I just got a Trophy Cam the other day. I set it up in my backyard over a mineral block I have that I suspect coons are getting into. The block is on a 5 gallon bucket and the block has broken into 2 pieces. Every time I stand it up, the next day it's knocked over and the pieces have been rolled around.
The tree the cam is on is about 15' from the bucket.
The first night, no pics, but the bucket was knocked over and such. Something was there obviously.
I brought the camera in the house and used it in manual mode in the light in shut myself in the closet and used it in the dark too and it worked fine. Then I switched it to the automatic mode and did the same test and it worked fine again (both in the light and in the dark).
So I thought maybe I had the cam set too high on the tree, so last evening I put it up but made sure it was only about 3' up the tree and was clearly pointed at the bucket. After dark I went out to do some "tests" and it picked me up as soon as I got into range coming straight it, picked me up again way off to the side, and again right at the bucket. I figured I was good to go this time. Checked it again this morning (bucket knocked over, etc), no pics except for the ones of me testing it!
I'm using 4 new Duracell AA batteries (plain jane, not lithium or anything), sensitivity is set to high, the timer is off, and it's set to take 3 pics with a 1 minute interval between bursts. I'm also using a SD 1 GB card. I formatted it using the cam when I first put it in 2 nites ago but used my Canon digital to check the pics, which I have since found out is a no-no. I talked to tech support and he said that was what the problem was and that I needed to format the card using my computer and NOT the cam (which doesn't make any sense to me, but whatever).
I've noticed a couple things. If I walk through the sensors range, it doesn't seem to capture me if I just pass through it, even at close range. When I took the camera off the tree this morning, it didn't snap a pic either. To me, if the sensor is picking up something it should trigger a pic regardless of whether or not whatever triggered it is still in the frame and I DEFINITELY should've triggered it both by walking through and when I took it off.
Also, I noticed last night that sometimes the IR bulbs would completely light up and other times it was just a quick flash that was rather dim. That seems kind of odd as well. Did anyone else notice anything like that?
I'm going to re-format the card when I get home and set it up around the house or something to get more opportunities to test it tonight.
Just wondering if anyone had any input?
Thanks!