Trail Cameras

[Capn Jack]

Anyone find that early morning pictures from their trail camera seem foggy?
Day time pictures look perfectly good. Could it be the temperature?
Wonder if it could be dew in the lens.

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[edzz]

What would be a problem seen by many to be caused by morning dew is actually a common ploy used by various animals to mask early morning amorous activities. If you setup a well hidden camera pointed in the direction of the problem camera you may see a deer, cougar, etc. standing to the side of the camera intentionally breathing on the lens causing it to fog up. Once they have fogged the lens they have a short window of time they can get frisky without worry of their friends and colleagues seeing them on farcebook.

(yes dew it is)

 

[osprey]

Could be the IR night mode still activated. Right when the camera is on the verge of not needing IR light anymore it uses IR and takes some pretty hazy pictures. In reality there is probably plenty of ambient light but a PE sensor in cam controls this and also exposure so images in this in between time suffer. Of course this is a bit of conjecture on my part but seems to ring true with my cams.

 

[SparksFly]

Anyone find that early morning pictures from their trail camera seem foggy?
Day time pictures look perfectly good. Could it be the temperature?
Wonder if it could be dew in the lens.

I was out on Monday scouting to see if the geese were moving and did some fishing until dusk. The fog was VERY thick, I could see about 2-3 feet in front of the toe of my boot and it was about 4 feet high. Very low on the ground too.

 

[osprey]

Could also be dew or fog lol. Usually the simple explanation is the correct one.

 

[Capn Jack]

What would be a problem seen by many to be caused by morning dew is actually a common ploy used by various animals to mask early morning amorous activities. If you setup a well hidden camera pointed in the direction of the problem camera you may see a deer, cougar, etc. standing to the side of the camera intentionally breathing on the lens causing it to fog up. Once they have fogged the lens they have a short window of time they can get frisky without worry of their friends and colleagues seeing them on farcebook.

(yes dew it is)

You mean they are dewing it right there in front of my camera?..

 

[Capn Jack]

Could be the IR night mode still activated. Right when the camera is on the verge of not needing IR light anymore it uses IR and takes some pretty hazy pictures. In reality there is probably plenty of ambient light but a PE sensor in cam controls this and also exposure so images in this in between time suffer. Of course this is a bit of conjecture on my part but seems to ring true with my cams.

Thanks Osprey,
I think you've hit the nail on the head.

 

[DuneHopper]

Ive heard a small amount of RainX works

 

[ob1]

Not sure about how well Rain X works.

There used to be an actual lens de-fogging treatment that was sold at local gun shows. It was marketed for optic quality lenses..IE scopes, binocs, and camera lenses. I have tried it and it works. Just remember to apply it with a soft, clean cloth and clean any dirt from the lens surface before you use it. IIRC there also was something similar for gas mask lenses.

 

[Capn Jack]

Thanks,
I think I've got some Rain-X around. I'll give it a try.

 

[jmh119]

Hey Capn Jack,
If RainX does not do the trick for you try one of the many anti fog solutions that scuba divers use. I have used Sea Gold products with no complaints. Course, that was on my mask and not a camera...

 

[Capn Jack]

In "the old days" we used to just spit in our masks.
Now a days you would probably go to jail for that.

 

[Stomper]

Just counter the dew on the lens with dew off your Lilly...

 

[jmh119]

In "the old days" we used to just spit in our masks.
Now a days you would probably go to jail for that.

Yep. Done that more than once myself!

 

[jmh119]

Just counter the dew on the lens with dew off your Lilly...

umm... eww!