One question. Immage enhancement.

[teckk]

Hello Everybody. I am new here and I have a question that I hope you could answer for me. I am not a photographer. As a matter of fact, the photos that I need help with, I don't even control the "shutter". I spend a lot of time in the woods hunting. I know some of you may have opinions about hunting However, I did not post this thread to discuss that. But if you feel so inclined to include your opinions, feel free. In the field we use game cams. These cameras are placed in strategic locations on the land and are motion activated. The problem we see with these cameras is usually at dusk and dawn with some, but very little light which offers very poor pixel quality. My question to you is this: Is there software, free or otherwise, that can enhance the images. I understand the hardware is firstly the most important part of taking a good picture but we don't have access to that hardware with the products we have available to purchase. This technology enables our ability to harvest and control animal conservation to a higher quality and has become a very important tool for the outdoorsman.

Thank you in advance for any information,

Teckk.

 

[Overread]

on the hunting front we could be here all day - and you don't give hardly enough insight to make a case for or against you


As for the cameras, can you show us some example shots - there is software out there that can improve a photo, but of course its limited by what it has to work with. Trail cameras are something that I have wondered about using just for photography - monitering wildlife - though my problem is the UK just does not stock many of them. Though from my understanding they mostly use a small digital camera triggored by sensors - so your low light control might be very limited.

 

[teckk]

Here is an example of what he have to work with at times. As you can see, there are two animals in the photo, neither can identified be correctly.

 

[Overread]

ouch - honestly I can't impove on that and I doubt anywone will have much luck either. I think the camera is just not strong enough at this light level to get a good photo - the only thing I can suggest is trying a similar setup with a DSLR - but that is of course going to cost a lot to setup

 

[teckk]

These cameras are usually a couple hundred dollars and that is what I try to stay close to in price. I appreciate your feedback.

Thank you,

Teckk.

 

[eminart]

teckk, I used to hunt a lot so I have no beef with it. Those are coyotes, by the way.

I don't know anything about what is available in the game camera world, but I think what you need is some some kind of flash. No camera, even the highest quality pro cameras used by national geograpic photographers will be able to capture a good image in the extremely low-light conditions of dusk/dawn. But, with a flash, you should be able to get decent photos within 10 yards of that game feeder even at night. I don't know anything about the setup you'd need, but I do know that they exist, because I see shots made with game cameras that obviously used a flash all the time. I also don't think a flash would spook them.

Edit* ok, looking at your photo, I see the coyote's eyes reflecting light, so you obviously DID use a flash. It seems like it must have been very dim though. Nothing really seems illuminated in the shot. My guess is, you'll just have to shell out more money for better cameras with more resolution (and maybe a brighter flash?).

 

[teckk]

There seems to be a critical point during sun up and sun down which has enough darkness to trigger the flash but due to the existing light condition, like you said, nothing will illuminate. We end up with the worst photos. This camera works great during daylight and just as good in pitch dark. Being an outdoorsman yourself, you know that the most critical times to hunt are dusk and dawn, and being able to identify and track what time these creatures are on the path is nice to know.

BTW, I hunt in Texas. These are either bobcats or Coyote. Maybe even ferral hogs. Not quite sure. It's a mixture of educated guess and speculation at this point.

Thank you for your post and insights!

 

[Overread]

I thought they looked either feline or dog like - the one with the reflecting eyes though looks to have a finer build than one would expect for a hog though I think

 

[eminart]

teckk,

Is there anyway you could post a link to a site that has some info on the cameras you use? I feel like there has to be an explanation for what's happening. If your cameras will make a good photo at night, they SHOULD be able to do it at dusk. Something seems a little off.

 

[teckk]

Here are some of the usual types that we use in the field.


http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...ategoryExpand_N_400002004_400000000_400002000

 

[teckk]

Here are a couple photos at night/day. For it's purpose, they are great cameras most of the time. I can clearly identify these:thumbup::hail:

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/t_wildcat_29/deer059.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/t_wildcat_29/10-12-2008069.jpg

 

[eminart]

Hmmmm, I don't know. But, here's my best guess......... it's a combination of a lot of little things. For example, I think the coyotes in the first image would be on the edge of the flash range. You also would probably do better to try to position your camera so that it's not capturing the sky. The brighter sky will cause the photo exposure time to be shorter which will make everything in the darker area even darker. The camera in your unit is probably fairly low megapixel and may be using a high iso. All these things, and others that are beyond my fairly basic knowledge probably combine to cause the problems you're experiencing.

Like I said, I don't know anything about game cameras but your post got me thinking so I did a little research and I came across some websites talking about how to build your own. That would allow you to pick your own camera and maybe do some tests beforehand that would tell you how well it would work in the low-light conditions you need.

 

[teckk]

Wow, Thanks for the insight again. I think what you said about taking the sky out of the picture would help a lot. I am going to reposition my camera and see how well that works.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[ksmattfish]

There seems to be a critical point during sun up and sun down which has enough darkness to trigger the flash but due to the existing light condition, like you said, nothing will illuminate.

Try to set up the camera so there is no sky in the photo. I'm guessing the bright sky is fooling the meter into under-exposing and/or under-flashing.

EDIT: Whoops, I guess I was late!