2010
Reconyx Hyperfire 3.1mp Black/low glow flash digital
camera review
Being a
great fan of the Reconyx products that have been offered
through the years, we are always amazed by the features
and function we see every time their new models hit the
market. Just viewing the picture of these cameras makes
me feel that I would not be ashamed to just take a
picture of one of these cameras and hang it on a tree
just to make people think that I had one. With a tiny
4.5X3.5X3 inch profile wearing a slick tree matching
camouflage coat (even across the IR array) makes this
not only pleasant to look at but highly functional at
becoming very hard to see once put on a tree. The past
few years have earned them a position at the top of the
quality camera manufactures plus they are one of just a
couple that can truly say made in USA.
Having the
capability of producing quality highly functional black
flash cameras is a feat that many have tried but to date
only three companies have accomplished. They are also
offering the same cameras in a low glow which is also a
feat that others have tried but not to the degree of
success they have had. Their low glow is of such short
duration that you can hardly notice the flash going off
unless you are on top of the camera and looking directly
at it. Both systems are very covert. This mini cam style
design offers a ton of new features that fit nicely, yet a
couple years ago it was a small suit case not nearly
with the
same function.
The straight on look finds a blacked out array
with a Reconyx first array mask. The Array mask is a
honey comb kind of a look that breaks up the expanses of
the black array and helps hide the camera. This is one
super great idea that has solved a problem than many
have sought to resolve. Down the left side is a full
solid hinge and a new style case latch is down the right
side. The full length latch incorporates two pad lock
holes to secure the door and to protect the SD card. The
light meter, camera lens and walk test lamp are next
below the array mask. The remaining item below that is
the PIR sensor which is the multi zone wrap around type.
The side view reveals a pipe through with the
capabilities of using a python cable to secure the
camera to the tree. The back of the cam has molded
standoffs to match the curvature of the tree. Open the
door and we have the cam in the door style setup but not
with the weight of the batteries (12 AAs) because they
are located in the back of the camera which doesnt
cause you to loose aim when doing a card change. A nice
back lit LCD screen is in the door with a set of control
buttons just below for the programming. The SD card slot is
just below on the edge and to the right of that is the
on/off switch. A high quality rubber seal wraps
completely around with no gaps which makes for a very
good tight weatherproof seal. The connection between the
battery (back of the cam) and the camera (front of the
cam) is with an angled cable that is done in a way that
there is never any tension on it to cause problems.
Depending on which of the
four models the flash range is from 50 feet to 70 feet.
View the chart below for the specifications.
HyperFire
Specifications
HC500 |
HC600 |
PC800 |
PC900 |
Illumination
Range at night |
Lo-glow Infrared
up to 50 feet |
No-glow Covert
Infrared up to 50 feet |
Lo-glow Infrared
up to 70 feet |
No-glow Covert
Infrared up to 50 feet |
Images |
1080P HD or 3.1 MP
color images by day; monochrome by night
|
InstaOnTM
Trigger Speed |
1/5 second
|
RapidFireTM
NearVideoTM
|
Up to 2 frames per
second |
SD Card Capacity |
Up to 32GB: (4GB =
approx 10,000 pictures)
NOTE:
under normal use 2GB or 4GB cards are adequate.
|
Software Included |
BuckView
Advanced |
MapView
Professional |
Moisture Absorbing Desiccant System
|
Available for
purchase |
Included
|
Time-Lapse Surveillance |
1, 5, 15, 30, or
60 minute intervals |
Virtually any
number of seconds, minutes, or hours
|
Motion Sensor Scheduling |
ON or OFF
|
15 minute
increments within all 24 hour periods
|
Start Delay |
n/a
|
Up to 12 weeks
|
Conformal Coated Electronics
|
n/a
|
Included
|
Customization Options
(additional
charges may apply) |
n/a
|
Wireless Triggers,
Wireless IR Illumination Extenders, External
Power Jack, Focal Distance, Telephoto lens,
Custom Motion Detector Lens, Custom Colors,
other
modifications available
|
Warranty |
1 year
|
2 years
|
Covering the
specifications listed above you will see features like
1080P 3.1 size pictures are now available and this type
of large file can be stored on an up to 32 gig card. No
video mode is available but this camera is so fast it
can give a series of pictures without delay that is what
is referred to as being near video (2 frames per
second) and is acceptable in most tail and security type
operations. Trigger time is very fast and our equipment
cannot catch it at one fifth second lightning fast
speed.
