30MP HD Wildlife Trail Camera – Ltl Acorn Mini30
£159.99 – £199.99
This mini wildlife camera from Ltl Acorn offers incredible image and video quality. The White Light version of this willdife camera will even record colour night time video & images. It’s also probably the smallest wildlife trail camera we’ve seen and it’s very easy to use too. Records video and audio.
4 x Panasonic Eneloop Pro 1.2v Rechargeable AA batteries required (not supplied unless purchased)
Free UK Delivery & 1 Year Warranty. Please scroll down for full product description.
30MP HD Wildlife Trail Camera – Ltl Acorn Mini30 Information
Mini Wildlife Camera with 30MP Images and HD Video
The Ltl Acorn Mini30 mini wildlife camera can capture 30MP images using a genuine 14MP image sensor, much higher resolution images than many of the wildlife and trail cameras on the market at the moment.
Of course, the Mini30 from Ltl Acorn is also capable of recording HD 1080P video footage coupled with crisp, clear audio. In fact you can set the camera to take a photo first and then record a video clip too if you wish to, or you can just have it set up to record video only or capture photos only - all done very simply using the built in menu system.
Another benefit the Ltl Acorn Mini30 has over its competitors is that it's weatherproof to IP68 rating standard, again this is higher than many wildlife cameras on the market today. Ultimately this should mean a longer lasting and more reliable trail camera across all seasons and in all weather conditions. Throw in it's tiny size and 128G micro SD card capacity (micro SD card required, not supplied) and you really do have a trail camera that's hard to beat!
Example of the image quality you can expect from the Ltl Acorn Mini30..
Ltl Acorn trail cameras don't only capture wildlife! Here is an image of my son kicking a football in the back garden and captured by a Mini30 camera that was being tested at the time. Feel free to click the image to enlarge it.
External LCD Screen
The Mini30 trail camera does not have a built in screen but instead uses a detachable external screen. This means you can have many cameras and just one screen. So, you would take the external screen out with you when setting up or checking your trail camera, connect it to the camera and this will allow you to playback any recordings but also to access the menu system and change the set up etc. The external screen requires no extra power as it will draw this from the camera when connected.
Mini30 External LCD Screen
Using an external screen makes positioning the camera very easy as you can see exactly what the camera is "looking" at whilst your setting it up. No need to take images, look at them and keep re-adjusting etc to get that perfect position.
You can purchase the Ltl Acorn Mini30 from us either with or without the LCD screen. So if you intend to use more than one Mini30 trail camera you will only need one screen, so you can save money by purchasing any extra cameras without the LCD screen.
Batteries
Battery choice is vital for the performance and efficiency of your camera.
The Mini30 trail camera is powered by 4 AA batteries. Panasonic Eneloop Pro 1.2v 2500mA rechargeable AA batteries are strongly recommended for use with the Mini30 camera and you can buy them from this web page when ordering the camera. The Panasonic Eneloop Pro 2500mA 1.2v rechargeable batteries are the best quality and offer the longest running time of any affordable AA rechargeable battery we've tested with any trail camera. Other batteries are likely to cause issues for the camera and give you a headache trying to work out why!
DO NOT USE 1.5V Alkaline or Lithium batteries with the Mini30 as it is not designed for this voltage and the main board will burn out. This is easily spotted and not covered under the 1 year warranty!
Using rechargeable batteries obviously saves you a lot of money in the long term too as you don't need to keep buying new batteries every time they discharge. It's also better for the environment as you're re-using rather than constantly disposing of and buying new batteries.
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:
- 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 2 months!
Infrared / Night Vision - 940nm or White Light?
You have the option of choosing between 2 different versions of night vision with the Mini30. You can opt for the common 940nm frequency infrared which uses "no glow" technology and so it ideal in security or covert surveillance situations. The 940nm frequency will mean black & white video footage & photos in low light and dark night time conditions.
The other option is the "white light" version. This version will offer colour video footage and photos day or night regardless of the light conditions. Remember, the "white light" infrared version is not covert as it uses a "flash" technique similar to that of a normal camera, so for a 10 second video you will effectively have 10 seconds of a torch beam shining out from the camera but you will get some fantastic colour night time videos & images!
