[red sled]

Is Spec Ops Extreme (black flash) worth the extra $$ over the Recon Force Extreme (red flash) ? What is your experience with black flash vs red flash as far as animals getting spooked ?

[Woody S]

The daylight videos from my Recon Force are of the same quality as the daylight videos from my Special Ops; the difference is in the night videos where the Recon Force produces better videos due to the increased light.
I've gotten photos or videos of a few deer that were spooked by both black flash and red flash cameras. Just because we can't see the black flash doesn't mean that critters can't see it, their eyes are quite different than ours. The other question is what wavelengths of light that we can't see do those flash units produce?
I purchased my Special Ops because I got them at a good price, since then I've only bought Recon Force cameras because I want the better videos.

[badjedi]

In my experience, the first time the animal sees the camera flash, whether it's black, red or white, they will be startled. I run all 3 flash types and I get just as many animals spooked by my black flash cameras as I do the white flash. But, if the place where you are putting the camera is going to be a long term location, like several months, then they will get used to it and ignore it. If you're after quality night pics, then go with the Recon Force.

[red sled]

Thank you Woody and badjedi. Your replies answer a lot of questions. Do you think the Spec Ops Extreme would have enough light for video up close, say 10-15 feet from a scrape or similar setup ?

[Woody S]

Here's a video from a Special Ops Platinum, the Extreme should be the same or better. The trees in the background are about 30 feet from the camera, at 1:52 into the video the bear is about 15 feet from the camera (and it had been at the same distance earlier in the video), stays there for a while and then gradually moves further away.

[red sled]

Thank you Woody for the video . I think the Spec Ops Extreme will be fine for what I have in mind, and I have some Recon Force Extremes for the other locations.