This review will deal
with the HC-600 which is their black flash top of the
line Outdoor series camera. We would not feel the slight
bit sided if this was just the low glow version because
our previous tests found that unless you knew what you
were looking for, you would not see it because the
duration of the flash is so short and the glow is very
low. Most people have a good idea of the size of some of
the cameras that have hit the market so far in the mini
category. Set up next to a 6 volt lantern battery should
give most people a feel as to how well it will hang and
hide on a tree. My inspection and initial thoughts were
all good but in the process of all this handling I
smudged up the glass over the array with finger prints.
I went to work with a soft cloth but that did not work
because of the new grill. A short look in the book
explained that the grill (array mask) can be easily
removed for cleaning which I did and all was well. Our
early days when a Reconyx came in a big ole Plano style
box we can see that they carried a little of that
nostalgia over to this little case with the adoption of
a little handle. Which is functional for carrying the
camera but does not help in any other way but it is a
nice touch. Most camera companies have a tendency to
fudge a little with most of their claims about function.
Other than maybe the area of picture quality we do not
think we will find any big areas that will not match
what they claim.
We did not jump on a day one review on
this camera because of previous reputation plus our
reviews are directed at the undecided rather than the
decided. With all this said we are not going to take any
short cuts but give a very tough review on a camera that
takes $18 worth lithium batteries to fire up. Is that
cost a negative, or a positive? The facts prove that to
cost per operating hour/print number using the high
dollar cells in most cases comes out cheaper. We ran our
C cell Reconyx cameras with AA adapters to a picture
count of over 20,000. We will see just how well an even
dozen AA 8X lithium will last in this creation.
The bubble pack contained
a new style bungee (adjustable) and their BuckView
advanced disk with the camera. There is no strap
because there is no strap loops on the camera. The
camera has a feed through for the bungee or a Python
cable to 3/8 inch. There is a X 20 threaded tri pod
insert in the center of the back of the camera. This can
be used with a number of optional accessory mounting
devices. They also have metal security boxes available
also which is highly recommended for any high dollar
camera, especially if it has a high gig card and a load
of lithium batteries which also would increase the
value. I had a slick little bark biter angle bracket
that was part of the security box offered by Uway which
should adapt to this camera very easy. The after market
folks like Custom1enterprises.com and Camlock will also be busy
getting things ready for this camera if you choose not
to use the factory offered items. The booklet was very well
written and easy to understand for us. Some may bog down
in the programming methods as explained but we did not
have any issues in this area at all. The default is all
written in red so if your choice is outside those
parameters you can choose to change that. The
description of what that is offered by having the
professional series would have a tendency to sway some
folks to spend the extra money for things like external
battery port and other options in programming. We will pass the trigger
time bench and go to the sensing/flash range testing. I
have already determined that I cannot see the flash and
I cannot effectively test the trigger times because it
is to fast so a good close look at all the function and
picture quality will be looked at when we get the
flash/sensing done.
06-26-2010 update: I have from time to time
while the other reviews are going on we will pull this
cam out and do a few more things with it. First off I
need to clarify the trigger time conclusion. During
normal (good light) conditions and during good night
(very dark) conditions this camera has trigger times of
.34 seconds for with and without flash (see below). We
could only get the longer trigger times by setting up
limited lighting conditions where an IR filter switch
came into play (see the transition trigger times below).
