Newest members to my trail camera family

[Mark Christianson]

I shoulda got these darn things done a month or two ago, but I got to busting my butt Friday afternoon, and finally have finished products.

My two newest trail cams, the homebrew way.

Sony S40(4 mp cameras), snapshotsniper board, and a good amount of hours invested.

I have a total of approximately $130 per camera invested. Add on $10 an hour for my time, and maybe the cameras are about $1500.... LOL

Seriously, they are kinda fun to dabble with.

These cameras will kill most commercial cameras on the market for pic quality, trigger time, battery life, ease of use, etc.

They are a lot of work though. You can spend a few more bucks and save a bunch of time, especially on the cases. I bought cases, painted them, and drilled them out. The drilling is more work than it sounds, and I think next time I will spend the $25 extra and order predrilled cases. I got a couple of the holes drilled slightly off where I wanted them, but its by no means real bad, but getting things perfectly centered would be nice.

Why is this worth tackling???

These things are awesome. You can choose from MANY different camera types/models/resolutions. Each camera has its positives and negatives as far as how they work, and how you get the work done inside to make them work as trail cams. The internal work is NOT easy in most cases. I am fortunate to work at a computer company, and I have a guy in my engineering dept put these cameras under a microscope, and do the soldering. Its only 3 wires, but its some very FINE points.

Whats the downside to homebrews????

If you mess up on the camera hack, you are out a camera. I was doing a mod on a Sony P32 last week, and I tore the ribbon cable between the LCD screen and the main board. LUCKILY, I posted on a number of homebrew trail camera sites, and I found a guy that had exactly what I need to spare that camera, and he sent me the parts for FREE! He wouldnt even give me contact info to send him money for shipping. So hopefully I can spare that camera.

Long post, but fun stuff. I am pumped to go hang em, and get some pics to prove these things are worth the effort....

I sure hope I can get some good pics.

[PerchJerker]

Nice. You're addicted. When do you start working on the digital video trail cams

[Mark Christianson]

I can set these cameras to video mode, so check that off the list.

PS - hows the quality of them holes PJ??? No oval holes for this guy. LOL. OK, inside joke to everyone.

[Longline]

What are some of the websites where you got your info on how to make these. Thanks

[Mark Christianson]

Send me an email. I cant post web site addresses on here.

[email protected]