Budget wildlife cameras (to catch nazis)

[bass_junkie83]

Bit of an odd one this.
In our local woods we have a memorial bench that is repeatedly getting tagged with swastikas, either spray painted or scratched into the wood. It's happens at other spots too but this seems to be the epicenter.

There are some good hearted people that keep going back and sanding and re-varnishing the bench, but no one seems to be doing anything to catch those responsible.

Things like this royaly pee me off and it has got me thinking, a well hidden wildlife camera might catch them on camera and possibly be a good start for the police to get involved.

I don't have a big budget for this and would be uncomfortable leaving something of real value that could be found and stolen. So with that in mind, does anyone have any experience of the super cheap cameras you can get from amazon, such as this?

Wildlife Camera 36MP 2.7k Trail Game Camera with Night Vision 940nm IR LEDs IP66 Waterproof Include 16GB SD Card Wildlife Monitor for Scouting Hunting Wildlife Observation https://amzn.eu/d/i4gXHt6

The location is somewhere I pass through once or twice a week on my bike rides, so something that can last a week would be ideal, and needs swappable batteries so I can leave it in place and swap over the batteries and memory card whenever I pass by.

Is this achievable with a cheap camera and will image quality be adequate? I expect only daytime footage will really be needed rather than being concerned about the IR image quality.

 

[woof woof]

I've no idea Dave, I just wanted to say good luck with it. Hopefully the (possibly) little tykes can be identified and their mothers informed.

 

[hunnymonster]

Ooft they've shot up in price since I got mine... Find mine (it was £19.50) great at photos or video but worse than useless if you ask it to do both (which it is theoretically capable of)

 

[bass_junkie83]

Ooft they've shot up in price since I got mine... Find mine (it was £19.50) great at photos or video but worse than useless if you ask it to do both (which it is theoretically capable of)

I imagine only video would be necessary, as long as usable stills could be taken from it.

 

[Box Brownie]

If you are filming people with a trail cam it may be best to have one with 'black light infra red' illumination.

There are two types of IR lamps and one is just visible to human/mammalian vision, the other one as noted above is in the IR range that is invisible to us!

 

[Nikon f1.8]

I've no idea Dave, I just wanted to say good luck with it. Hopefully the (possibly) little tykes can be identified and their mothers informed.

they probably wouldn't do anything, some parents are quite happy to sit and watch TV while their kids reek havoc outside.

 

[jakeblu]

Whilst I admire the thinking, wouldn’t there be some legal issues in doing something like this? It wouldn’t just be the scrotes you’d be capturing on camera.

 

[Box Brownie]

Whilst I admire the thinking, wouldn’t there be some legal issues in doing something like this? It wouldn’t just be the scrotes you’d be capturing on camera.

Ah! a good point......though if the council are doing nothing

 

[bass_junkie83]

Whilst I admire the thinking, wouldn’t there be some legal issues in doing something like this? It wouldn’t just be the scrotes you’d be capturing on camera.

I don't know. Is it any different to putting out a camera to catch footage of badgers and getting a few false triggers from people walking by?

 

[RKC]

I don't know. Is it any different to putting out a camera to catch footage of badgers and getting a few false triggers from people walking by?

well if you put one out and you catch a couple having nookie just delete no one will know .......................I admire your concern but would the Police do anything about it an answer I do not have, if you identified them as children and showed evidence to parents, whilst I would say thank you and talk to my kids not all parents would take kindly to the knock on the door.

 

[jakeblu]

I don't know. Is it any different to putting out a camera to catch footage of badgers and getting a few false triggers from people walking by?

I think there’sa massive difference, you’re pointing the camera at a bench that will be used legitimately by any number of people. But, saying that I’m not an expert on this subject

 

[Sangoma]

The cheap ones are cheap for a reason.

The video quality is 640X480 upscaled, but of course it still looks like a 640X480 video.
The stills are very low native resolution
The battery standby time quoted is with the power switch OFF. In use lucky for them to last a day.

The IR illumination is like a spotlight covering the middle 25% (roughly) of the frame.
It is generally very grainy without daylight, and even in daylight poor.
Motion detection is iffy once the batteries start to go down.

They are quite easy to see, and hard to hide from a human. They don't move, so wildlife would get accustomed to them, or not worry as they don't offer a threat.

In the past I have seen on youtube, clear footage with audio of a group of people using an angle grinder to liberate a caravan and tow it away, and nothing was done about it, and other similar stories (I doubt if they are all false) so I have my doubts if anything would be done about it.

 

[bass_junkie83]

The cheap ones are cheap for a reason.

The video quality is 640X480 upscaled, but of course it still looks like a 640X480 video.
The stills are very low native resolution
The battery standby time quoted is with the power switch OFF. In use lucky for them to last a day.

The IR illumination is like a spotlight covering the middle 25% (roughly) of the frame.
It is generally very grainy without daylight, and even in daylight poor.
Motion detection is iffy once the batteries start to go down.

They are quite easy to see, and hard to hide from a human. They don't move, so wildlife would get accustomed to them, or not worry as they don't offer a threat.

In the past I have seen on youtube, clear footage with audio of a group of people using an angle grinder to liberate a caravan and tow it away, and nothing was done about it, and other similar stories (I doubt if they are all false) so I have my doubts if anything would be done about it.

That's great, thank you.
Not really what I wanted to hear but saves me wasting time and money though!

 

[Snapsh0t]

I had an Aldi trailcam for a while, trying to catch which of next-door's cats was 'decorating' our grass. I never did catch the culprit but it stopped when we blocked their passage under the fence and only one was too fat to jump over..... What I did catch was a visiting badger and I agree with what Steve says about the IR illumination.


This is heavily cropped, probably one quarter of the frame but you can see part of the bright spot in the lower r/h corner.

 

[bass_junkie83]

Just a little update on this. I contacted my local police office and got this response.

Generally speaking it is not illegal to film or take photographs in a public place, however there are exceptions to this when it comes to local authorities or Police / law enforcement undertaking this type of surveillance. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers 2000 (RIPA) must be followed, however there is no such restriction for the public to adhere too. That said, as a member of the public filming a public space you become the ‘data controller’ and as such must adhere to the regulations set out by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).



A brief google search suggests that any CCTV systems in a public place should be registered with the ICO and that signage should be displayed where audio recording is taking place. Our recommendation is to contact the ICO to see what rules you have to follow. This is not a matter that is regulated by the Police and any breaches are referred to the ICO to follow up.



ICO - Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)



RIPA - Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Registering sounds like faff but at least I wouldn't need to put up a sign if I turn off audio recording. Saying that, the more I think about it the more I worry about a camera getting stolen or damaged so I don't think I will go ahead.

That in mind, I just bought a GardePro E5S which seems to have reasonable reviews for a budget camera. and instead of hunting Nazis it is going to by my daughters Christmas present and we will use it in a nearby nature reserve in much more secluded places. So hopefulyy something of interest to share in the new year.

 

[Vintage Racer]

If it's happening at night and the bench has metal arms, I'd be tempted to 'electrify' it! - Should not be too many pensioners out after dark and any amorous couples would probably not notice being electrocuted.