This fine little camera does have very good
functions. We have not reevaluated the picture quality
but it is next on the list as we find time. We got shot
in the foot for closing anothers camera review because
no one seemed to have interest and agreed to reopen
should anyone have a reason. Feedback on products can
elevate the need for information and help us into areas
of more interest than some of the standard things we
test. There is a definite interest in this camera and
that is why we are still doing bits and pieces to
maintain the interest. This is the first year that the
dump of cameras has been so late. Even though there are
areas of elevated interest we will still try to maintain
our schedule and test all aspects of each camera. All of
the not reported tasks like drop tests, leak tests,
interference tests, SD card function, flash duration and
more filter evaluation should get done today and open up
some time to maybe get it back on the flash range and on
to gather some sample pictures/near videos.
07-11-2010 update:
Pumping black flash range in the HO (max range)
setting is what it is all about. We got good
illumination past the fifty foot marker and could see
the coyote behind that range with some detail. There is
a degree of fuzziness that seems to come with this
setting but the added light makes up for it and provides
a lot of down range data. That getting done opened us up
to get this camera onto a particular site where two
trails come together and Mr. Big has shown his ugly head
piece last year several times. Maybe we will have some
interesting captures to report in the coming weeks. That
$18 worth of batteries had better last a very long
time.
08-01-2010 update:
We have left this cam out on an area for three weeks and
had a pretty disappointing showing. We had quite a few
empty pictures from possibly blowing branches but those
pictures we did get did not seem to be up to par like
the ones we captured on the hill earlier. It is re
deployed in the same area for one more
attempt.
08-15-2010 update:
This camera remained in the same spot and did better
this past two weeks but the picture count was still only
15 pictures for that two week period of time. We had no
false pictures this time so we pulled it and moved it to
another lick that has more activity and placed a
replacement camera in the same spot to double check
animal activity to give us an idea of whether no not we
have a sensing issue going on.
09-12-2010 update:
The batteries are still holding great and the
camera is working but just not very well. It seems to
develop a moisture problem inside the lens at night but
burns off during the day. The pictures are somewhat
fuzzy and we are getting that stuck filter more often
with a number of red pictures. We may just have to pull
this camera and retire it or get some kind of repair on
it to continue the review.
09-19-2010 update: Because of the stuck filter
issue that keeps appearing we are going to have to close
this review until we have a chance to look into this
situation. The bit of filter noise might have been an
indicator that we had something wrong. We are pulling
this camera and closing the review at this time. Maybe
we can re deploy later once we find a solution to these
issues
09-23-2010 update: Our procedure for some
of the cameras that are deployed down south in our wild
testing area is to make a visit and exchange cards and
bring them back and analyze the results. There is just
too many to sit in the truck with a laptop and to try to
keep all the notes and data straight. This means we
cannot pull this camera until we make our next trip down
south to service the cameras there. Then we will have
the turn around time of getting this through the repair
system. This all means we will be without any further
reports until it is returned and redeployed. Even the
best cameras have an issue now and then.
10-13-2010 update: The trip was finally made
and the camera pulled with another card full of red
pictures. A short procedure at the UPS store and there
is a little vacation planned for this
unit.
11-25-2010 update: We sent the camera in and
we had a very fast return and all is well. The problem
is that we are having a real hard time getting the
targets in front of the camera. Even though we do not
hunt our testing areas the adjoining properties are
hunted and this still keeps them pretty wild. We have
had this camera out now for over two weeks and maybe
this week we will pull it and see just how good it is
doing with its new perspective on life.
01-29-2011 update:
Some how this review got closed and dropped. During this
period we have had three holidays plus two snow storms.
Two months later we arrive and the battery is still on
80% and taking pictures. I will say that this camera and
the Custom one security box is not a good combination
because of all the new little areas that the snow can
pile up on and block the sensor. We had about a two week
period that the snow remained and when the camera
finally cleared off enough to start taking pictures
again there was just a hint of snow still on the ground.
The correction from service made all the difference in
the world and the camera gave us nice sharp and clear
pictures both day and night. We are now going to close
the review and dedicate this camera to some of the time
lapse research along with a number of other cameras so
we can become more intelligent on the subject. We are
very happy with this camera.
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