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2010
DLC Covert HR 8 MP red flash 28 count digital camera
review
This is a very early
prerelease sample we received for evaluation. This is
another Keep Time production camera using the exact same
board (platform) that is internal to the Bushnell XLT.
Being shy a few emitters from what this years Bushnell
offers there is more than enough to do a good job as we
found out with the 560 Scoutguard. This is about the
same case size as the #2 Covert but there is a little
difference as to the IR arrangement in the flash array.
The tripod insert seems to be very solid and not at all
like the previous setup that we found on last years
camera. A full weather gasket was intact and stayed in
place when we first opened the cam which was a problem
on the first XLT cameras we tested. The latch pins
seemed to be in place and did not drift out during use.
Once opened up you can see a couple different things
that Covert chose to do over the Bushnell. First is the
reversed battery holder that is built into a door of its
own and you open up to install the cells but when closed
this holds the cells in place so they cannot be jarred
loose. Inside there are the same switches as the
Bushnell but they are arranged in a little different
position. The SD card slot and external battery/USB
ports are also in a different position. The front on
view has kind of an old Scoutguard look to the array
except this is the typical cam box as last year. Below
that is the camera lens followed by the PIR sensor. The
PIR sensor is of the round multi zone type which has in
most cases proven to be better than the wrap around type
previously chosen. The back of the camera is just the
strap loops and no feed through for a python. The main
door hinges are very small and delicate and not at all
like the heavy duty full length found on the Bushnell.
Seems that both cams have some strong points and some
lesser points, it is good to have those differences.
Below is the list of specifications which show some
areas that are a big improvement over last year and with
the new platform we hope to see the ability to upgrade
firmware when and if it becomes available. So far this
manufacturer has balked at releasing upgrades and we
have had to stop the review on the Bushnell because we
do not have the latest model with the new firmware. I
ran outside and put this cam through a few tests that
the Bushnell had failed at and this camera so far did
not show any of those traits. I will get to the dead
zone issue in the next couple of days but we do not
expect that we will find any problems there because of
what happened last year. The Bushnell with the wrap
around sensor has a little area but not excessive. This
cam with the improved lens should not have any problem
there hopefully. Our sample is the same brown dull
finish as seen last year but we have been told they plan
to have the shipping versions in a new mossy oak camo
color.
Technical
Specifications
Image Sensor 5 Megapixel Color CMOS
Maximum Pixel Size 3264x2448 (8MP)
Lens F=3.1; FOV=50°; Auto IR-Cut-Remove (at night)
IR-Flash Range 36’-45’ (12m-15m)
Display Screen Color Display: 32x42mm (2”)
Memory Card SD or SDHC Card, Maximum capacity 16GB
Internal RAM 32MB
Picture Size 8MP=3264x2448;5MP=2560x1920;3MP=2048x1536
Video Size 720x480/30fps, 640x480/30fps, 320x240/30fps
PIR sensitivity PIR with 3 sensitivity levels:
High/Normal/Low
Operation Day/Night
Response Time 1s
Triggering Interval 1 sec. - 60min. programmable
Shooting Numbers 1~3 programmable
Video Length 5-60sec. programmable
Power Supply 8xAA recommended, 4xAA as emergency power
Stand-by Current < 0.3mA (<7mAh/day)
Power Consumption 200mA (+530mA when IR-LED lighted)
User Interface LCD display
Interface TV out (NTSC/PAL);USB;SD card holder;6V DC
external
Security Strap; 1/4-20 attachment
Operating Temperature -20 - 60°C (Storage temp: -30 -
70°C)
Operating Humidity 5% - 90%
Security authentication FCC/CE/RoHs/WEEE
Let’s scope out a few of the spec’s listed above. First
off the main camera sensor is 5 mp and it is
interpolated up to 8 mp. The flash range is rated to 45
feet which it should reach easy. For those that want to
park their cam for a couple months then the 16 GB SD
card size will be a welcome feature. Three video
settings with the 720X480 on top that is nice. The delay
is rated down to one second but do not believe this
because it still takes a little time to write to the
card so we normally set our cameras at 6 seconds minimum
to make sure we do not cause any conflict during the
write time. One to three picture burst is also
programmable. The video feature can be tuned to do 5 to
60 second videos. With the fast trigger (1.5 second
predicted) and minimum delay a setting of 10 to 15
seconds is what we normally use to keep from having a
lot of empty space in the video once what ever tripped
the camera walks off. Using our experience with the
Bushnell (same platform) we expect the 8 AA cells will
give this camera very good battery life that will
probably be measured in months rather than weeks.
