| Scouting is a crucial part of any hunter's regiment. It is a
year round activity for me if I hope to find and pattern a majestic animal
such as the whitetail deer. It begins just after season in late February
by utilizing tracks in the snow to determine travel patterns. It
continues up until late summer by glassing fields to see what racks have
materialized. These quests are strictly daytime activities and use
to be the way it was up until a couple years ago.
Then I started utilizing game cameras and what a difference. Game
cameras allow you to extend the scouting sessions to 24 hours a day, 365
days a year. I have now captured bucks that I never before knew were
in my area. One such buck my neighbor actually harvested close to
a mile from where a picture of it was taken. Beside the deer, raccoon,
turkey, squirrels, coyotes are all frequent visitors to my camera locations.
It is like Christmas every time I get a roll of film developed and the
new EZ cam from TrailTimer makes it a snap.
Trail cameras have come a long way since their introduction in the late
80's and early 90's. Those early models were expensive, hard to setup,
did not have many features and were terrible with battery life.
New cameras such as the EZ Cam can be set up and left in the woods repeatedly
with the same set of batteries. In fact the EZ Cam sensor battery
should have no problem lasting you the entire season. This camera
system is so easy all you have to remember is four steps, install the batteries,
install film, mount to a tree and turn it on.
 Initial
inspection of the EZ Cam showed that the case is manufactured from a very
tough ABS solid weatherproof material. It is sealed for added protection
from those very wet and nasty days. In fact out of a two week period
when the camera was in the woods the weather was very wet for almost an
entire week. Two days consisted of heavy downpours of over an inch
of rain each. Yet when I checked the camera there was no sign of
any water inside what so ever. The enclosure also has a couple security
features. The first allows you to lock the enclosure door and the
second allows you to secure the unit with a chain or cable lock.
The unit utilizes a passive infrared motion detector that reacts to
heat or cold motion as it passes through the beam. This detector
acts on the difference of temperature relative to the air temperature surrounding
it. You can expect a normal range of detection out to 60 feet.
This range is more than adequate for any game trail or feeder location.
I believe any more than this and pictures loose some of their clarity for
details.
When setting up the EZ Cam I recommend 20 feet maximum from game trails
or feeders to ensure quality photographs. Think of the pictures being
taken and compare them to ordinary pictures you capture of your family.
The closer to the subject the better the picture will be. Sure you
will get some pictures much further and you will be able to determine the
animal but for details such as antler characteristics depends on how much
of an animal's features you would like to capture. The sensor system
is powered by a single 9 volt alkaline battery. You should have no
problem going the entire system with one battery.
 The
EZ Cam uses a standard 35 mm pre-focused compact camera. It can be
used independently of the system, which is a plus but you will have to
deal with a small 4" cord with a connector on it. Any ISO film with
a speed ranging from 100 to 800 will do. I recommend either 200 or
400 speed. The camera gives the option of either the date or time
stamp appearing on the pictures. I like the time option because I
can always date the pictures with a range from when I get them back from
developing. The camera flash is effective out to around 25 feet so
keep this in mind during setup. If you wish to use the unit for surveillance
purposes in lit areas the flash can however be turned off. The camera
requires two (2) AA batteries for operation and TrailTimer recommends lithium
for cold weather operation.
The reaction time from the time the sensor is tripped to firing the
camera is instantaneous. You should have no problems capturing animals
on game trails unless they are running at full speed and tripping the sensor
at a very close range. The sensor once again is tripped by sensing
temperature changes from the air temperature surrounding the unit.
I did find that on foggy nights a couple false triggers did occur.
I believe this may have been from the fog cloud passing within the outer
sixty-foot area of the camera. The temperature of the fog may have
been just enough to set off the sensor.
When setting up the camera I recommend testing to make sure you are
aimed correctly. I recommend doing this without film first even though
you have roughly a one-minute lead time until the system activates.
Strap the unit to the tree with the supplied bungee system.
I recommend a distance of 30 - 36 inches from the ground on large bodied
animals such as deer. Set the unit to one minute delay, turn on the
sensor as well as the camera and close the door. It will take about
a minute for the unit to warm up. Now check your setup by walking
back and forth. The unit will fire to ensure that it is set up correctly.
If the unit is not quite right readjust and try a second test.
Remember that you have approximately one minute to make adjustments
between each camera firing. This should be more than enough time.
When setup is complete, load the film and be sure that the camera is turned
on by sliding open the cover. Set the desired delay time, close the
door and you are ready to go.
Design 4 out of 5
The overall size of the unit is very compact and the ABS housing is
very rugged and has some great features. I especially like the fact
that you can setup the unit and secure it in place but still have access
to the inside. This way you do not have to unchain or take the unit
down to access the camera and settings. The door can then be secured
with the supplied locking flange. The back of the case utilizes alignment
ribs enabling you to strap and secure the device to the tree without it
moving around. Battery life is also a plus for the sensor as well
as the camera. You can expect to go a whole season with the 9 volt
sensor battery and probably five or more rolls of film with the flash on
the two AA camera batteries.
This is a really nice product however I would like to see an external
on/off switch added to make it easier to turn the unit off or check the
film, A window on top would also allow you to see how many pictures had
been taken. Opening the unit to turn off or check film may cause
the unit to snap a picture. I would also like to see more delay settings,
especially in the under one minute time frame. The time frames are
great when set up in a feeding area but along trails I would like to see
at least two sub minute time intervals.
Quality 4 of 5
The ABS housing should have no problem standing up to the elements
and giving you years of enjoyment. The camera is a simple 35 mm with
a no frills approach. It does what it is designed to do and does
function as an independent camera. The quality of photos is good
in the 20-25 foot range but nighttime photos seem to suffer over this because
of the flash.
Value 4 of 5
The EZ Cam is a good value for the price and adding in the additional
features listed above would make it a solid five.
For more information on this or any
other Trail Timer product contact them at:
TrailTimer Co.
PO Box 28722
St.Paul, MN 55128
Phone: 651-738-0925
Fax: 651-459-3437
E-mail: trailtimer@aol.com
http://www.trailtimer.com |
