Trail Cameras and Home Surveillance

Bushnell Trophy Camera In the late 19th century, the only way to grab a photo without being present to snap it yourself was a trail camera – introduced with the intent to study deer and other wildlife in Michigan. We don’t have that problem in our digital world but trail cameras and home surveillance are becoming a popular topic.

Trail Camera Features

Not all that familiar with trail cameras? No problem. Here’s what the modern camera does:

Shoots still images
Captures video
Records audio
Captures photos/video in total darkness
Captures license plates
Sends photos/videos directly to your cell phone

Key Camera Points

There are a few things to keep in mind when considering a trail camera for use in home surveillance:

Motion sensors
Resolution settings
Sharpness and clarity of photos/videos/audio
battery life

Why are these things important? If the camera you are looking at is not sensitive enough about motion to trigger when what you are looking for happens by, then you won’t capture the pictures you want. If the resolution settings are too low, you might not be able to determine what exactly was moving – just that something did move enough to take a picture. And, of course, if you are interested in intelligible audio, you need a camera with adequate audio recording.

Best Trail Cameras for Home Surveillance

There are many places you can find reviews of trail cameras. A recent one was done by Outdoor Life and it found the Bushnell 8MP Trophy Cam to be best. Here are some of its features:

quicksilver trigger and recovery speed
motion sensor range of 60 feet
infrared sensor monitors temperature and then automatically adjusts trigger signals
Battery life up to one year

Well, it might just be best bang for your buck.

Tips for Home Surveillance Use

Camouflage: Make sure your placement is covert. Know when shade comes to the back and front of your home. Placing cameras in the shade helps protect them from being stolen. Cameras located directly in the sun can produced blown-out photos that are unusable.
No-glow: Use a black flash trail camera or with one infrared capabilities. This keeps your camera and its concealed hiding place from prying eyes who might be scoping your home and private property because they are more discreet.
Timing is everything: Check to make certain the time-stamp feature is turned on so you know exactly when an intruder was on your property and in your home.

Conclusion

Protecting your home and private property with trail cameras is a great place to start your home security strategy or to boost an already robust tactic. Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten the original intent of these cameras. Come back for our post about hunting with these cameras later this month.