Cuddeback's Cuddelink
- Thread starter Peplin Creek
- Start date
john volkman
5 year old buck +
the advantage of the g camera is that you can now order it with a powerhouse black flash(thru a dealer) and if for some reason you dont feel it does the job you can buy a powerhouse IR or strobe and swap it out easily.
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yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Point source attractants like mineral licks do present an increased disease transmission risk and mineral supplements have not been shown to have any benefit to free ranging deer herds so I no longer use them.
However, when I did use them here is what I found. Since you can position the camera at a known distance from the point source, you don't need a long flash range so the range limitations of black flash are not really an issue. On the other hand, when there is a point source attractant, deer, even most mature bucks, acclimate to the red blob. Back when Mississippi FWRC established the protocol for baited camera surveys, they did not use black flash and did not have statistical flash avoidance issues. On the other hand, when using red blob on non-baited locations like fields, flash avoidance can provide a significant bias in age/sex data.
So, for baited sites, I'd lean toward whatever is least expensive. If you plan to use them for other applications, I'd let those applications drive the choice.
Thanks,
Jack
FredG
5 year old buck +
My estimate is that with a black J model cam you would probably get roughly 1/20th to 1/25th sec shutter speed at 3200 ISO depending upon the reflectance of your particular set. This assumes that you have read and followed the instruction manual and set your IR Mode to "Close" as recommended when at this range:
The "Close" setting will indeed give you a pretty picture, but at shutter speeds that low you're gonna have some trouble with motion blur. How much of a problem that is of course depends on how fast the deer tend to move and your tolerance for blurry pics. If it's too much blur for you then you can do something completely counter-intuitive like... Defy the recommendations in the manual and set your IR Mode to "Far". On "Far" your shutter speeds will escalate 1 1/3 stops to 1/50th or 1/60th sec and you will have taken a large bite out of the motion blur. The only problem is that your pictures will be a little flat with weak contrast, but IMO a sharp flat picture beats a blurred pretty picture any day. Below is a chart of the exposure program on Cuddeback cameras post v.4.1 firmware that I've made up that will hopefully help you follow along with the rest of this post...Cuddeback Manual on IR Mode said:
This chart shows all the possibilities for shutter speed and ISO settings during both day and night shooting. Instead of being technical and trying to talk in stops of light and all that happy BS that few people understand or care about let me just explain this like it's a board game. So here goes:
You start out with a black J model camera on your mineral sight at 20 ft distance and set the cam up according to the manual in IR Mode "Close". You look at the properties on a night picture that you've taken and it says 1/20th sec shutter speed @ ISO 3200. Unfortunately you're getting way too much motion blur and the question becomes... what would some of my other options produce?
Well, as stated above you could change the IR Mode to "Far" and immediately gain 1 1/3 stops of shutter speed... that translates to 4 squares up and/or to the left on this chart and shows that that change alone would give you new parameters of 1/50th sec shutter speed also at 3200 ISO.
But let's say you really don't like the flat pictures that the "Far" Mode gives... What else can I do?
You could switch to a G model with a black Powerhouse flash module and immediately gain 6 squares up an/or to the left on that chart which would move you from 1/20th second SS up to 1/80th sec SS also at ISO 3200 and you would still be in your preferred "Close" mode with the pretty pictures.
Or, you could take Jack's advice and simply switch over to a red Long Range J model and, while still shooting in the "Close" mode that you like, you will be doing so 8 squares above your original 1/20th second... or 1/125th second SS @ ISO 3200 and nearly every picture will be sweet and motion blur free. And if you wanted to you could switch that red J model to a G model with a red Powerhouse module and gain 6 more squares on top of the 8 you already gained by switching WL and be shooting at 1/250 second @ 1250 ISO!
Quite a few options!
If you start from any set-up where you know the SS and ISO achieved and which flash and IR Mode was being used you can arrive at the estimated new exposure settings if you change IR modes or flash modules as follows:
1) Going from IR Mode "Close" to "Far" you will gain 4 boxes but lose some of the wow factor.
2) Switching from 940 nm black flash to 850 nm red flash you will gain 8 boxes.
3) Switching from a standard flash (red or black) to a Powerhouse flash you will gain 6 boxes.
From those three rules and the chart above you can estimate the exposure values for any combination of choices within the Cuddelink system.
Hope this helps!
Last edited:
12pointer
5 year old buck +
After watching the video, I find it hard to believe that animals like deer do not see that flash and would tend to avoid it! I am converting to black flash only and find the J camera black flash to be less than optimal! I just ordered 4 power house black flash modules for some of my G cameras and hope I am more satisfied! Does anyone have pictures they can share taken with a powerhouse black flash?