Security is at a minimum so a security box (already
available after market) is a must for those who deploy
in those areas that things disappear in.
Our preliminary evaluation has not shown any of the issues
found with the prelease Bushnell XLT cameras which is
good.
I down loaded the documentation and printed it out for
field use but because of the simple operation and
programming I really did not need it. The documentation
reads just like last years so most will not have any
problems comprehending its content. The programming and
screen displays are exactly as the Bushnell right down
to the color scheme. Just remember to hit OK after each
selection. I did not mention this camera has a built in
viewer 2” and does not have a remote as is
required on the 560 Scoutguard. I will do the field of view tests next as
soon as it gets dark so I can still see the lights in
the walk test position. Then we will get it out for
trigger times and flash range testing along with the
sensing distance.
04-22-2010 update: Spent an hour or so last night
trying to do the field of view tests but had better luck
this morning at first light. The PIR sensor looks at
about 12 feet and is aimed a little left of the camera.
The camera lens looks a little right and looks at about
15 feet which is a great 1.5 feet difference per side at
20 feet if the alignment was correct. The gap on the
right was 5 feet and no gap at all on the left. Being
this is a proto type and not a shipping version they
will have time to work on this. The sensing was set in
the middle and the 61 degrees this morning had no
trouble seeing me out past 20 feet.
After seeing the results I began to search the cam and
taking some measurements and found that there is slight
off set between the board and the PIR sensor lens but
more troubling is that the sensor its self is mounted
cockeyed on the board which is not good but should be
easily corrected with QC at the factory. Keep in
mind this is a prerelease prototype camera.
(The PIR
Sensor appears to be
mounted at an angle)
04-23-2010 update: Trigger times came out
at 1.4+ with flash and 1.25 seconds without flash.
Sensing range was a little confusing because we had very
little change in how the camera sensed through the three
settings. The camera appeared to sense just as good on
the low setting as the high setting. All three settings
caught movement at 75 feet for a temperature of 70
degrees. So far we did not encounter any false triggers
or run away. Flash range worked well out past the 50
foot marker. A zoom on the 8 plate showed a good degree
of definition in the night IR flash pictures. Day colors
are slightly washed but are fairly clear and sharp. So
far we have not found much except for the alignment of
the camera and PIR which is a hardware issue caused on
the assembly line. With a correction in that area this
little camera should be relative trouble free. Our
tests with the Uway XtendIR-B for black flash conversion
also look good. Tonight we will get this camera up
on the hill to monitor some brown and furry critters in
photo mode.
04-27-2010 update: So far we have been very
happy with this camera. But on the way to the hill to
grab our start of the sample pictures we noticed a glue
failure on one of the lenses. A note to the distributor
let us know that he was aware of this condition and he
had seen it on other cams that he had received out of
this same lot number. It seems that the choice of
adhesive to attach the PIR lens to the case was of the
wrong formula. It hooks up fine to the case but fails to
grab onto the lens material. This is in the process of
getting fixed on the shipping versions of this camera.
Even though this camera has operated very well so far I
spent a lot of time with our one remaining last years
camera and this camera side by side for a little
comparison. Last years camera was built very solid
compared to this years camera. It appears they have
downgraded the case to a much lighter thickness and much
smaller hinges. The inside components seem to be also
built with thinner components. Even with this year’s
camera having a built in viewer, it weighs less than
last years camera that had to use a remote for
programming. We so far do not see this as a problem just
an observation. Now that I have managed to dig out my
super duty epoxy and corrected a potential leak where
the lens had slipped in a little we will get this little
jewel on the hill to again attempt to get started on
getting the sample pictures. The trigger times came in
at a respectable 1.25 ~ 1.4 seconds which is the same as
the XLT camera. We are also going to mate this camera up
with the Uway ExtendIR at some point to see just how
well that combination works out. If it is even close to
what we've seen with the XLT it will be a winner and
give yet another reason to have one of these cameras in
the field as part of your arsenal of cameras. Our
thoughts are that it should do better than the XLT
because so far we have not seen the issues here as we
did on the XLT.
