You are correct that there are way too many variables to test this. Every day, every time is different. As for the camera having the same dependability, well it was the same home built camera which I can use as either a white flash or IR camera. Therefore the reaction time, sensitivity was the exact same.

As for deer. Any deer can be taught or become acclimatized to a white flash, espically over a bait pile. Every deer is different, some will be spooked, some will not. I have seen deer where they have come up wind directly to me (sniffing all the way) and was not spooked. I have walked up to deer in an open field without spooking them as well. With some other deer, walking into a fields over 500 yards away have spooked the deer.

Maybe you have enough deer in your area that you do not need to worry about spooking a few deer (white flash will not spook all the deer, but has a great chance of spooking some of them if not most). But as I said, as a tail scouting cam, spooking a deer (even one) is one less deer in my area that I want or expect to be there (as the pics have showed).