Game Camera Home Defense

[Ksail101]

Hey guys I was at Wal-Mart the other day and I saw one of those cameras you hang on a tree to take pictures of Deer and such for hunting.
I was wondering would this work for a cheap security Camera say to hang on your Garage Door? I feel it would work to take pics of anyone that may be prowling your car or neighborhood.

Here is one. I saw one though that was $59

http://www.walmart.com/ip/20628824?adid=22222222227015113698&wmlspartner=wlpa&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=15713709550&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem

[tombogan03884]

It would be fine for the police investigation afterwards but since it stores photo's in the camera it would not be useful for real time surveillance.

[jaybet]

Some time and date stamp the photos.

[Solus]

If the photos are stored in the camera, then swiping or destroying the camera takes care of that evidence.

It would need to be hidden or protected to be effective against an observant threat.

[PegLeg45]

They are pretty easy to hide with a little creative thought. We have used several to take photos of trespassers in the past. There are some that are programmable for certain times as well as some that will take a set number of photos and then stitch them together as a video for easier viewing.

From my son's and my experience, the Moultrie brand are good buys...... and you can also get them at places like Amazon and Sportsman's Guide.

[Sponsor]

[mkm]

I agree with all of the above.  I believe they do make some models that upload pictures to the internet, but they would likely be as or more expensive than video cameras built for the purpose of home surveliance.

[Ksail101]

I know that getting real time images would not really work. Unless you got a pretty fancy one. But I think that you would get pictures if something did happen after the fact. But if you could get someone maybe scouting things out too. I just was thinking that it would be nice to see if someone is walking onto your property while you are at work or something.
Any surveillance system is really used for after the fact unless you are sitting watching your camera all day long on a TV.

[alfsauve]

I got one on sale as Bass Pro.   I've used it with some success around the house.   Got a partial picture of a deer going through the front yard.  Have pictures of various workmen.

Problem is the cheaper cameras, like mine, aren't all that reliable.  I get a lot of pictures that are of nothing.  I assume either the wind blowing the bushes may have set it off.  Or it could be an animal that passed through the frame, but was gone by the time the camera took the picture.   More expensive ones are probably better at catching things.

Most of them work off a motion sensor which sets off the camera.   What work better is one that continually analyzes the camera frame and then records when it detects sudden changes in the field of view.

[MikeBjerum]

Ksail101,

Cameras that feed directly to a computer are easy to find and inexpensive.  One day I looked at Lowes or Home Depot when I was researching, and I could have hooked our entire exterior into our computer for about $500 - several cameras, cables and connectors.  Nice part about this is that you have real time when someone comes to a door or window, plus you have a recording saved with date and time for evidence or review when you have been gone.

[PegLeg45]

You can also get one like the unit at the link below. It can be set to take a set amount of photos at specific intervals. Of course the higher the interval, the greater the opportunity to miss something.......plus it does not have night capability. There may be models out there that will take night pics at set intervals.


http://www.amazon.com/Moultrie-Game-Spy-Plot-Stalker/dp/B004ILNMIY/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1344982149&sr=8-16&keywords=moultrie+game+camera


My son has two that also record video, as well as take photos.


I was at the store a few minutes ago and was talking to a friend that happened to be there who had recently had some vandalism to his property. He said he bought a couple of the units from wally world and placed them at certain points on his property. I asked him how he disguised them and he said he put them inside of bird houses. He said he just cut an extra hole for the IR flash and sensor and once mounted, you couldn't really tell it was in there. I may have to try this, since like Ksail, I have been looking into this option for property monitoring.