Settings on Trail Camera Questions

[jrebel]

I just received my first trail cam ever.  I have played with my hunting partners, but never set up my own.  I am super excited to go out this week and set it up.  I am reading about how to set the camera up and have a few questions.

1.  How many pictures per sensor trip?  1, 2, or 3?
2.  How much time between pictures?  1 second to 1 hour?

What do you guys find works well so you get plenty of pictures, but not to many redundant pictures?


Thanks

Johnny

[vandeman17]

How many pictures you take at a time and how long it waits between pictures kind of go hand in hand. If I was only taking one picture at a time I would have a shorter wait and if I was doing a 2 or 3 shot burst then I would have the wait a bit longer 

[alwinearcher]

I prefer 1 minute with a 2 shot burst.
You may end up with some redundant pictures but when that big buck finely comes by you will have a good picture of him

[MtnMuley]

1 minute with 3 shot bursts for me.

[h20hunter]

Well shucks, I've got mine set currently to a single pic with 1 min lag.

[KimberRich]

1 minute with 3 shot bursts for me.

x2

Shortest time possible and most pics possible.  Large capacity memory cards are getting cheaper all the time.  I take as many as possible to try and get the best angles and most detail I can. Good luck with your first camera!  They are a blast and a great tool.

[bobcat]

It depends if you're set up on a trail, or bait, or a regular feeder. With lots of activity and animals spending a lot of time in front of the camera, you can afford to go with only single pictures, and more time between shots. But just a trail where animals only occasionally come by, you might want to go with the setting that will give you as many pictures as possible. The locations I have my cameras set up in, I'm lucky to get 60 pictures in two weeks, even with the camera set for a 3 shot burst, with a 1 minute time out.

With my cameras, 1 minute is the shortest time out option there is. If I could go down to 1 second, I would. My 2GB memory cards never get even close to their capacity so that's not an issue. One thing that could be an issue with taking more pictures than necessary would be shorter battery life. I could also see it causing a problem if the flash or IR glow was spooking deer out of your area or causing them to change their normal patterns.

[backyard bucks]

i did the 3 burst one min apart for that very reason. on a trail they are just passing by and i wanted to get as many pics i could before they walked on by without bait there to hold them. 

[brianmtsinc]

I do 3-6 shots every minute.  I like as many pics as I can get, and then I quickly delete those I dont need/like.  Setting for only 1 or 2 pics, might cost you that view you are looking for.
Welcome to a new addiction.  I bought 2, 3 years ago and we now have over 7 in the woods right now.  They are a blast!

[jrebel]

Just put my 8 gb card in and on 8 megapixel setting it showes I can get 8000 pics.     With that being said, I put it on 3 shot burst with 10 second trigger reset between burst.  I will not be over bait for the first set so we will see.  I will set it this weekend and post pics late next week.  I have a few great trails that should produce some animals.  I am super stoked and thanks for the imput. 

Johnny

[highside74]

Also try and facethe camera north if possible. We all know the sun rises east to west and south get's the most sun so you will get less washout and less false trigger's and cleaner pictures facing north. Just like your handheld camera you always get better pictures with the sun behind you or at your side. 

[bobcat]

I just read something a couple days ago from a guy who's into trail cameras and is also a professional photographer. He says his rule is south in the summer, north in the winter. I'm going to try switching some of my cameras around, because I've got most of them facing north right now.

[jrebel]

All excellent advise.  I will be trying many different strategies and post pics with what I find.  I actually had my first soak at work.  It was up for 2 hours and i got 54 pics.  The only wild animal I got consist of my EMT partner....   Seems that the settings of 3 pics per trigger and 10 second reset worked well.  I can see how this may be a little much if I have a baited sight, so will adjust depending on the situation.

Thanks again, I am super excited to join the game camera sport and can't wait to share pics on the forum.

Johnny

[Arteman]

Jrebel its sounds like you and I are kind of on the same page.  Ive always hound hunted for bear and cat when I wasn't deer and elk hunting so I've always stayed busy on the off season, but I sold out this year and started picking up some new hobbies like shed antler hunting, found 32 elk sheds this year, and now my favorite after following this forum... trail cams!  Anyways same page meaning you have been asking the same questions that I've been wondering in the last couple postings.  I just got the 2011 Bushnell low glow with the lcd screen, and my bear box finally came yesterday, putting it out this weekend.  Hope to see you next week with a ton of pix, I really hope I can contribute to this site as well.  Good luck, maybe next week ill have something to share.