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I've got a new spot to hunt and want to put out a trail camera. All I have available to use is one with a flash and I'm afraid the flash at night could spook the deer. What does everyone think of these cameras? My other cameras are all infrared and I'm pretty sure they don't bother the deer at all.
I had a flash years ago and want another. They never spooked the deer. I heard once that most deer will think it is just a flash of lighting.
Flash of lightning? That's interesting. The only reason I have a flash cam is because it's all they had at Walmart when I needed to get one quick a couple of weeks ago. I do like the color photos at night. They are definitely easier to see what you've got.
That's the main reason I want another. I have a cuddeback attack IR and there is a lot on motion blur at night. And you get that with any IR camera.
I have been using flask camera's for a good 10+ yrs now, and also have IR camera's
to me, I get just as many pic's of deer looking at a camera flash or not
many IR's make a sound when they take a pic and many also give a glow
all things can cause a deer to react to that stuff
I get tons of great pictures at night with my flash camera's love the quality of pictures over an IR a lot , IR's to me such on any thing that isn't standing completely still
the only draw back I have about flash camera's is they are EASY to be found at night by crooks
them flash's on my cuddleback attack's can be seen no lie 500+ yrds away on a field edge set up
and probably one main reason I get so many stolen over the yrs,
so on public lands, thats a risky deal
as I am on heavily posted lands and still have them stolen every yr
I have to really bolts and make taking them super hard
so those would be the only draw backs to a flash over an IR camera in my eye's
but I do not believe they spook any more deer than an IR camera
I get thousands of pictures on my flash camera's too, so??
have 4 flash and one ir i like the flash models better due to color pics havent noticed deer being spooked
I agree with the info above, love the pictures from the flash and get just OK night pics with the IR. I have however had instances of deer shying away from a trail that I had a flash camera set up on. I think it is because I set the camera pointing straight down the trail instead of perpendicular to it. I do this , of course, to maximize the exposure time. The deer would move off the trail go around the camera and come back to the trail. On the other hand I have taken a thousand pics at bait with flash and it doesn't seem to matter.
Over the years I had one flash and two IR cameras. All have spooked deer in my opinion as the first pic would be them looking towards the cam, second pic alert and by the third pic them fleeing. I think a lot of it is like what Greybeard11 said, a matter of how I had them set up. Take time to put the camera to the sides of trails so their attention is not focused on the camera as it approaches. For feeding sites many recommend putting the cams up higher and pointing down. That way flash cameras may appear to be lightning and the IR cams will likely go unnoticed. Can't beat flash/color night time pictures. Over the years of looking at my IR pics I am just tired of the blurry pics if the deer is moving.
well I think many folks don't do scent control when setting camera's up, and that can be whats spooking them more than the flash
plus many camera's make sounds as they take pictures, and again thats not the flash causing there attention
sure some deer might not like the flash, I think its more of the shadow it makes than the flash
but over the yrs, I never have any bucks avoid any place I set one due to the flash
and I get tons of critters besides deer too on flash . I still prefer a flash for pic quality over any possible scaring animals!
I've always used flash cameras and never had a problem. Seen my camera flash at a deer and it didn't act differently in any way. I just now got my first IR camera, Covert MP6 love it!