Hi all,
I’m looking into using e-con Systems / Arducam cameras for my camera trapping research and wanted to get feedback from anyone who has experience with these models. Specifically, I am interested in the following:
Camera Compatibility: Are there any e-con Systems cameras/arducam that are particularly well-suited for wildlife camera traps? I’m looking for models with good low-light performance and reliability in field conditions.
Integration with Other Technologies: How well do e-con Systems/arducam cameras integrate with other technologies like machine learning and bioacoustics for data collection and analysis? Any advice on setting up a system for automatic data tagging or sensor integration?
Troubleshooting Tips: If anyone has experience troubleshooting e-con Systems/arducam cameras in field setups, I would love to hear about your insights, particularly in terms of power management or remote access.
I appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thanks in advance!
19 November 2024 2:44pm
I think the big thing is power consumption. Commercial camera traps have a large power (current) dynamic range. That means they can often swing from ~0.1 mA to ~1000 mA of current within a few milliseconds. It's often difficult to replicate that in DIY systems which is why you don't see a lot of Raspberry Pi camera traps. The power consumption is often too high and the boot time is too long.
One of the big challenges is powering down the system so that it's essentially in sleep mode and having it wake up in less than a second. That said, if you're mainly doing time lapse or don't have the strict speed requirements to wake up that quickly, it may make sense to roll your own camera trap.
Anyways, hope I'm not being too discouraging. It never hurts to give it a shot and please feed back your experiences to the forum. I'd love to hear reviews about Arducam and it's my first time hearing about e-con Systems.
Akiba
Akiba
Freaklabs