12pointer
5 year old buck +
My estimate is that with a black J model cam you would probably get roughly 1/20th to 1/25th sec shutter speed at 3200 ISO depending upon the reflectance of your particular set. This assumes that you have read and followed the instruction manual and set your IR Mode to "Close" as recommended when at this range:
The "Close" setting will indeed give you a pretty picture, but at shutter speeds that low you're gonna have some trouble with motion blur. How much of a problem that is of course depends on how fast the deer tend to move and your tolerance for blurry pics. If it's too much blur for you then you can do something completely counter-intuitive like... Defy the recommendations in the manual and set your IR Mode to "Far". On "Far" your shutter speeds will escalate 1 1/3 stops to 1/50th or 1/60th sec and you will have taken a large bite out of the motion blur. The only problem is that your pictures will be a little flat with weak contrast, but IMO a sharp flat picture beats a blurred pretty picture any day. Below is a chart of the exposure program on Cuddeback cameras post v.4.1 firmware that I've made up that will hopefully help you follow along with the rest of this post...
This chart shows all the possibilities for shutter speed and ISO settings during both day and night shooting. Instead of being technical and trying to talk in stops of light and all that happy BS that few people understand or care about let me just explain this like it's a board game. So here goes:
You start out with a black J model camera on your mineral sight at 20 ft distance and set the cam up according to the manual in IR Mode "Close". You look at the properties on a night picture that you've taken and it says 1/20th sec shutter speed @ ISO 3200. Unfortunately you're getting way too much motion blur and the question becomes... what would some of my other options produce?
Well, as stated above you could change the IR Mode to "Far" and immediately gain 1 1/3 stops of shutter speed... that translates to 4 squares up and/or to the left on this chart and shows that that change alone would give you new parameters of 1/50th sec shutter speed also at 3200 ISO.
But let's say you really don't like the flat pictures that the "Far" Mode gives... What else can I do?
You could switch to a G model with a black Powerhouse flash module and immediately gain 6 squares up an/or to the left on that chart which would move you from 1/20th second SS up to 1/80th sec SS also at ISO 3200 and you would still be in your preferred "Close" mode with the pretty pictures.
Or, you could take Jack's advice and simply switch over to a red Long Range J model and, while still shooting in the "Close" mode that you like, you will be doing so 8 squares above your original 1/20th second... or 1/125th second SS @ ISO 3200 and nearly every picture will be sweet and motion blur free. And if you wanted to you could switch that red J model to a G model with a red Powerhouse module and gain 6 more squares on top of the 8 you already gained by switching WL and be shooting at 1/250 second @ 1250 ISO!
Quite a few options!
If you start from any set-up where you know the SS and ISO achieved and which flash and IR Mode was being used you can arrive at the estimated new exposure settings if you change IR modes or flash modules as follows:
1) Going from IR Mode "Close" to "Far" you will gain 4 boxes but lose some of the wow factor.
2) Switching from 940 nm black flash to 850 nm red flash you will gain 8 boxes.
3) Switching from a standard flash (red or black) to a Powerhouse flash you will gain 6 boxes.
From those three rules and the chart above you can estimate the exposure values for any combination of choices within the Cuddelink system.
Hope this helps!
First of all, I really enjoy your posts. The are a wealth of information! So, is it safe to say that a "G" camera with a 940 nm powerhouse black flash, is two boxes less than a "J" camera with the normal IR module?
FredG
5 year old buck +
Don't let the apparent brightness fool you. That video was only meant to show the duration of the flash, not the absolute brightness of it. It was taken in a dark garage at my workbench with a cell phone less than 18 inches from the flash. A lightning bug under those conditions would look like a 40 watt light bulb with wings.
12pointer
5 year old buck +
Thanks, but I am definitely a black flash person now that the black flash powerhouse module is available. I don't need perfect pictures to pattern the deer movement better on my land, and will always opt for black flash over IR. however, that's just a personal preference.
FredG
5 year old buck +
Yes, an estimated 2 boxes less. You lose 8 boxes with a standard black flash vs. a standard red flash, but you gain 6 boxes with a Powerhouse black flash over a standard black flash. So the net change from going from a standard red flash to a Powerhouse black flash is -2 boxes.
Please understand though that I don't have every combination of cameras and flashes yet to test and verify all of this as absolutely precise fact, but I'm sure it's close enough to use as a guide to help us avoid nasty surprises in our planning and purchasing decisions. I hate it when I find myself stepping over dollars to pick up dimes!
12point
5 year old buck +
Can we get the powerhouse black flash on the J models?
Peplin Creek
5 year old buck +
I believe it’s only available on the dual flash series cams.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
the j cameras do not have removable flash modules, you can either order the dual flash camera and a powerhouse flash module of your choice and swap them out yourself ....or you can order a G camera with the powerhouse of your choice pre-installed as long as you order it from a cuddeback retailer with a brick and mortar storefront.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
it would be best to contact a dealer but roughly $300 is close if you order it installed
12pointer
5 year old buck +
I just ordered a Black Powerhouse flash and the price has gone down from $50 when I bought my red one to $40... the beer's on me tonight!
That's not fair....I bought 4 last week and they were still $50.00! I think I need a beer! :-)
Booner21
5 year old buck +
Thanks I don't have any local dealers close I am trying to get the local archery shop to set up a dealer.
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