OT: Garden/Wildlife/Time lapse cameras

Apr 12, 2019 Last reply: 7 years ago 9 Replies

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Andrew 7 years ago

As per subject.

I am looking to buy one of those external cameras that can be set up near a bird feeder, or used in timelapse or movement mode to monitor movements around the outside of the house.

Does anyone own one of these ?. If so, what make and features.

The local RSPB reserve/shop is selling a TimeLapse camera by Wingscapes but the manual says it needs a PC running XP/Vista/7 so a fairly old design.

It also uses 'C' cells which may be a problem. Eneergiser Lithium batteries only seem to come in AA and AAA size.

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The same company also do a Birdcam Pro camera which seems to add movement detection as well, but this one does use AA cells.

On the subject of C cells, I bought a set of Tesco cheapo alkaline C cells in 2005 and kept them in the freezer for about

10 years, and since then they have been sitting on a shelf at room temp, inside a Sony external battery pack, which I used from time to time to run my Sony TC350 walkman.

I have just remembered to check them for leakages (after last years heatwave), and there are no leaks and they all measure 1.51 volts !, even though they are 14 years old. How long would alkalines normally last ?.

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Information here may be outdated?

The Marquis Saint Evremonde 7 years ago

Andrew snipped-for-privacy@mybtinternet.com posted

I have a Denver WCT-3004 MK3. It can take stills or movie, time-lapse or motion-sensitive, night or day. You can set the time range you want it to come on and off (e.g. between dusk and dawn). I am currently using it to watch an owl nesting box.

Mine contains an SD card which I can just remove every few days leaving the camera in situ, and download the pics to any electronic device.

You can also use a USB cable to connect the camera to a PC, but I never have.

Mine uses either four or eight AAA rechargeables. They keep it working for at least a week.

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tabbypurr 7 years ago

I have a couple of ZnC marked best before 1940 & they haven't leaked. No charge left though :) Alkalines have much better chances of lasting a decade & not leaking

FWLIW I've been known to put AAs in C holders.

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DJC 7 years ago

There is one due in the 'middle of Lidl' next week

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Marland 7 years ago

You may just find that Lidl have some left from the stock they had on offer yesterday but from experience they don?t get many and they sell quickly.

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I got one last year and for the price it stands up very well compared with the Little Acorn I also have which cost much more some years ago, though the Acorn is a blacklight model and the Lidl one normal infra red. Also the Lidl one uses a micro SD Card so you have the faff of using and adapter for most computers to read it. I was going to get two last year and had two in my trolley but before I left the shelf rack was emptied within an hour of the store opening,a little old fella looked so crestfallen having made a visit just to get one I let him have one of the two I had.

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Marland 7 years ago

Are you sure you only adjusted your clock by an hour at the end of March?

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harry 7 years ago

Make sure you know how it works before you buy. We have one, the instructions are baffling. Chenglish I think.

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Brian Gaff 7 years ago

I have never had a windows 7 gadget that failed in windows 10, when I used it. I did not ditch it because I did not like it but because I could not cope with a new operating system everymonth requiring mega configuration of access and other software every single time. Brian

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Andrew 7 years ago

If the gadget comes with an application that was written for XP, then it may not even install on W7.

I had to chuck out a very useful utility called Partition Magic because it refuses to install on W7 (although there is now a free version, apparently).

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Rob Morley 7 years ago

Springwatch last year had a project to make a wildlife camera using a Raspberry Pi

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that would put your question back on topic. I have a few Raspberry Pis and cameras set up but they're all powered from mains electricity (some with a battery backup) and all just record video. The infra-red imaging is very good when used with an illuminator, although colour is off in daylight because I never got around to sorting out an automatic IR-cut filter.

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