Wildlife Camera Trap, easy to use and perfect for watching the wildlife in your garden...

The Ltl Acorn 5310A is a portable infrared wildlife camera trap.  It offers long running time, 1080P HD video resolution with audio recording & 12MP images.  You can leave it in any location and it will record video or capture images when triggered by the motion/heat sensors.

This trail camera is not only used for wildlife recording but also used extensively for cable free, security video surveillance in remote areas where connection to mains power is not possible.  It's very popular as a fly tipping camera too.

Record nocturnal wildlife through the night..

Thanks to the built in infrared for night vision, it can capture video footage & photos in complete darkness or daylight and will only do so when motion/heat change is detected as it also has built in motion / heat change sensors.

The Ltl Acorn 5310A can take photos of 12MP quality (interpolated from 5MP) or record video clips (with sound) at 1080P resolution.  You can even set the camera to take a photo then a video clip if you want to, all triggered by movement/heat difference within the camera's sensor range.

The 5310 trail cameras have password protection, 32G max SD card storage (SD card not supplied as standard but you can purchase one with the camera if you choose to), time & date stamping, timer recording (explained in the next paragraph), night vision brightness adjustment, video length setting, standby mode low power consumption, covert "no glow" 940nm infrared and even a time lapse feature that allows you to tell the camera to take a photo/video clip at set intervals regardless of whether any movement has been detected.

The built in Timers on the 5310A are ideal if you want the camera to only trigger between certain hours of the day or night.  For instance, you may want it to record in your back garden only at night time, so you can set it to trigger only between 8pm in the evening and 6am the next morning.

The amazing thing is that this feature packed trail camera comes in a palm size casing of approx 14cm x 8cm x 6cm!

Ltl Acorn 5310A / 5310WA Wildlife Camera

Easy to use wildlife camera...

The Ltl Acorn trail cameras are very easy to use, all set up is done via the built in LCD screen and the menu system – no software is required to use the non cellular Ltl Acorn cameras.

The Ltl Acorn 5310A & 5310WA features infrared brightness adjustment, this helps if you are trying to record video or take photos of subjects that are close to the camera and allows the user to adjust the night vision power in accordance with their own application - so "white out" problems in dark conditions can be eradicated.  Another new feature the Ltl Acorn trail cameras have is the much reduced standby power consumption, this means that your batteries should last a lot longer than many other brands and puts Ltl Acorn one step ahead of much of the wildlife trail camera competition out there!

How does this wildlife camera work?

The wildlife trail camera has 3 heat sensors. 2 of these are known as side sensors or prep sensors, they cover a total range of 100 degrees.  So if you imagine drawing the letter V with the bottom point being the camera lens and the V having a 100 degree angle then you start getting a feel for the area that the sensors will cover in front of the camera.

The third (and most important) of the 3 sensors is the central "shooting" sensor.  This sensor has a V of 35 degrees.  The camera will only actually record a video or capture an image when this sensor is triggered.  The side sensors act to prepare the camera in advance of the central shooting sensor being triggered.  The reason for this is so that the majority of your videos or images will begin with the subject fairly central within the camera view.

All 3 sensors are heat sensors.  They take the ambient air temperature and if they notice a different heat signature that's what triggers the camera into action.   For example, it's 15 degrees outside and a human or creature with a body temperature of much higher than 15 degrees moves into the sensing area then the camera will come alive!

Please note, with the wide angle lens version (5310WA) the entire 100 degrees is the shooting/recording area.

Standard & Wide Angle Lens Options:

There are 2 lens options available, the 5310A is the standard lens model and the 5310WA is the wide angle lens model.  The standard lens offers an angle of view of approximately 55 degrees whilst the wide angle lens offers approximately 100 degrees.

The wide angle lens trail cameras will make the subject appear further away from the camera but will bring much more of the surrounding area into the image.  The image below will give you a better idea of the difference between the standard and wide angle lens version cameras.

In my opinion the wide angle version cameras are useful if you have a big open area to cover and are looking to record large animals, people or vehicles etc.  For smaller creatures such as foxes, birds, hedgehogs and mice then stick with the standard lens camera version.  The wide angle lens cameras effectively give a zoomed out effect and so the heat signature needs to be that much larger to trigger a recording, so you might find that if you use a wide angle lens camera to try to record small animals then sometimes the action could be missed!

Ltl Acorn Lens Comparison (click to enlarge)

Which batteries should I use for this wildlife camera?

The camera holds a maximum of 8 AA batteries, but can run off just 4.  As you would imagine, the more batteries you fit the longer the running time.

Batteries are not included but battery choice is vital for the efficiency and performance of your camera, we recommend using rechargeable batteries as these will save you money in the long run.

Our top recommendation for batteries would be the Panasonic Eneloop Pro 2500mA rechargeables, we use these on a daily basis for testing trail cameras and they offer the longest running time of all of the rechargeables we have tested.  Rechargeables will save you money in the long run as you can use them over and over again.  They are also better for the environment too!

For non rechargeables we recommend the Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries, these offer the longest running time of all batteries we have tested (rechargeable & non rechargeable) and will also work better in more extreme low temperatures.

Avoid alkaline batteries, avoid Duracell and never use any battery with a mA rating of less than 2500mA as they will struggle to power the camera (especially at night) and you are likely to find little glitches in your camera performance.

How long will my batteries last before I need to change or recharge them?

We get asked this question at lot with regards to trail cameras and it's always very difficult to answer as it depends upon many different variables such as:

• How many batteries are being used in the camera?
• Which type of battery is being used?
• Is the camera set to record video or capture still images?
• Is the camera recording a lot at night time when the more power hungry infrared is being used?
• If recording video, what video length have you set for each clip?
• Is the camera working in very low temperatures? (will use up more battery power in extreme temperatures)

These variables could mean your batteries might last anything from 4 days to 4 months!

What is Trigger Speed on a wildlife camera?

Trigger speed determines how quickly after detection by the sensor, will the camera then start actually recording.

Trigger speed is always faster when capturing images/photos than it is for recording video due to it taking the camera a little longer to “wake up” and prepare for video recording than it does for it to "wake up" and take a quick snap.

So if you want to make sure you don't miss anything then it's recommended to either set the camera to take images or use the camera+video setting to take a photo first and then start recording the video clip.

Infrared (Night Vision) Frequency:

The Ltl Acorn 5310A and 5310WA trail camera models both use the 940nm covert "no glow" infrared.  This means there will be no visible sign that the camera is in operation, no lights, no flashes, no sounds etc.

SD Card:

The Ltl Acorn wildlife trail cameras require an SD card to operate, without one inserted the camera will switch itself off immediately after power up.  The 5310 series cameras can hold a 32G SD card maximum.  Always use SDHC, class 10 cards.

Powering the trail camera from a Solar Panel:

For longer running time and a more environmentally friendly way of running your trail camera, you may be interested in the Ltl Acorn Solar Panel.  There are case studies on the Solar Panel product page to give you an idea of what's possible.

If you're looking for another style of wildlife camera then we have a large range to choose from.  Some have better image and video quality than others, some have the ability to record colour night vision footage, some have forward facing screens.  Have a look at our full range of wildlife cameras here.