Here is an example of the colour night vision images that the Mini30 White Light version trail camera can offer, this image was taken just after midnight in pitch black conditions:
Here is an example of colour night time video quality recorded by the Mini30 trail camera, this video was captured by Ron Bury of www.ronburyswildlife.com:
Mini30 Size
The Mini30 is one of the highest performance but smallest trail cameras on the market today.
It measures just 13 x 8 x 5 (cm).
The Mini30 is a very neat & compact trail camera.
Micro SD Card Capacity
The list of reasons why the Mini30 trail camera beats the competition keeps on growing. It can take max 128G micro SD card allowing the capture of hours of video footage or thousands of images. A micro SD card is required, the camera cannot record without one.
If you would like to buy a micro SD card from us please see our range by clicking here.
Lens
The Mini30 trail camera uses a 130 degree wide angle lens.
Playback Options
The recordings from your Mini30 camera are stored on your micro SD card which pops into the slot under the hatch at the base of the camera. This means you have various options for viewing what you have recorded. You can take the external LCD screen with you for checking "in the field" or you can remove the micro SD card and playback on your laptop or desktop computer later if you wish.
Other features..
Time & Date Stamped Video & Photos, Time Lapse, 2 Timers, Menu Language Options, Password Protection, Infrared Brightness Control, Video File Length Adjustable, 1-3 Photo Burst Option, Video Resolution Adjustable, Photo MP Resolution Adjustable, Reset to Default Option, Micro SD Card Format etc.
Uses for a trail camera
I could go on a long time here but to avoid boring you I'll just talk about the main two reasons that our customers buy trail cameras. The first one being the obvious one, to monitor and record wildlife. It can be incredibly good fun and very eye opening to see what animals and birds pass through your garden! Trail cameras (especially the Ltl Acorn range) are also used in more serious field and research projects to learn more about and help conserve our wildlife.
The second reason is for security surveillance. Trail cameras are now used all over the UK for monitoring anti social behaviour areas & popular fly tipping locations. Not to mention residential driveways and parking areas etc where it may be difficult or impractical to runs mains power cables.
A trail camera gives you a totally mobile surveillance unit which can be moved from location to location with ease.
23 reviews for 30MP HD Wildlife Trail Camera – Ltl Acorn Mini30
Ltl Acorn Mini30 Trail Camera
(Information written by Pakatak Ltd – pakatak.co.uk)
Important Note: No CD or software is required for the setup of Ltl Acorn non cellular cameras, if your camera doesn’t have an antenna then you don’t need any software to use it.
Set Up:
Open the hatch on the top of the camera and insert 4 AA batteries. Ensure you have inserted the batteries the correct way around as per the + and – polarity signs on the inside of the hatch.
Close the hatch and carefully fix it down with the clip.
Please read the section further down the page about which batteries to use, battery choice is vital to the performance of your Ltl Acorn trail camera.
Now undo the clip on the bottom of the camera and open that hatch. You will see (from left to right) the ON/OFF switch, a mini USB style socket and the micro SD card slot.
Insert your micro SD card. Maximum capacity is 128G.
With the camera lens facing you, insert your micro SD card with the contacts facing towards the back of the camera and the cut out side of the card on the right hand side.
Ensure you are using a genuine branded card and not a fake bought from Amazon or eBay!
The online marketplaces are flooded with fake goods including cheap, fake memory cards.
Connect your external LCD screen (supplied with the camera) via the mini USB slot and carefully move the ON/OFF switch to the ON position. The LCD screen will now come on and you’ll see the live view from the camera.
From this screen you can:
*access the Menu,
*manually take a photo,
*manually record a video clip,
*view captured images & videos
The on screen icons and information also show:
* which video/image resolution you currently have set,
*how many recordings there are stored on the micro SD card (plus the maximum that could possibly be stored using the current recording set up)
*approximate indication of battery life.
If you wish to manually take a photo or record video you can push the SHOT button.
If you are in camera mode (image of a camera in top left corner of screen) an image will be taken and stored on the micro SD card.
