What's this black flash deal?

[51 pointer]

What's the reason for black flash on some of the new cameras? I'm looking to buy about 4 cameras and want to make a good buy that I'll be happy with for a few years

Any advice?

 

[Obsession]

The black flash is not supposed to spook game because they can't see a flash of light. Then there is IR which is usually a light glow and the pics are black and white at night and normal during the day. Then you have the white flash which is more like a traditional camera with a flash.

 

[Andy S.]

True black flash cannot be seen which reduces avoidance and is the only camera I'd recommend if positioning on salt or scrapes when the target animal is stationary. As BSK and others have reiterated, repeat pictures and repeat trips to the camera site, especially for mature bucks, makes them worth their weight in gold when compared to white flash and IR cams.

 

[bassinbrian]

I have several IR cams, no problem spooking deer, also have the same deer on cam repeatedly.

 

[Rackseeker]

Contact FiremanJim on here and buy a couple of his homebrews. I have one of his video units and I really like it.

 

[Jmed]

Black ir/ black flash is the way to go. I can tell a huge difference on getting mature bucks to come back to a site. Check out the coverts. Mp8s

 

[BSK]

I have several IR cams, no problem spooking deer, also have the same deer on cam repeatedly.

How many black-flash cams have you tried? I always hear, "I've got white flash/IR cams and they don't spook deer." But those comments come from those who DON'T have black-flash cams. Try some good black-flash cams and you will be sold on them. They are worth every penny extra you pay for them.

That's not to say they don't have some down-sides. They absolutely do. But the number of visits you get to non-baited locations is astounding compared to any type of visible flash camera (white or IR [red-glow]).

Now if you ONLY use cameras at baited sites (baited with food or salt), then the visibility of the flash is not as big a deal. Deer will put up with a lot to have access to the bait. But if you use cameras during the season over non-baited locations, such as trails, scrapes, etc. the difference in the number of pictures with black-flash is usually huge, especially if the cameras are left in one location over time. Deer may not visibly spook from a visible flash camera, but they absolutely WILL learn to avoid triggering the cameras over time. I've heard claims of areas where visible flash cameras made no difference, but having worked with trail-cameras since before they were commercially available, and having run photo censuses all over the country, I've NEVER seen a situation where flash visibility didn't make a difference, and usually a BIG difference.

 

[Shed Hunter]

I have several IR cams, no problem spooking deer, also have the same deer on cam repeatedly.

How many black-flash cams have you tried? I always hear, "I've got white flash/IR cams and they don't spook deer." But those comments come from those who DON'T have black-flash cams. Try some good black-flash cams and you will be sold on them. They are worth every penny extra you pay for them.

That's not to say they don't have some down-sides. They absolutely do. But the number of visits you get to non-baited locations is astounding compared to any type of visible flash camera (white or IR [red-glow]).

Now if you ONLY use cameras at baited sites (baited with food or salt), then the visibility of the flash is not as big a deal. Deer will put up with a lot to have access to the bait. But if you use cameras during the season over non-baited locations, such as trails, scrapes, etc. the difference in the number of pictures with black-flash is usually huge, especially if the cameras are left in one location over time. Deer may not visibly spook from a visible flash camera, but they absolutely WILL learn to avoid triggering the cameras over time. I've heard claims of areas where visible flash cameras made no difference, but having worked with trail-cameras since before they were commercially available, and having run photo censuses all over the country, I've NEVER seen a situation where flash visibility didn't make a difference, and usually a BIG difference.

All you have to do is turn a red flash can on video and it becomes evident that they are just as much.. If not more afraid of it than white flash. I've never had a buck show up multiple times on a scrape after letting him see infrared.

BTW, I meant to PM you about my observation on fawns. I've been getting many more pictures of them and some that negate my previous theory.. At this point in the summer anyways.

 

[BSK]

Master Chief,

Just remember that as the summer progresses, it's normal to get more and more fawn pictures. Earlier in the summer, fawns do not travel with their mothers. They spend most of their time hidden and not moving. But as they get older, they begin to travel with their mothers and "suddenly" become more visible on camera in late August and early September.

