In my opinion, Covert has always left something to be desired in video mode, thus why I only run them in picture mode. With that said, check your video mode settings and see what resolution you have it set on (WVGA, 720P, 1080P, etc). Covert video mode is notorious for poor night time videos on 1080P because the camera records at 10 frames per second (fps) versus 24 fps on the 720P setting. For reference, 30 fps captures normal paced movements quite well and in a natural way and the higher fps makes video footage appear more lifelike by enhancing clarity and smoothness. If I were running a Covert in video mode, I'd never use 1080P and always stick with 720P. The quality should be better in 720P even though you'd never think so. The 1080P setting on Coverts is most likely a marketing tool and basically useless because of the poor frame rate associated with it. If you are dead set on great videos, and on a budget, it would be hard to argue with the Stealth Cam G42 No-Glo that Vermin has been raving about this year. Check out his threads and examples of great videos. I'd bet all of his videos were captured on 720P setting (1280x720), which is plenty good enough for trail camera videos that will most likely be viewed on a laptop or iPad (small screen).
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viewtopic.php?f=9&t=314108&p=4056468&hilit=Stealth+G42NG+video#p4056468
http://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Cam-No-Gl ... B00HMN7H04
http://www.trailcampro.com/stealthcamg42ngreview.aspx (good review of the G42 NG)
