[Canid]

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I have lots of wildlife activity around my home and am interested in setting up a camera trap with my K7, mainly for night time shots.

Would something like this work as a trigger, if I replaced the cable with a 2.5mm audio jack, or will a motion sensor not be good enough for night? Are there any inexpensive PIR triggers that would work (preferably without having to do any soldering)?

Movo Photo LC100-N Lightning/Fireworks/Motion Trigger for Nikon DSLR Cameras NEW | eBay

[robjmitchell]

There are tons of dedicated camera traps that start at about $100, Converting a DSLR for that purpose is not worth it.

[Canid]

There are tons of dedicated camera traps that start at about $100, Converting a DSLR for that purpose is not worth it.

What? I didn't say anything about converting a DSLR... the trigger is just a camera accessory, and costs less (my budget for this is tiny). Besides, the K7's sensor is probably better than most dedicated camera traps.

[jatrax]

K7's sensor is probably better than most dedicated camera traps.

Probably, but not certainly. Some of the newer ones are very good. But with tiny budget that is no help.

The issue I see with using a DSLR is that the camera will go to sleep. And if it does not go to sleep then the battery runs out. They use a LOT more power than a dedicated trail camera.

The trigger you link to might work, I've looked at them before briefly for lightning shots but never bought one. You will need to make sure the plug end that comes with it will work on a Pentax. I do not think the Nikon one will work, it has a different connector. Some triggers for Canon will work though.

Here is a link to the listings at B&H: Camera Trigger Systems | B&H Photo Video

Take a look at the connector on your wired Pentax remote and make sure whatever you get has the same connector.

---------- Post added 01-24-18 at 02:05 PM ----------

Hint: restrict search by "Canon 2.5mm sub-mini" over on the left. You can search by "Pentax" as well but that is not going to help.

[Canid]

I did read through some previous threads on it before posting. Someone with a K100D(?) said that their camera could be woken from sleep by the remote shutter release.
I checked my K7 manual, but the details for using remote shutter were a bit scant.

I don't have a remote release for my camera, so I can't check it, but my understanding is that it is a standard 2.5mm audio jack, and that as long as I can plug it into the trigger, it should be fine, because they all send the same signal, regardless of what connector they use.

But I wanted to ask here before buying anything, in case any of what I read was wrong.

I figure that the other advantage to buying a trigger over a trail cam, is that I can use it for other photography purposes if desired, and I can use it on different cameras if I upgrade at some point.

[honey bo bo]

Lightning/Fireworks & Motion Sensor/Security/Wildlife Trigger for Sony Cameras | eBay

I have a Micnova trigger that I used last summer for Humming Birds in Flight. It looks a lot like the one you have shared but a lot more expensive. Due to health problems it was very limited. I hope that this summer I will have more time to try it on motion again , lightning and even trying to capture a discharged fire arm. Something like a 45 cal. thats a larger projectile and slower velocity. A few things that I did learn from my short tutorial that you will need a camera that will have an A/C adapter and turn off your battery saver, so near a power suppply ( the deck of my cottage). A flash will help in low light or at night ( again one you can turn off the battery saver or one with an A/C adptr which I have) . I believe my motion sensor would work in low light or night as it is infrared on motion like a trail Cam. A fairly fast Shutter speed and lens but the flash will help there a lot. The motion sensor I have was very sensitive to motion incl a Feeder I was using to lure in the hummers so I had to keep it out of the viewfinder. Lightning & the discharged fire arm has a separate sensor which is a light or flash sensor. You could use a Trail Cam as I did but they are limited to motion and I found that the one I had about $125 was slow and the critter had to be in the field of view for a few seconds to register on the Pic. If you don't have A/C adapters You would have a fair amount of time on Sleep but the Wake Up takes a Couple of seconds and the critter might have enough time to bugger off. It is a lot of fun so far and like I said I hope my health holds so I can try some more of this kind of photography.
Good Luck with putting something together it is a lot of fun and very interesting and could be extremely rewarding Photon wise

[jatrax]

I don't have a remote release for my camera, so I can't check it, but my understanding is that it is a standard 2.5mm audio jack, and that as long as I can plug it into the trigger, it should be fine, because they all send the same signal, regardless of what connector they use.

