I don't think you misunderstood me. For me, it would be good if the after-the-fact videos showed who was doing what. If they were able to show faces that could be identified, that would be great.
I do plan on using the video camera with the flood lights, and yes, that would be great if it captured a "WTF" moment like the one you described.
And, I would definitely like color if possible.
So it's a regular game-cam, but with the electronic shutter set so that high-brightness areas on the image have the correct exposure and everything else is too dark to see. A very limited market I would think.
I don't see why regular game-cam's couldn't have a mode where they take
2 pictures rapidly - one after the other, with the second (or first) picture set to a faster shutter speed to accomplish the same task (record license plates at night without over-exposure).
Your cost for such a system would increase substantially if face-clarity is a "must-have" feature while monitoring some generic open-area.
If your area includes some feature that would attract or direct the intruder (such as a garage or shed door, window, a car, piece of equipment, stairway, corridor, etc) then you can more ergonomically place a camera to insure that the intruder's face, clothing, body, etc, occupies as much of the image as possible - but by doing that you narrow the field of view of the camera.
There are some motion-triggered outdoor lights (some halogen, some LED, some battery or solar powered LED) that now include their own digital cameras that record stills or short video clips on SD cards. I saw some of these at Costco about a month ago, but they've been available at Costco for a little over a year now.
Interesting. I never heard of that but I'll have to check that out. I may be able to do a combination of things, but if those types of motion light/camera combos do exist, I may be able to use one at one particular spot.
Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions etc.
For now, I am thinking of maybe just installing a temporary system like this one:
I can place the cameras in and the receiver in locations that are secure. And, if we have a break-in or problem, I can go back later and look at the video clips by playing them back on a TV etc.
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