Sony homebrews

[yousowise]

Hello,
I am pretty new to this, a friend and I put a trail cam up a couple weeks ago, and we are getting some pretty good picks of elk and deer.  I would like to get/make a camera of my own.  I have seen info. on here on how to convert a sony w series into a trail cam.  Can it also be done with a Sony DSC S730?  Any resources on what camera's make good trail cams?
Thanks,
Ben

[yousowise]

So I have done some research on the internet and have seen kits for sony s600's yetiam etc. .  I saw one reference to a s730 but no kits or info. on how to do it.  Would the hack be similar to a s600?  I am a noobie here and in order to pull this off I will probably need some good instructions.  Only reason I am interested in the s730 is I can pick it up for less than $50.
Thanks

[gkowen]

I am sure it can be done. I don't know how fast the s730 turns on or takes pictures. You can get custom timings for your chosen controller. As for instructions, I am not sure if you will find those. Really all you do is take the camera apart, put wires in parallel with the power and shutter switches and put the camera back together. If you haven't bought the camera yet, I'd buy one that you can find pictures and instructions on. I have seen Sony DSC-W80 and W90s for less than $50 in the last week. Just do plenty of research before you make any decisions. And once you start, ask plenty of questions. People here are very willing to help.

[yousowise]

Thanks for the info. I was looking at pawn shops today and didn't see any w80's or 90's, but saw the 730 for cheap.  I'm sure there are pros and cons to each, but in your opinion between the w80 and 90 which one is better?

[gkowen]

I don't know anything about the W90. I have a W80 and its what I started with. It works well and has good battery life. Have you ever taken anything small like the camera apart and put it back together?

[yousowise]

No, I have not tinkered with cameras yet.  I guess the only electronic stuff I have taken apart and put back together has been vcr's and DVD players.  I will probably do some more research and buy a camera sometime soon, but will put off tearing into it until after hunting season is over.

[gkowen]

Where are you located? Someone might be close by and willing to help.

[coldsteel3d]

I used a w80 and built my first cam a few weeks ago, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I checked it last night after a two week soak and had about 35-40 pics of elk, 1 pic of a doe, and 1 pic of a bear. If I knew how to post pics on here I would post them. I was pretty stoked about the bear, even though it was a small one. 

[BobR]

  The S730 is a cheap slooow camera. Stay away from it. The W90 is a much better choice.
Bob

[bearbait]

Listen to what BobR says,  he is our homebrew gurhu.   I have been shooting 2 w-90s since his January homebrew class in spokane and have been real impressed with the results, and no problems.  I live in the Medical Lake area if you need help and are close by.

[johnnydeerhunter]

the sony p41 and p32 are good cameras to use too. the p41 has slightly better pictures than the p32 but the p32 can be bought for a bunch less money than the 41's. the other nice things about the p series cams is no extending lens, so there is no lens extension/snorkel to deal with. You use a shutter assembly to modify the cameras instead of soldering to small contacts (they are larger solder points) and external AA or C or D cell batteries are easy to add. I have one p32 with two D cell externals (nimh rechargeables in the camera)and I change the batteries twice a year and average about 150 pics per week.