I tell camera users to ignore the fawn recruitment numbers generated by baited censuses. They are usually very low compared to reality. The best fawn recruitment numbers come from cameras placed over food plots, the edges of agricultural fields, or other open food sources from mid-September to mid-October.

 

[Vermin93]

Master Chief is right about video mode. I run most of my cams in video mode. I prefer it because it reveals a lot of additional information compared to picture mode. One of the challenges of using video mode with red IR flash cameras is that the red IR flash stays on for the duration of the video clip recording. So, a 10 sec video clip means the animals have 10 sec to see the red IR flash. I mount my cams about 12ft high in the tree to get them out of the line of sight of animals and of out sight and reach of potential thieves, but every once in a while a video clip will show one of my cams getting picked off by animals or people.

It's kind of funny watching a coyote react when it sees a red IR flash. They just about jump out of their skin and bolt out of there. I have many clips like this one.

http://vid822.photobucket.com/albums/zz145/stompkins1/Coyote_zps4fda1a7e.mp4

Here's a mature buck that I had on cam quite a few times before this incident. In this video clip he looked up and picked off the red IR flash. I never got him on cam again after this.

http://vid822.photobucket.com/albums/zz145/stompkins1/Buck_zps8212f6f8.mp4

Having a cam that makes noise when it takes a picture, even if it's black flash, can have the same affect. This crappy Hunten C35-50 is a true black flash cam, but it makes an audible noise with every picture it takes. As a result, I constantly get pictures of deer staring at it day or night. I'm convinced it's doing more harm than good, so I don't think I'm putting it back out in the field.

 

[BSK]

Having a cam that makes noise when it takes a picture, even if it's black flash, can have the same affect.

Great point Vermin93. An audible click or clunk with the IR filter moves over the camer'as lens is a big no-no for trail-cameras.

 

[Outdoor Enthusiast]

Last season was the first opportunity I had to use true black flash. I placed a white flash and black flash camera over scrapes separated by less than a half mile.

The black flash unit captured multiple pictures of a 4.5+ y.o. buck late into the season (12/27 was the last pic), whereas the white flash only captured the same buck twice in October.

This isn't "scientific" proof, but I am convinced the buck learned to avoid triggering the white flash unit.

The downside to black flash is the loss of quality on moving objects due to motion blur in nighttime pictures.

 

[BSK]

The downside to black flash is the loss of quality on moving objects due to motion blur in nighttime pictures.

Absolutely Outdoor Enthusiast. Black-flash has some real down-sides. First, they are usually far more expensive units. Second, to produce a flash of purely infra-red light requires a lot of battery power, hence they either need larger, stronger batteries, or they eat smaller batteries quickly. Third, digital imagers are not as sensitive to infra-red light, hence the flash of a black-flash cam does not project as far into the darkness. And lastly, because the digital imagers are not very sensitive to infra-red light, the cameras must expose the imager for longer periods of time to get a good image, which allows animal movement to produce a blurred image (motion blur).

As I mentioned previously, if I were only using trail-cameras to catch pictures of deer at baited locations (corn piles or salt licks) I would probably stick with cheaper white-flash or red-glow (so-called "IR") cams, or better yet, use a homebrew camera, which usually take spectacularly clear color pictures day and night. But if I planned on using trail-cameras at trails, over scrapes, or over small food plots, I wouldn't use anything but black-flash. The disadvantages of visible flash (both red and white) are too great. I conduct trail-camera work for a living, and I no longer own any cameras that aren't black-flash.

 

[Andy S.]

But if I planned on using trail-cameras at trails.....I wouldn't use anything but black-flash.

I am surprised to read this. I had big problems with motion blur when I used black flash cams (Reconyx & Covert) on trails where the deer were moving more so than not. Have the newer BF cams improved that much?

 

[BSK]

Andy S.,

Whenever I monitor trails with trail-cams, I always try to find a location where deer are influenced to stop or slow down due to a fence, downfall, or where they stage before entering an open area. Or you can make a mock scrape to slow them down.

 

[Truedouble]

I used IR for years and had very few issues until I started using the video mode. From my experience the quick 2 to 3 second glow associated with a picture can get a bucks attention, but except for several isolated instances didn't seem to bother the mature bucks I was getting pics of. I started putting these cams in vido mode last year and it was not good. Out of the 4 or 5 mature bucks I got on camera 2 of the 5 looked at the cam and then took off running. I vowed never to use IR on video mode again.

