Infrared questions on trail cams

[SMcCray]

I have a Wildgame inovations Red 6 camera. It isn't a Great camera, but it is middle of the road I believe. Anyhow, I have only gotten 1 pic/video at night time that wasn't completely, or nearly completely "whited" out. My question is 2 fold, 1.... Is the camera getting "White" out because the deer is too close to the Infrared flash??? 2. Will changing the PIR make a difference with this.

Pretty sure I have a nice buck coming by the cam at around 7:00 pm, but can't get a picture that will allow me to verify it. LOL. Any help is appreciated...

[bigbuckhunter]

i used to have and still do have the same problem and thats the conclusion that ive come to about it, you can try changing the level of your camera, is it facing level or down at some corn or something?

[G-Man]

deer is probably too close..its a problem inherant to ir cameras, that and blurring... try changing your setting,moving further back and lighten the darker image with a photo editing software, or move the camera up the trail so you catch the deer in daylight!... i've said it before i truly dislike ir cameras.....

Edited October 1, 2011 by G-Man

[CAM-O]

I have a Wildgame inovations Red 6 camera. It isn't a Great camera, but it is middle of the road I believe. Anyhow, I have only gotten 1 pic/video at night time that wasn't completely, or nearly completely "whited" out. My question is 2 fold, 1.... Is the camera getting "White" out because the deer is too close to the Infrared flash??? 2. Will changing the PIR make a difference with this.

Pretty sure I have a nice buck coming by the cam at around 7:00 pm, but can't get a picture that will allow me to verify it. LOL. Any help is appreciated...

Hi SMcCray,

As soon as you said around 7.00 PM I new this was your saturation your talking about, this is called the transition period.

This is the leading cause of white outs on trail cameras, as well as the animals being way to close to the camera lens.

The PIR Filter is in a mode to change from night to day or day to night. Sometimes it will stick (PIR Filter) or your camera just happen to take a pic at the same time during the transition period. Here are a couple of links to help you understand. Not all IR cameras do this all the time, same of the less expensive ones do. Hope this helps.

http://www.chasingame.com/index.php?id=43

http://www.chasingame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=17547

Rick!

[landtracdeerhunter]

I own a Strealth Cam IR that likes to do the same. The only way it will take a decent picture is to mount it on a limb, say about 10' from the ground on an angle . Use a screw in mount to achieve this. It works better but not 100%. It also don't like filtered sun light. Have to mount it towards the North. Pain getting to it, but you leave it alone more.

Edited October 1, 2011 by landtracdeerhunter

[landtracdeerhunter]

Filtered sunlight, deleted white outs

[CAM-O]

The best rule of thump is to make sure you try your best to place the camera North / South but don't be afraid to put it East / West under a heavy canopy. This little trick works great. Also this is what I do, but may not be the best for your set up.

I mount my cameras waste high and with a 3 to 5 degree pitch downward. This will also stop some of the direct sun light from hitting the camera lens.

I never mount a camera straight out, Use about 1/2" stick in between your camera and the tree, fence post ect.

Hope this will help with some of your set ups. Experiment with different set ups to get the pic you want.

Rick!

Edited October 1, 2011 by CAM-O

[Doc]

Is this what you are talking about? As you can see your brand of camera is not the only one. This is a Bushnell Trophy. This is the only picture that I have ever had that has turned out this way. And I have taken a lot of pictures since that have been perfectly ok. So I have no explanation for it.

By the way, I just noticed that the time on my picture is coincidentally 7:16 PM. By the way this picture is facing south with a little bit of west if sun direction has anything to do with it.

[CAM-O]

Is this what you are talking about? As you can see your brand of camera is not the only one. This is a Bushnell Trophy. This is the only picture that I have ever had that has turned out this way. And I have taken a lot of pictures since that have been perfectly ok. So I have no explanation for it.

By the way, I just noticed that the time on my picture is coincidentally 7:16 PM. By the way this picture is facing south with a little bit of west if sun direction has anything to do with it.

Hi Doc,and nice to meet you!

Yes, that's what it looks like during the transition period, your time stamp is around this period when the PIR Filter will start to drop in for nighttime pics.

It all revolves around the amount of available light. But this is not uncommon at all, some cameras are more or less sensitive.

Some have a mechanical or electrical PIR.

Rick!

[SMcCray]

Thank you everyone. And Doc, Yes that is what I am talking about accept, MUCH whiter. LOL. The sad thing is I KNOW there is a buck in the pic, and a decent one cause you can see it move some in the darker area. Gonna go Move it today and see if it helps. I will post some pics in a few days if it worked.

[Doc]

Hi Doc,and nice to meet you!

Yes, that's what it looks like during the transition period, your time stamp is around this period when the PIR Filter will start to drop in for nighttime pics.

It all revolves around the amount of available light. But this is not uncommon at all, some cameras are more or less sensitive.

Some have a mechanical or electrical PIR.

Rick!

Yeah, that all makes a lot of sense. I thought it was funny that just a few days after I got my first "white-out" picture that SMcCray would post a message about getting the same thing. The only thing is that I got the impression that his problem is a bit more prevalent than my one and only. It would be interesting to know whether his "white-out" pictures occur at a variety of times or only around that sun-down lighting situation.

[Doc]

Thank you everyone. And Doc, Yes that is what I am talking about accept, MUCH whiter. LOL. The sad thing is I KNOW there is a buck in the pic, and a decent one cause you can see it move some in the darker area. Gonna go Move it today and see if it helps. I will post some pics in a few days if it worked.

Are all your pictures coming out white or is it only specific times of day that they come out washed out. If it is only specific times of day (such as sunset), moving the camera so that the lighting is changed might help. If you are getting that effect throughout the day and into the night, then there is a serious problem. What are your nightime pictures looking like? I mean those pictures that you know are in total darkness. They're not washed out are they?

[WNYBuckHunter]

If they are washed out pics, could have something to do with time of day or lighting conditions. If they are completely white images, its most likely a software issue, and you should contact WGI. There might just be a software update they can walk you through installing.

[Steve7]

Thank you everyone. And Doc, Yes that is what I am talking about accept, MUCH whiter. LOL. The sad thing is I KNOW there is a buck in the pic, and a decent one cause you can see it move some in the darker area. Gonna go Move it today and see if it helps. I will post some pics in a few days if it worked.

I have 4 StealthCam Sniper IR Pros. Camera white-outs in transition periods where the camera cannot decide whether to go IR with the available ambient light. I've tested this with different IR cameras. When the camera goes IR and there is available light through the canopy, the image is completely white and you may see "ghosts" passing. Just a byproduct of the sensitivity of IR cams. Most of mine happen early morning at sunrise or at dusk. Have a total of 7 cameras and TONS of video/pictures over 5 years now.

[Steve7]

Attached is a nice 8 pointer from one of the cams in 2009 and after I shot him later that same season. Same deer.