APEMAN H55 Wildlife Camera
https://youtu.be/Q2xIo8X57ek
More Info and Purchase: https://tinyurl.com/yy56mfkn
Blog: https://marcoscucom.wordpress.com/2021/06/14/apeman-h55-wildlife-camera/
I was interested to try this new mid-range trail cam from Apeman but I was a bit apprehensive as it had had some negative reviews but in fact it was better than I expected and apart from a rather slow frame rate gave some pretty good results.
But what is a trail camera? A trail camera is a camera that is designed to operate unattended outdoors and to automatically capture pictures or video of anything that triggers the built-in motion detector. They are mainly used to monitor wildlife activity but could be used for security purposes also.
This £71.99 new model from APEMAN, better known perhaps for their range of Action Cams, arrived packed in an attractive mid-market product box inside of which was the camera itself, metal ground/surface mount with screw fittings, retaining tree mount strap, data cable and User Guide. Although the camera itself is made of plastic and is rather lightweight (which is perhaps no drawback) build quality seems fine in general. The User Guide is small but, well printed and well written and up to the usual Apeman high standard for their documentation.
The camera takes eight AA batteries but remember that if used intensively the batteries will quickly run down but in normal use should last several weeks. The batteries are housed in an easy access compartment in the base of the unit. There is also an option to use an external power supply (not supplied).
On the front of the device are the lens, light sensor, motion sensor, Status LED, 940nm 40 LED infrared panel. On the side are clips to secure the front and rear sections of the camera together. When the clips are released the hinged front of the device opens out. When closed on the base are a grommet protected external power supply input and a metal tripod mount. On the rear are loops for the mounting belt or wire. On the inside of the front face is a 2″ bright and clear colour LCD screen, with menu navigation buttons to the side. Below are the speaker grill, motion sensor and three-way turret switch for Off/Setup/On. On the side of the unit and protected by the hinged door, are the full-sized SD card slot (for class 6 or faster cards up to 32GB), a full-sized card is far better than a micro-SD as it is far easier to manipulate when on location or at night. On the base and again protected by the door is the power-in port (DC 6v, adapter not included) and mini USB data port. I would question too the use of the ancient mini-USB port rather than the new USB-C or even micro-USB. However, an improvement over some rival models is the IP66 rating, which means the camera is protected against dust and heavy rain.
One problem with all trail cams is the delay between the motion sensor being triggered and the camera operating. According to the user guide, the sensor here has a delay of 0.5 and this is mid-range being neither the slowest nor fastest available. Be sure to position the camera so that wildlife moves toward the lens rather than across it to give the sensor the best chance of catching worthwhile results.
Although there are plenty of refinements and fine-tuning that can be made the camera can be up and running very quickly with the default settings. After inserting the batteries and removing the gels covering the lens, sensors and screen, set the turret switch to SETUP and press the MENU button. From here you can now set the image and video resolutions, video recording lengths and other parameters such as time stamping, time-lapse, Time Lapse etc. One particularly useful feature is that you do not have to choose between Video or Stills as you can set it to record both at once. Remember to insert an SD card first and to format it using the trail cam settings before use.
I was pleased and not a little surprised by the photo and video quality, too often trail cameras fall down here by using cheap hardware to save production costs, but not so here. For the price image quality is excellent for both Video and stills at up to 20MP and gives decent quality 1080p video albeit at a rather slow 20fps. Care must be taken to position the camera to avoid false motion sensor alerts – foliage, vehicles, etc – as this will soon flatten the battery.
This camera can be great fun if you have a big garden and wonder what goes on there when you are away. Professionals might look to pay more for higher resolution, faster frame rate, longer battery life and improved build quality.
The Good
Good price
Good image quality
Good build quality
Simultaneous stills and video option
Time-Lapse Mode
Excellent User Guide
Audio recording option
IP66 Water/Dustproof
The Bad
Heavy battery drain when used intensively
32GB Max SD Card
Mini USB Port
Music: YouTube Audio Library: An Jone: Duke Reggaeton