I just bought two Browning black flash cams. I hope they are decent cams. They aren't expensive so I'll have to keep my fingers crossed. I do not intend to buy any more IR cameras. Just too much risk. Like I said most bucks don't seem to mind but for what ever reason a few do and those are often the ones on your hit list.

 

[156p&y]

Having a cam that makes noise when it takes a picture, even if it's black flash, can have the same affect.

Great point Vermin93. An audible click or clunk with the IR filter moves over the camer'as lens is a big no-no for trail-cameras.

I've got a buck now that reacts negatively to my older reconyx that has black flash that makes that click noise. I pulled it and put a regular IR and he hates it even worst. I'm going to try a regular white flash camera soon to see how he responds, but he is leaving a feed station without ever eating due to the cameras. I really expect him to vanish once he sheds his velvet like he did last year.

 

[BSK]

Cameras that "clunk" when they take a picture probably scare more deer than any type of visible flash. They really seem to hate those things.

 

[BHC]

I have used ir and black flash. I honestly cannot tell much of a difference over bait, salt, or scrapes. Maybe on food plots. With video I have gotten some negative responses with ir, whereas with black they still know something is happening but don't trot off or anything. The buck I killed last yr on opening day, I had nicknamed Hollywood because of his appearance but also his tolerance of my videos. He would look everytime it turned on but not really ever react to it. This was with a black flash camera. I rarely get repeat pics of a mature buck on a scrape.. Maybe at different scrapes, but not the same one twice.

That being said I love my covert black flash cams! The batteries never die, and the fact that they are black flash may help me, but give me more confidence regardless. They are also very small and inconspicuous. And have better setting options....

 

[BSK]

BHC,

If deer are turning and looking at your black-flash cameras, either they are not truly black-flash, or the cameras are producing a noise. Other than looking at the camera box when I first put it in a new location (day and night--not a flash issue), deer do not look at my cameras. Once they've seen it, and it does nothing they can see or hear, they ignore it after that first encounter.

 

[Shed Hunter]

BHC,

If deer are turning and looking at your black-flash cameras, either they are not truly black-flash, or the cameras are producing a noise. Other than looking at the camera box when I first put it in a new location (day and night--not a flash issue), deer do not look at my cameras. Once they've seen it, and it does nothing they can see or hear, they ignore it after that first encounter.

The mature buck I've been getting on my Covert initially would not take his eyes off of the camera (which is likely due to having a red flash cam there for so long before the black flash). On my last check he paid no attention to it though.

I think our scent left on the camera can influence them to look at it too.

 

[TheLBLman]

I think our scent left on the camera can influence them to look at it too.

I agree, but more often, they may just turn and walk away (with or without getting their picture taken).

 

[BHC]

BHC,

If deer are turning and looking at your black-flash cameras, either they are not truly black-flash, or the cameras are producing a noise. Other than looking at the camera box when I first put it in a new location (day and night--not a flash issue), deer do not look at my cameras. Once they've seen it, and it does nothing they can see or hear, they ignore it after that first encounter.

The mature buck I've been getting on my Covert initially would not take his eyes off of the camera (which is likely due to having a red flash cam there for so long before the black flash). On my last check he paid no attention to it though.

I think our scent left on the camera can influence them to look at it too.

This is him, and the type reaction I would get.. He obviously knows the camera is doing something..
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rPrkjJGwoPs

 

[BSK]

He sure does BHC. That's worrisome. I personally don't use Covert cams, but I've heard such wonderful things about them that I recommend them to others. I'm going to have to get my hands on one and test it myself, because that buck is reacting to the camera for some reason.

If this video link works, watch the doe towards the end of the video (at about the 22 or 23 second mark). A black-flash cam not 10 feet from her triggers and begins taking burst-mode pictures with flash. She notices nothing and shows zero reaction. THAT is what a good black-flash cam should produce--no reaction at all.

 

[DntBrnDPig]

That's a pretty good testimony right there

 

[Boone 58]