07-15-2010 update: The original cam took
its long trip back along with a ton of notes and
descriptions. Coming out of the same place as the BTC
and them having the power curve it took a while to get
things going and the new stuff here to go through the
new break up camo process. The end result is very
respectable. Just take a minute and think. The rush to
market by the power brokers put a lot of cameras out in
the hands of users that seemed to have a need for a
tweak hear and a tweak there. All that process was fed
(sometimes shipped) back to the factory to try to save
this year’s crop of XLT cameras from extinction. Who was
put on the back burner while all this was happening? You
guessed it, and what was learned in that six plus month
period had to be corrected and upgraded to a much higher
standard. Well now the red headed step child finally
gets their turn at delivery and all that good stuff has
already been done and upgraded to their product so we
feel that this will probably give the Covert HR version
a big upper hand when it comes to quality. Thanks
Bushnell for your help, time, and expense and all we had
to do is to wait a little while but we think it will be
worth it. These cams all have the upgrades and there is
no need to shop firmware numbers to get the latest
because they are all new.
We are going to proceed with doing the trigger times and
day range with sensing then flash. After that get the
video and picture samples. A full physical inspection
found nothing outstanding. The latches were good and
tight and seemed to pull the lid in tight. This was one
of the weak areas on some of the XLT cameras we tested.
The array lens is in firm and was not movable the glue
in is solid. The formal testing will begin next.
08-05-2010 update: Being stuck in the pile
has been hard to make it back to a space near the top.
All of our preproduction findings and a few post
production findings were consolidated into a note that
made its way back to where all the big wheels turn at
the factory so that this camera does not fall in the
same gutter that Bushnell is hanging around in at the
present. This little bird connection we have has let us
know that there has been some finagling going on by the
big boys who also have their cameras made at this same
factory and that purposely pushed this company back and
kept them from having a nice early release. This
finagling came out to be a blessing because none of
these cameras made it out in the hands of the public
where the processes of getting a bad name can happen.
Instead all that was caught and stopped so corrective
action could be accomplished and now look who is going
to get to market against all those messed up rush to
market cameras that morphed into blur producing three
second feeder cams with over blasted color, run away
sensors and leaking cases. Now that I have done all this
bragging lets hope that this new HR camera with its
belly full of new firmware will perform up to the
standards they have led us to believe it can. We are
starting off with new trigger tests and then the flash
range, day range/8plate, and on to gathering some
samples. We wish them good luck; it has been one hell of
a ride so far.
08-06-2010 update: We have not gotten the
go ahead to publish yet but we can say that the flash
range is 50 + feet and the 8 plate zoom is a bit grainy.
Day color pictures on the day range showed no over
saturation and more natural colors. Trigger times are
hanging in there at about a second and a half. Sensing
was out to 35 feet at 80 degrees and the video FPS came
in at 13 FPS.
08-10-2010 update: Deployed in our hill
test area where we have a pretty heavy canopy this
camera seemed to do pretty well except for two areas.
There was a slight problem with the transition time
where the day color pictures became somewhat dark but
clear and very light (not white out) IR pictures. The
night pictures are good but a little grainy. Where there
was good available light the pictures were sharp and
clear and no over saturation. Overall performance in
this tough canopy area was satisfactory and it performed
much better than a lot of other cameras tested this
year. It is a Bushnell butt kicker for sure.
08-11-2010 update: I had a couple comments
on the butt kickin comment but I can take those pictures
and view every one and if I need more information they
can be very easily be batch corrected in about a second.
This is also true for the BTC but, you must get past the
run away, blur, and other issues that so far have not
appeared to be associated with the HR. We gathered some
videos and they came out looking acceptable and the day
color was nice and bright unlike the dark stills. By far
not the best we have seen but very useable in the
scouting world.
08-17-2010 update: Just a short note on the
recent happenings involving this camera. We have again
received another upgrade in firmware and applied it as
soon as it came in. This was to improve the picture
quality again. It seemed to lighten up the pictures a
little and give some more detail. The over all look is
still a little dark but still very readable. Again I
just ran a batch correction in about one second and
compared the results. Of course there was a difference
but I think the original pictures were better than most
and good enough for most every application. If you are a
purest then just hit the “I’m feeling lucky” button on
your Picasa and give your pictures a slight hit.
08-29-2010 update: We spent a lot of time
with this camera and the great thing about this whole
event was that the distributor remained on top of the
situation and was ahead of all problems prior to them
getting out into the hands of the users. We put it
through all the necessary tests and have given the
results. Battery
life is still on going but the rest of this review has
been brought to a close.
09-19-2010 update: We have put a lot of
hours dealing with this camera and because of the load
we will not be able to exactly evaluate the battery
life. We know to date we have used this camera for three
months and it is still alive. We are going to go ahead
and close this review with the intention to pull it back
out during the cold weather to evaluate a couple of
items we have notes on at this time.
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