Zeiss Secacam wildlife camera
Back in February, I was fortunate enough to have a sample of the all-new Zeiss Secacam 7. Zeiss took over Secacam a German Trail camera specialist in the summer of 2023. Trail cameras have been used for many years now, from watching what passes through a garden to wildlife in the countryside, obviously having permission first.
The image/video quality of this type of product is improving all the time, I was, therefore, keen to check out this new product, my current trial camera was the Spypoint Flex, and I was very happy with the quality of the video, but didn’t always get images, as well as video, which it was meant to do.
On opening the box of the Zeiss Secacam, I found a comprehensive instruction manual also a safety and regulatory manual, this saves having to download the instruction information online, obviously, the camera, which has a separate mobile antenna to attach to it, a mounting strap, USB cable, quick guide with personal activation code, a SIM card (already installed) 32GB SD card and 8 double AA batteries installed in the battery carrier, this means the camera is ready to use immediately, simply download the app.
When you open the door there are buttons to navigate the setup and an OK button to confirm settings, there is also a colour LCD screen to enable you to view your images on screen if you do not want to remove your SD card to download images or purchase additional credits to enable them directly to your phone.
The Secacam can capture both photos and video, you can also adjust settings from within the app. When you open the app, you can view your videos and download them directly to your phone providing you have credits, if you choose not to pay for a plan then all your images and videos are stored on the SD card.
Two's company
Daring badger loving to climb for food
I love the functionality of the Secacam, you are able to pause the transmission for lengths of time, for example, if you have it in your garden and the children are out playing or there’s a lot of activity and you don’t want to use all your credits or reduce your battery life, it’s simple to pause for up to 24 hours, typically I pause mine through the day as there is way too much bird activity.
Secacam can be shared with multiple people, simply go into the app and enter their email address, you can also see the location of the camera and manage your service plan. I’ve said how easy it is to use so what about the quality of the camera the images and videos?
I spy a new camera!!
The actual camera appears to be good quality, the lock that clips over the controls to ensure no water gets in is very positive, perhaps possibly stiff, but obviously makes it watertight. Photo and video quality? I’ve found it to be very good quality, the video length is 10 seconds and the photo capture is just before the video starts, I have mine set to take one image, and then a video, however, you are able to set it to take more than one photo, the camera can be set to send notifications when it is activated, this is in the form of a little tune. I find this can be useful if you have the camera set up where you can view the subject through a window and actually watch what the camera is capturing.
The highly sensitive motion sensor precisely detects animal movements. The fast triggering time (< 0.35 ~ 0.45 seconds) of the ZEISS Secacam results in minimal motion blur for easier response. During triggering, the trail camera automatically adjusts the strength of the flash, which is invisible to animals and humans. This prevents incorrect exposures and minimizes energy consumption. With operating temperatures down to -20, this will work through the coldest of winters. Secacam’s field of view is 60 degrees, with 60 black LEDs this is not visible to animals and a 30-metre flash range. Another thing that has really impressed me is it will tell you what has been detected, for example, Badger, bird, rabbit, dog, person, however, it seems to really struggle with mice when a mouse has been detected, it’s reported it as some really strange animals such as deer or rabbit!!!
Even the tiniest of mammals
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