Outdoor remote camera ideas?

[BDrake]

Due to some vandalism in a remote area I am looking for covert camera ideas. It is not near power so will need to be battery powered and store pictures for retrieval. I also need to cover some area - the bigger the bettter but bare minimum range of about 25 ft. It needs to be very well hidden as the people I suspect walk through the area and, while they might not suspect and be actively looking would probably notice anything new or out of place and at least take a look. The area is on the edge of a woods so has some trees but tree mounting seems problematic for a couple reasons. If it is seen they may shoot it out or otherwise valdalize it. Also, changing batteries and retrieving photos would be too obvious and they might catch on to the location. I need something I can discreetly leave and retrieve - perhaps something I could leave behind when I do some work in the area.

Game cameras come to mind as they have motion sensors and the batteries would last some time. But the range of the motion sensors may be too limiting.

 

[gatchel]

+1 on the game cameras. Inexpensive. Use a few to cover the area. There aren't too many other options. I have been down this road a few times.
Cameras are always subject to vandalism no matter the cost.

 

[happy_again]

There are a lot of different game camera options out there with various resolutions, features, prices, and sizes, but nothing that is so small that is can be hidden.. Even though a large number of these can be cable locked to trees, they are all subject to vandalism, unless you place them in hard to reach areas, which will become a pain for you to install/access. Although if you are concerned aboout someone shooting this if it is discovered, I am not so sure the game camera idea would be feasible.

Do you want infared activation after dark?

If you don't, there is a game camera with not so great resolution, Day 6 Plotwatcher Pro(roughly $250), which takes snapshot every 5-10 seconds(user selectable), but will only work in the light of day.. It will last quite a long time on 8 AA batteries. I have had one mounted in the woods for over a month on one set of batteries but I have set it up to automatically shutdown during 4 hours mid-day when the deer are not very active. You view this 'video' on their free software downloaded from their web site. Check out thier website for some sample 'videos'. You will see that the further away the subjects are, the harder it is to make out any details...

If you want to view night time activity this is not for you.

Good Luck..

 

[az1324]

Drone.

 

[biz123]

You can buy a very real looking fake security camera, always an option.

 

[Del91574]

The most real looking fake security camera is a dead "real" one and/or it's enclosure.

Nothing gives away a "fake" unit more than being located in an impossible to wire location, LED "on" light or mounted to trees.