TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
How can we get more enjoyment and satisfaction from our trail cam use?
Over the years, I've gotten much enjoyment from this "hobby", and learned a few ways of "getting more". Some "tips" and "ideas" are camera specific, others aren't. Some are in regard to "how" you go about placing, coming back to check and service, then what you do with all those pics.
I'm just going to start this with some ideas on batteries.
Others please add more tips & thoughts, and maybe we'll come up with a good list of helpful "tidbits".
[size]"Invest" in rechargeable batteries.[/size]
They will save you $ over time, but a big advantage is in feeling good about swapping them out, even when half their juice remains. When I was mainly using Duracells, I'd often find only about half the battery power used up when I was checking a cam. But maybe not wanting to check that cam again for weeks, the dilemma became whether to replace those half-used Duracells, or just let them totally run out.
This battery issue often caused me to need to check cams more often and/or have cams out that weren't working since the batteries had run out of juice. This situation is eliminated by simply having 2 sets of rechargeable batteries for each cam. With the rechargeables, even if only 1/4 of the battery power has been used, you have nothing to lose by replacing that set with the other fully charged set.
Also along the line of "batteries", a cam that can work for 6 months on a set of batteries may require less "servicing" trips than one that eats up its batteries in 6 weeks. Don't overlook the cost of batteries when considering the initial cost of one new cam vs. another. Over a period of 2 or 3 years, between the gasoline you use for special trips to check your cams, and all the batteries, you could spend more on a cheap cam that eats batteries than an expensive cam with long battery life.
Over the years, I've gotten much enjoyment from this "hobby", and learned a few ways of "getting more". Some "tips" and "ideas" are camera specific, others aren't. Some are in regard to "how" you go about placing, coming back to check and service, then what you do with all those pics.
I'm just going to start this with some ideas on batteries.
Others please add more tips & thoughts, and maybe we'll come up with a good list of helpful "tidbits".
[size]"Invest" in rechargeable batteries.[/size]
They will save you $ over time, but a big advantage is in feeling good about swapping them out, even when half their juice remains. When I was mainly using Duracells, I'd often find only about half the battery power used up when I was checking a cam. But maybe not wanting to check that cam again for weeks, the dilemma became whether to replace those half-used Duracells, or just let them totally run out.
This battery issue often caused me to need to check cams more often and/or have cams out that weren't working since the batteries had run out of juice. This situation is eliminated by simply having 2 sets of rechargeable batteries for each cam. With the rechargeables, even if only 1/4 of the battery power has been used, you have nothing to lose by replacing that set with the other fully charged set.
Also along the line of "batteries", a cam that can work for 6 months on a set of batteries may require less "servicing" trips than one that eats up its batteries in 6 weeks. Don't overlook the cost of batteries when considering the initial cost of one new cam vs. another. Over a period of 2 or 3 years, between the gasoline you use for special trips to check your cams, and all the batteries, you could spend more on a cheap cam that eats batteries than an expensive cam with long battery life.
