Zombie fox-chicken caught on trailcam
- Thread starter Knehrke
- Start date
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
Might be a wild guess but it almost looks like a fox pouncing on a mouse. Not sure why the picture wouldnt be clearer though.
If that doesnt fly I will 2nd Chupacabra!
If that doesnt fly I will 2nd Chupacabra!
M
MoBuckChaser
Guest
Thats what 3 second trigger speed will get you!
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I had some low cost cameras and got several pictures that looked just like those. For a while, I couldn't figure out what the heck it was.
Then, I eventually got one clear enough to make a determination. It's a deer with its rear end up in the air landing on its front feet, and the camera catches it while the rear of the deer is still high in the air. I'm 99% sure that's what your pictures are. Looks like a small buck - I can see his antlers well.
I did, however get one that I couldn't explain. I could probably go back and dig it out. I got a picture of a coyote that was translucent. You could see the coyote clearly but also see the trees and limbs in the background - just like you were looking right through him.
Then, I eventually got one clear enough to make a determination. It's a deer with its rear end up in the air landing on its front feet, and the camera catches it while the rear of the deer is still high in the air. I'm 99% sure that's what your pictures are. Looks like a small buck - I can see his antlers well.
I did, however get one that I couldn't explain. I could probably go back and dig it out. I got a picture of a coyote that was translucent. You could see the coyote clearly but also see the trees and limbs in the background - just like you were looking right through him.
IkemanTx
5 year old buck +
That is easily explained with an intermittent flash. If the exposure (think shutter even though most digital trailcams don't have one) is long enough, you can get essentially multiple images in one. I used to use long exposure for just this reason artistically. I would set the shutter speed for a minute on a real dark night to get enough light to see the stars and landscape, then I would use a dim light to highlight a subject (for a short period of time) causing them to appear transparent.
I didn't keep any of those images, otherwise I would post an example.
What you probably had was a short flash, but fairly long exposure. The flash captured the coyote, and the longer exposure continued to catch the background after the coyote had moved on.
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Knehrke
5 year old buck +
Just to clarify, the camera has a 0.8-s trigger speed and while not a Reconyx, it's not a throwaway either, but I agree that a long exposure time is the likely culprit for this alien ghost coyote. I don't see the buck kicking his hind legs up, but I'm bad at images in clouds too, so that's not to say it's not possible. There's definitely movement artifacts or something that's causing the weirdness; I have pics from the same night that are stellar, though, including a fight sequence between a four and an eight, so the camera itself was functioning properly.
And I love the Chupacabra!
And I love the Chupacabra!
IkemanTx
5 year old buck +
Trigger speed and exposure time are actually unrelated items.
Trigger speed is the time the system takes to recognize movement with the motion sensor, determine if it meets the criteria to initiate a picture, analyze the available ambient light and depth of focus, determine the aperture exposure and flash settings, and then command to flash and image sensor to take the picture.
Exposure is directly related to the amount of ambient light available and the strength of the flash that will be used.
Where any digital camera gets tripped up is on the borderline situations. When their is JUST enough light that it doesn't use the flash, a longer exposure occurs. This leads to blur. I promise, even Reconyx had blurred images, or overexposed images from flash from time to time. You just can't write accurate enough software to catch a moving target in all situations.
Personally, they are some of my favorite images. :-)
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Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
The only reason I can now see it is because I spent a lot of time looking at different pictures like those and finally got one or two that were clearer. Before that I couldn't see it either.
My camera was also a Bushnell, and I got some extremely clear pictures at times.
PS: looking at the legs on the ground being the front legs helps to visualize. We aren't used to seeing something walk on its front legs. Both of those pics are with the little buck going away from the camera. You are looking at its rear end. Look close and you can see the hind legs well too.
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Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
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Bayoubulldog
Yearling... With promise
Almost looks like a picture of a bat I've caught in the past.
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Knehrke
5 year old buck +
Excellent! I can sort of see the buck kicking his butt up in the air now if I squint hard enough. Your pictures are more clear than mine, but similar enough that I'm sure you're right. At first, I thought that the timing on the pictures would mean he's walking backwards, but most of the young ones I've seen do this tend to spin, so it's likely impossible to tell which way he's traveling from the direction he's facing during the shot. Thanks for the insights! Zombie fox-chickens rule!