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2012 Spypoint HD-12 46 count Black IR 12 MP digital camera review
This new camera is yet another example of the creativity of this
company. The advertized specifications and function, (if
true) will most definitely make this a deluxe camera.
The top resolution is somewhat of an over kill, but many
may find favor with that size of file. I believe most
will tone that down through programming to one of the
lower settings.
The new feature that has not been featured on production cameras in the
past is the use of a remote wireless detection (PIR)
box. A total of 4 (one comes with the camera and
additional sensors are optional) can be set up and
programmed into the cameras. The main PIR sensor is also
active for directly out front and it has a distance
control (knob) depending on the ambient temperature.
This main sensor will cover the normal zone area that
most trail cameras (except Cuddeback) will cover. The
zones out past the normal (center, left, right) can now
be covered if desired by a wireless motion sensor that
talks to the camera (range to 500 feet) and tells it to
go ahead and take the picture. These sensors are very
small and very easy to conceal. The captured picture
would be a distant shot but it is your choice to choose
that top resolution which should respond favorably to a
detailed zoom inspection of the subject. I also can now
hear the bells going off in a few heads thinking just
how well this kind of configuration would work in a
security situation where hiding a camera sized box would
be difficult. The fist sized remote sensor could be
placed in a number of places and not be seen. It could
still remotely tell the distant looking camera that
someone was in the zone. The true functional distance of
the remote units is something I will have to thoroughly
test. The warm pre season days where the PIR sensing
distance is cut down by the ambient temperature this
system should be a big plus and extend the sensing range
back out to a greater distance.
This camera is in the same size case as the recent IR series cameras.
The removable interior has been a bit up graded with a
latch to hold it inside the case to prevent it from
falling out once the case is opened. Previous cameras
had a bit of trouble with that latch. The outward
appearance remains the same as the IR cameras so we will
not have to do further comment on that. The external
trigger module is called the WRL-B and is just a small
box with a PIR lens centered in the front. On the side
of the module is a small foldable antenna. On the back
is the strap/cable loops for hanging with the supplied
strap. This device has a usable range of 0 to 50 feet.
The array grill that breaks up the array pattern has the
same camouflage as the case and this is a big plus
because this being a black IR camera the emitters hide
very well behind this grill and makes the camera harder
to pick out when deployed. The PIR sensor lens is also
blacked out.
The interior is not at all like the BF-7 which was all switches to set
the program and this camera is set up with a large view
screen and also programming screen. Just below the
programming/view screen is the associated buttons and
microphone for playback of any sound recorded during
video mode. SD card slot is on the inside edge and will
take up to a 32 GIG card. PIR sensitivity is adjusted
with a small wheel by the SD card slot. There is no
internal memory, so the card is needed to boot up. The
tank takes 6 AA batteries either rechargeable
(switchable) or alkaline cells.
The following is the specification charts.
Photo
recording:
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Photo resolution 12 MP
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File format JPG
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Time Lapse Predefined intervals from 30sec to 1h
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Multi-shot Up to 6 pictures per detection
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Stamp Date, time, temperature and moon phase
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Capture mode Color by day, black and white by night
Video
recording:
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Video resolution 1280 x 720 (720p)
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File format AVI
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Sequence length Adjustable from 10 to 90sec
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Capture mode Color by day, black and white by night
Sound
recording:
Automatically recorded in video mode
Memory
storage:
SD/SDHC
card up to 32 GB (No internal memory)
Viewing:
Power
supply:
(accessories sold separately, see “Options”)
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Alkaline or lithium batteries 6x AA
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Lithium battery pack Rechargeable battery pack
(LIT-09/LIT-C8)
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External (12V jack) 12 volt battery
(KIT-12V/BATT-12V) /
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12 volt adapter (AD-12V)
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Solar panel Solar panel (SP-12V) combined with
rechargeable battery pack (LIT-09)
Detection
system:
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Motion sensor PIR (camera) / WRL-B device (see
"Settings, WRL-B" for details)
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Detection angle 30°
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Detection range Adjustable from 5 to 50ft
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Delay between each detection Adjustable from 10 sec.
to 30 min
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Electricity option Instant trigger time (Connected
to a 12V DC Main source only)
Night
time illumination system:
Infrared LEDs 46 Black Flash infrared LEDs
Optical
field of view:
50°
This camera is loaded with features and only time will tell just how
well it is accepted. And it is well laid out in the
documentation. We do know that in the recent past that
the company would jump on any issue that we found and go
to work to come up with a solution. This was the case
with the Tiny camera which resulted in a complete re
work. I am going to do a group of preliminary tests
prior to getting off to the trigger table and flash/8
plate range testing.
05-05-2012 update: The first act in the lab
was to see about how well this company managed to get
their act together when it comes to producing a black
flash camera. After a couple hours in the dark room I
can probably say that we are going to have to class this
camera in the true black flash category. I can see the
flash go off but only a very short distance and that is
not easy. The 10 second can be achieved by holding down
the up button and turning the camera on. This tested out
to be very close to the 10 second mark. Of course this
setting will cause many more pictures to be taken and
the result of that would be somewhat shorter battery
life. Initial testing went very well.
05-12-2012 update: Flash range showed about
the same range as the tiny which is 50+ feet. The 8
plate shots showed a normal degree of fuzzy that is
expected with black flash. View the high setting samples
for both day/night pictures below. The extended PIR will
be tested last and separately in this review.
05-24-2012 update: We are in the process of
designing a setup where we test the external trigger
module that is associated with this camera. The
requested input from some of our camera users offered a
number of suggestions. One of the questions that some
asked was “if the flash range is about 50 feet, why
would you want to exceed that zone with a trigger
system? Well, we do have some answers. First main
suggestion was to use this extended sensing in
conjunction with this same company’s flash Extender to
cover that additional area. This suggestion would solve
the “at night” with flash limit talked about with this
main question. Another excellent suggestion was to use
it to broaden the PIR foot print when you deploy your
camera high and have it looking down on a particular
area. There should be no questions about the daytime
function. Many target areas have more than one approach
zone that will fall into the FOV of the camera and this
device can cover a different area of approach while the
main PIR can cover the other. This in conjunction with
burst or video mode should work well.
I pulled out one of our flash Extenders and put batteries
in the Xmitter and then I went through the ordeal of
trying to find D cells that would work in the main flash
unit. Energizers would not fit so I went and bought
Duracell’s and they also were too big to fit in the
holes. I then made it to Battery Plus and bought some
Ray O Vac D cells and they were tight but would fit into
the holes. So we are now about ready to proceed with the
test.
Doing the setting up and getting the booster ready plus
double checking the correct switch settings on the
camera, we discovered that this camera will control the
booster also. This means that we can remotely trigger
the camera out past 50 feet and also have the camera
remotely trigger the wireless booster at the same
distance. So our previous concerns have now been
answered. “It is amazing what you can find out if you
really read the instructions”. All we need is for
our resident herd of deer to pay attention to our
instructions and hang out in that detection zone on down
the range. If they do we can produce a series of sample
pictures of that function.
06-03-2012 update: This camera works as a
stand alone unit but not with its accessory sensor (WRL).
This review is closed. We will not be completing a
battery life on this camera.
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Trigger Tests
( without flash 1.75s)
( with flash 1.75s)
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Dead Pixel
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Flash Range
Day Range 8 Plate
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Video
Samples (720p HD samples)
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