test criteria “Battery Life” because that is how it’s most often
described. However, a more accurate title would be energy efficiency.
There are simply too many variables which can affect battery life –
number of pictures taken each day, ratio of night vs. day pictures, type
of batteries used, etc, etc. Energy efficiency, on the other hand, is
cut and dry. A trail camera draws a certain amount of amps (current),
and this is an inarguable fact. Once calculated, the energy consumption
of all cameras can be compared and practical battery life can be
extrapolated based on the variables involved. But, for comparison’s
sake, different scouting cameras certainly exhibit different levels of
efficiency.
At Trailcampro we measure current draw with a sophisticated Fluke
amperage meter with accuracy down to the micro amp. Consumption levels
for rest, activity, capture mode and recovery are documented.
Warranty Rate
Warranty Rate is the final criteria we use to evaluate the
durability of game cameras. At Trailcampro we sell thousands of trail
cameras and keep detailed records of the number of units which are
returned for warranty issues. The figure we list for warranty rate is
simply the number of defective units returned to us relative to the
number sold of that same brand (# of defective units/# sold=warranty
rate)
The best made game cameras have less than a 1% warranty rate.
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