If you are in video mode (image of a video camera in top left corner of screen) a video recording will start. To stop the video recording just push the SHOT button again.
To playback any of your recordings you can push the OK/Replay button.
From here you can scroll through all recordings using the UP & DOWN arrow buttons. If you currently have a video recording selected you can push the RIGHT arrow button to play the video.
If you want to exit Playback mode just push the OK button.
The Menu
Pushing the MENU button, when you have the LCD screen connected and the camera switched ON, will take you into the built in Menu. You can use the UP & DOWN arrow buttons to move up and down through the menu options and you can use the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the various different settings available for each selected menu option.
If you change a setting remember to push the OK button to save the change!
The following are the menu options available:
Mode: choose Camera to record images only, Video for videos only or Cam+Video for an image then a video.
Format: will erase everything on the micro SD card.
Photo Size: choose the quality of the image the camera will record, options are 3,8,14 or 30MP.
Video Size: choose the video quality the camera will record, options are VGA, 720P or 1080P.
Set Clock: set date and time plus the date format using the up/down arrow keys to change the number and the right/left arrow keys to move to the next parameter.
Picture No.: if you have the camera set to record images you can choose whether you want a single image or a burst of 2 or 3 images.
Video Length: set the length of video that’s recorded each time the camera is triggered from 0-60 seconds, remember the longer the video recording the more battery life will be used (especially if recording in dark or low light periods as the infrared is the most power hungry component).
Interval: choose how long the camera will wait between triggers before it will start recording again.
Sense Level: set the trigger sensitivity level, options are Off, Low, Normal, High. You can find out more about the sensitivity levels later in these instruction sheets under the heading “Heat Sensors”.
Time Stamp: choose On or Off dependent upon whether you want the date & time showing on each recording or not.
Timer 1 & Timer 2: these Timers allow you to set the camera to only record between certain times of day. For instance you may want the camera to record only between 6pm and 4am. Use the left/right arrow keys to change the setting from Off to On and then push the OK button. Now you can enter the start and stop recording times of your choice. You can choose to use just one or both of the Timers.
Password Set: choose between having to enter a 4 digit password when the LCD screen comes on or not. If you choose to set a password do not lose it! We can reset it but you’ll need to send your camera back to us and there is a £20 charge for this.
Serial No.: this is a number or name for your camera and, if set, will show in the information bar at the bottom of each recorded image.
Timelapse: this feature allows you to set you camera to record a video or capture an image every X amount of hours, minutes or seconds regardless of whether or not there is any subject triggering the camera at that moment in time. For instance you may want to record the changes on a construction project and so take a new image every 12 hours to monitor progress over time.
If you do not want the camera to also trigger when there is movement/heat change within the lens view then you will need to switch the Sense Level to OFF.
Beep Sound: switch on or off the beep sound that the camera makes with each button push.
SD Cycle: if set to ON the camera will start recording over the oldest recordings when the micro SD card runs out of space. If set to OFF then the camera will stop recording any new images or video when the card is full.
Language: change between various languages
LED Brightness: this will alter the infrared or night vision power of your camera between LOW and HIGH. Can be useful if you find that the infrared power is too great and your images or video is “whited out”.
Exposure: options available are low, medium & high.
Software Version: gives you information of the firmware version your camera is using.
Default: returns the camera back to factory default settings, this can be useful if you think your camera is not performing correctly. Acts as a reset tool.
Finished setting up and ready to record?
Push the Menu button to exit the menu. Carefully disconnect the LCD screen, close the bottom hatch fix the catch in place. For a few seconds you will see a red light on the front of the camera above the lens, once this red light has gone out your camera is now ready to start recording when triggered or as per your set up.
Remember to switch the camera OFF before connecting the LCD screen again. So switch off, connect the screen and then switch On – the LCD screen will then come on.
Important Information & Advice for using your Ltl Acorn Trail Camera
Batteries:
Batteries are included with your Mini30 camera and (should you choose to buy more) battery choice is vital for the performance of your Ltl Acorn camera, do not choose any batteries with a capacity lower than 2500mA.
