DSLR CAMERA TRAP - What equipment is needed to get started with camera trapping?

[@Glasgowurbanwildlife]

Cracking video John! youve inspired allot of people! I wish I had the confidence to video myself for you tube videos! great work mate.

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks Steve, much appreciated mate. 👍 Lack of confidence was one of the reasons I started doing these videos, to try and push myself. I still really struggle talking to the camera and end up with more footage getting binned than getting used. I'd encourage you to give it a try, you don't have to publish any of it if you don't want to, you can keep it for your own viewing and have something to look back on in the future. If you can do appearances on " BBC Springwatch" in front of TV cameras, i,m sure you can do it. Give it a try, what have you got to lose. ATB John 😉👍

[@Glasgowurbanwildlife]

@JohnFormstone you come across really well John ! You would do a good bit a about camera trapping for springwatch! Cheers mate

[@andrewnoden9117]

Hi John, another great video and so happy to see you over 1k subscribers, you deserve many more. Your videos are straightforward and informative Cheers Andrew in Ottawa Canada 🇨🇦

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks for the kind words Andrew, much appreciated. 👍

[@johnfielding272]

Another interesting and informative video, John, thank you!

[@JohnFormstone]

Thank you John, much appreciated. 👍

[@ericmailander3361]

A very good tutorial. I'm setting a wireless camera trap up for puma/mountain lions. We have a healthy population here in central California. Thanks again for your time making this video!

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks Eric, i'm glad you found it useful. Good luck with the mountain lion project.👍 I have to say i am a little jealous, we don't have any big cats here in the UK.

[@ericmailander3361]

@@JohnFormstone You have badgers that are rare in my area and what I would give to get a camera trap shot of one of those critters! Keep the videos coming, I really enjoy them!

[@StephenBrooks-e9m]

Thank you so much it makes so much more sense now. And thank you for doing this video

[@JohnFormstone]

No worries Stephen, thanks for the suggestion. Glad you found it useful. 👍

[@satcat]

Another cracking video JOHN, well done.. Was down at Simons place the week before you.. an had a great time..keep them coming, an stay safe.. cheers Den

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks Den, its a great set up he's got there. Take care. ATB John.

[@briankirkup]

Hello John just enjoyed watching your video on what equipment you need. Very informative I have been watching Simon Eardley for sometime now and saw you on his video. Simon puts out some brilliant videos so I have just subscribed to your channel I will be watching regularly. Stay safe. B. K

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks very much Brian and welcome to the channel, I hope you enjoy the content. Rgds John. 👍

[@johnz3r]

Hi John, been following since Simon first mentioned your channel in his first camera trapping attempts. My peli case arrived a day before your recent collaboration video so this guide couldn't have come at a better time for me!

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks John. I'm glad the timing is right for you and i hope you the channel still has plenty to offer you in the future. Rgds John.

[@robertlawrence7958]

Good advice John. Straight talking as always. One point, I thought the Camtraptions flashes did go into sleep mode? Best wishes.

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks Robert. As regards the Camtraptions flashes, they dont have a sleep mode and are always on, which is why they dont need a "flash wake signal" and can therefore be used with different brands of camera. If you are using Nikon flashes wirelessly with other brands of camera, the PIR sensor can be programmed to wake the flashes before the camera fires, which can be very useful.

[@johnfielding272]

Actually, the Camtraptions flashes do have power saving modes, S1 and S2 which considerably prolong battery life. They awake instantly.

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks John, I have to admit, i have never heard of their "Stamina mode", I'm not sure how affective this mode is, however, on the Camtraptions website it says they can last up to 5 days on AA batteries, whereas with the Nikon flashes I can get an operating time of up to approx 2 1/2 weeks with my rechargable AA's, so i will be staying with these for the time being.

[@allanternent8862]

thanks for sharing john very interring video if i decide to get into this

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks Allan, much appreciated. 👍

[@steptoe128]

Hi John, great video, i am about to start camera trapping, got myself 2 SB-28 flashes a Nikon D5200 and the Camtraptions Wireless PIR Sensor v3, what i was wondering was, what camera settings are best for night time trapping and also the switches on the pir sensor for night time stills, thanks, Steve a new subscriber

[@JohnFormstone]

Thanks Steve, Many settings you could use but a good all round camera settings would be S/S 1/200, F8 - 11 and iso 400 and set the flash power accordingly. As a rough guide flash power would be around 1/8th power at 3m distance and the fill flash a couple of stops lower (and/or more distant). As for the PIR, a basic setting would be to have the sensitivity dial (top) to around 10 o'clock, Time dial (middle) and the Luminosity dia (bottom) set fully anti clockwise. If you want to have your PIR active during night time only, set No 1 switch (on left of PIR) to the "ON" position. If you want it to be permanently active just leave all switches in the "OFF" position. You could try this for starters and adjust from there. Hope this helps. 👍

[@steptoe128]

@@JohnFormstone hi john, thanks for the quick reply, ill give these settings a try, thanks again

[@StephenBrooks-e9m]

Hi John what size hole did you count in your camera housing for the UV filter.?

[@JohnFormstone]

Hi Stephen, it was 82mm to take a UV filter of the same size. 👍

[@StephenBrooks-e9m]

@ thank you.