Correct. Most Canon (but not all) use the same plug so if it says Canon 2.5mm you should be good.

Someone with a K100D(?) said that their camera could be woken from sleep by the remote shutter release.

It does. However, the first press wakes up the camera but does not actually take a picture. The second press takes the shot. Which might be perfectly fine for your application. Or not. Just wanted you to be aware of it.

[PJ1]

I have no experience with camera trap triggers for DSLRs but I have a lot of experience with trail cams. Mine are not the most expensive cams, but they give me what I want (mostly). The main issue (and this will apply to any camera trap) is the system trigger time. The response is not always as fast as advertised. I guess that could be affected by many factors. But the result is that even when an animal has walked the full width of the field of view, the first shot may be of its rear end exiting the field of view. That can be frustrating. If an animal is moving quickly, it can trigger the cam and be gone before a shot is taken. On the other hand, they can give good results if monitoring a bait station because you often get an animal or multiple animals in the field of view for hundreds of shots.


I think it would be much the same for a DSLR camera trap. The question to ask is what wildlife you expect to capture, and in what conditions. Then its a matter of how much to spend for the chance (and I emphasise "chance") to get the image you want. Occasionally I fluke a shot that makes me wish I had something like a DSLR trap. But unfortunately I don't have a National Geographic budget.

[Canid]

The main thing I want to do is get the coyote that regularly digs into our compost pile looking for kitchen scraps. That's a bit like the bait situation you described above, though I don't know if the pile has any other customers... if it does, maybe I'll get a fun surprise.

If that works, I may try to set it up in some more difficult spots, like in front of the mink burrow, or in one of the spots where I can see something has been passing back and forth regularly along the same path.

If I get one good picture of the coyote out of the whole thing, I'll be happy.

[PJ1]

where I can see something has been passing back and forth

OK. the compost pile should be easy. But where you have something passing back and forth your best bet is to set up for a shot at a slight angle up and down the path. Trying to get an animal moving across your field of view often gives too little time in the frame or too late for the trigger. Something more "up and down" increases the time and your chance of getting something towards the centre of your shot. If you have my luck, though, you will get a lot more backsides than angling towards you frontal shots

[Canid]

Just an update. I ordered the LC100-C trigger (with the cable for Canon cameras) from Movo Photo - Source of High-Quality Audio and Video Gear
It arrived today and I did a quick test outside to see if it would actually work. I turned it on, let my camera go to sleep, and then took my dog out in front of it.


I am happy to say that in daylight it operates as desired, waking the camera up and snapping photos as long as there's something moving around in front of it. Yay!
Night test yet to come, but I'm feeling a lot more confident now.

[Canid]

So, I had my camera out in a couple days of freeze-thaw weather. No signs of digging, and the controls were frozen over, so I brought it in temporarily, planning to put it out again once I had made a little jacket for it.
I took some pictures of my dog and went to process them.... had a quick peak at the other folder to make sure it was garbage before deleting it, and.....

I am kicking myself for missing focus. I focused in live-view, but that lens hates me and I always seem to be yards off. Oh well, it will get another chance.

[PJ1]

that lens hates me

Welcome to the life of the wildlife cam user! But sometimes you get gold. I still like your shot because it means you are well on the way to success.

[csa]

Just an update. I ordered the LC100-C trigger (with the cable for Canon cameras) from Movo Photo - Source of High-Quality Audio and Video Gear
It arrived today and I did a quick test outside to see if it would actually work. I turned it on, let my camera go to sleep, and then took my dog out in front of it.


I am happy to say that in daylight it operates as desired, waking the camera up and snapping photos as long as there's something moving around in front of it. Yay!
Night test yet to come, but I'm feeling a lot more confident now.

Do you have a link to the one you got? The link to the website lists everything!

[Canid]

Do you have a link to the one you got? The link to the website lists everything!

Here is the exact one I bought:
Movo Photo LC100-C Canon EOS Lightning and Motion Trigger