[LiquidPolymer]

This looks really cool. I've made my living a photographer for over 30 years and I'm very tempted to purchase. This small form factor would be perfect for a project I'm doing documenting California condors rearing their young. Sadly, I would also need it to shoot video to be effective for my needs (and I'm sure this would kill the battery). Its one of these situations where I setup the camera system in November, and then can't touch it again till after the young have left the nesting site in Fall. Its been tough to come up with a solution that provides good image quality along with the unique demands of the project.

I wish you great success.

For those wondering why I can't use a GoPro for this project - I have several reasons. Power consumption is one. This is in a breeding facility, and although I can turn off the beep in GoPro menu settings, I've had the beep spontaneously reset after a power outage (which are frequent). Also - Gopros don't turn back on after losing power and must be manually powered back on - something I can't do when chicks and parents are present.

[whatahw]

Why not use a trail camera? They do everything this device does but better, plus they have video and night vision. And you can buy one for $50 instead of $200.

[rapjr9]

Look for one designed to use external power. Lots of people have connected them to car batteries (there are projects on the web). The consumer ones tend to use PIR sensors to trigger short video recordings, which might be a problem if the camera is too far away. Birds tend to be well insulated and may not emit much IR. Maybe pro ones use doppler radar to trigger recordings? You might want to choose one based on how long it can be configured to record video after being triggered, 30 seconds for example may not be long enough for what you want to capture. This is not a normal use of a trail camera so figure out what your needs are and see if there is one that meets them.

[yangikan]

Do you have any suggestions for a good one?

[micw]

Unrelated to the camera. But couldn't you add a long cable to a place where you can change a battery occasionally? Or use an external solar rechargeable battery pack?

[rapjr9]

If you want continuous video for months then you probably need a custom solution using a battery. The battery will have to be somewhat large (solar can help, but don't rely totally on it). LFP batteries like those made by Eco-Worthy might be a good choice, light weight, high power. A $30 battery box (sold for use with lead-acid car batteries) can protect it from weather.

Continuous video for months isn't really possible yet on low power because the camera sensors are not designed for it, current CMOS sensors would have to be totally redesigned. There are people working on custom sensors that are much lower power, rebuilding a camera sensor from the ground up, but it's high level research and I haven't seen that they are commercially available yet (the DOD may have priority, they would love to have long lifetime continuous video on the battlefield). They started working on them about 5 years ago and it involves new micro-fabrication techniques (Chip Elliot was involved), but they weren't entirely sure it was possible.

For time lapse check out the Brinno camera, it's made for time lapse, it has a waterproof shell, it can be powered from USB:

https://brinno.com/

It can be set for automatic exposure so it gathers enough light to record at night (many seconds of exposure if your time lapse interval is long enough) while still handling daylight. It has a lens mount so you can choose wide angle or mild telephoto (maybe others are also available from 3rd parties). A time lapse Brinno plus a custom power system for a continuous video camera would probably at least make sure you get something with two independent systems. Redundency is good in unattended systems.

[abhgh]

If you don't mind a tangential question, what are some good places to watch condors in CA? We watched them at the Pinnacles National Park and loved the experience.

[alexdig]

I don't have an answer, but at least for Europe you can use www.birdingplaces.eu. The website has some entries for California, but couldn't find condors. Good luck!

[jtriangle]

Just open the gopro and remove the beeper. Then connect it to a big external battery.

[throwaway81523]

There are lots of tiny low-powered video cameras made for use on mini drones.

[geocrasher]

Check out CHDK for Canon PowerShot cameras.