Hello Jordan, I have been using the LawMate portable DVR's, which have a 5V input for power and are quite small and hence concealable. They record to SD media (though some have hard drives), and while they have something that looks like an HDMI input, they will only take a standard analog video input. If you adapted LawMate's HD camera for outdoor use they could be used for HD recording. They are quite power efficient, and have the advantage that they have a burned-in timestamp which is ideal for reading times off. I have some exemplar videos on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4Lg1FSorXU7aY2cV8vLPDg just scroll around until you see feeder shots. Some of these have some ground loop interference visible, but that is because it is powered via our main supply. With a battery they should not have this.
They range in price considerably, but I think they are a good option for wildlife. You will need to get a 12V to 5V step-down to power them in the field, but these are widely available as it is a standard for cellphones and the like. Any of the models which only do SD recording should be sufficient for data collection. Another great advantage of them is that they have a built-in LCD display so setup in the field does not require an external monitor. On Wed, Apr 15, 2015 at 7:41 AM, Jordan Giese <jordangie...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello, > > My name is Jordan Giese and I am a graduate student at Tarleton State > University. I'm conducting research on nesting of white-tipped doves in > south Texas. I am currently putting together camera systems to monitor > nests in real time to investigate predation. Does anyone have > recommendations for the model of portable DVR unit to use in this type of > study? The first system I put together uses a DVR unit that is no longer > made and I'm attempting to put together several more for the study. > > Thanks, > Jordan >
