Post by matt on Apr 26, 2020 21:16:46 GMT
I was thinking the other day just how good mobile phone cameras are compared to most of the cameras we use in our bird boxes. E.g. the raspberry pi cameras I use have fixed focus, no zoom, not a very high pixel rating, no built in mic etc. So searching around I discovered that it is possible, and very easy, to set up a mobile phone as an IP camera and have it stream video (and audio!) over your local network, so you can watch it on either your web browser or use standard home surveillance type software to view, record, use motion detect etc. Since I have a few old phones with broken screens etc I set one up and so far it is working brilliantly with minimal effort. I am using an app called "IP Webcam" for android, which lets me view the video stream, take high res pics (12MP) at the click of a button and even turn the LED flashlight on and off - which, btw, is bright enough for a nestbox!
I set it up to record one of my bird feeders this afternoon, and grabbed a few stills off the videos it recorded to my PC. I haven't set up motion detect to take high res pics yet, but I might try that this week. I think this could be a viable option for a nestbox camera, since IP Webcam has a mode which will make it start automatically, and stay on, when the phone is turned on. All you need is a USB power connection and to be in WIFI range.
A few birds from this afternoon - just startlings, bluetits and sparrows so far, although I got a few not so good pics of a great tit as well. I may set it up semi-permanently and see if I can get a shot of the woodpecker that comes some mornings.
I set it up to record one of my bird feeders this afternoon, and grabbed a few stills off the videos it recorded to my PC. I haven't set up motion detect to take high res pics yet, but I might try that this week. I think this could be a viable option for a nestbox camera, since IP Webcam has a mode which will make it start automatically, and stay on, when the phone is turned on. All you need is a USB power connection and to be in WIFI range.
A few birds from this afternoon - just startlings, bluetits and sparrows so far, although I got a few not so good pics of a great tit as well. I may set it up semi-permanently and see if I can get a shot of the woodpecker that comes some mornings.