Can a camera still see if the no-glow IR LEDs are two feet away?
 

I have never purchased a game/trail cam and would like to learn from those who have.

Here's what I understand:
1. Some game/trail cameras can work in near or total darkness.
2. Some don't emit any glow at all. I understand they work by "infrared".
3. When you buy a no-glow cam, both the IR LEDs and the camera/lens are conveniently housed in one unit.

I'm considering starting a small project where I have my camera and the no-glow IR LEDs in separate locations. Will this work? Can the no-glow IR LEDs be, say, 2 feet away from the camera?

The model that i have in my mind is that no-glow IR LEDs work like, say, a regular flashlight. You don't need the beam of light to be coming exactly from the same angle as your eyeballs. A friend 5 feet to your right can be holding the flashlight and can be pointing it in front of you two, and yet you (your eyes) can still benefit from the light. The light just has to bounce back into your eyes. Is my model correct? Do no-glow IR LEDs work like that?

P.S. In case you're curious, my project involves having no-glow LEDs in various places of a small "room" (5 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet) and several cameras in other places in the same room.

The IR light source doesn't have to be anywhere near the camera (or optics) within reason.

One consideration is matching the light output to the camera.

My experience is with military optics and not trail cams per say. But too much light can wash out optics, to little light and the results are less than optimum.

It also depends on what you are trying to illuminate, some things absorb IR light, while some reflect it. to various degrees.

I have no idea if trail cams have built in light meters, doubt it. More likely the light emitters are roughly matched to the camera.