We recommend Panasonic Eneloop Pro 2500mA Rechargeable AAs which you can purchase directly from us, they work very well with the Ltl Acorn cameras.
We use these batteries every day for testing work and so can vouch for their compatibility.
DO NOT use Duracell or other “off the shelf in the supermarket” Alkaline batteries as they are unlikely to be powerful enough and so will reduce the performance level of your camera.
Using batteries that are not powerful enough will often cause a problem with video recording at night time in dark or low light conditions. So you may find that your camera works perfectly during the day but then only records 1 second videos at night time (even if you have it set to record 10 or 20 second videos) for instance. This is due to the extra power required to run the infrared array, so the camera triggers to record and starts the recording, it then realises it does not have enough power to run the infrared for any length of time and so shuts down back into standby mode. This can happen over and over again whenever the camera is triggered, leaving you with lots of very short videos!
Do not use any battery with a mA rating of less than 2500mA!
Power issues can bring about many different, strange glitches and problems with any trail camera so it’s very important to use a battery that outputs enough power before assuming you have a fault with the camera itself.
IMPORTANT – Do not leave batteries inside the camera if you are not using it, this could result in acid leak and ruin the camera – this is not covered under warranty!
SD Cards:
Always use genuine branded micro SD (128G max) cards, there are often many fake cards on the market (especially being sold on Amazon & eBay). Also, always format your SD card using the “format” option in the camera menu, or format the card on your home computer.
SD cards do not last forever, if you think that yours may have developed a fault then try a new card before assuming your camera is faulty.
Manual Reset:
If you think your camera has developed a fault, try a system reset as below:
Remove all batteries & SD Card, bring the camera inside for 24hrs then test again.
Enter the Menu and select “Default” to return your camera back to factory settings – this acts as a reset for your camera.
Infrared:
The infrared beam is powerful so don’t position the camera too close to any solid objects as your night shots could suffer “white out” issues. You can also use the LED Brightness option in the Menu to adjust the infrared power.
Trail Camera Triggering & Placement – Best Practice & Information:
Your trail camera records when triggered, the trigger occurs when the camera senses heat change within the image that is different to the ambient air temperature. This increased heat signature within the image is usually (but not always) caused by something new entering the camera view such as a human or creature.
In most cases optimal camera placement is at 45-90 degrees from the area you expect the subject to enter the image from. This way you are most likely to get the best picture/video possible of the subject entering the camera view.
When a subject moves across the camera’s field of view at 45-90 degrees to the lens axis the camera will be much more sensitive to this movement than if the subject is moving directly towards or away from the camera.
The reason for the lack of sensitivity in the latter is because the size of the subject will only change slowly as the cameras view of the subject expands or contracts against the background.
Whereas, if the camera is positioned at a 45 or 90 degree angle from where the subject enters the view, the entire subject will appear as “new” heat change from the cameras’ point of view.
As you can imagine trail camera placement is not an exact science as we cannot always rely on any subject to enter the camera trigger area from where we want/expect them to! Trial and error is often the best way to find out where to place your camera.
Heat Sensors:
If the air temperature is 20C and a human with a body temperature of 37C moves in front of the camera then the camera will be sensitive to the change because of the 17C difference between the two. If the air temperature is 30C then the camera will be less sensitive because the difference is only 7C. With a small temperature difference between the air and subject temperatures it can be advantageous to set the cameras sensitivity to HIGH although this could also lead to some false triggers in some circumstances, such as a tree branch warming in the sun and then moving in the breeze for example.
Conversely, if a 37C object moves across a subzero air temperature of say -10C the camera will be very sensitive to this because the temperature difference of 47C is much greater. In these circumstances it may be advantageous to set the camera sensitivity to LOW.
Other:
Please let us know by emailing alan@pakatak.co.uk if you think of any other useful information that should be added to this guide.
Please take a couple of minutes to review the product on our own website or on Amazon/eBay if that’s where you purchased. We are small family business and your feedback & reviews really does make a big difference!
Thank you!
Pakatak Ltd are the largest UK distributor of the Ltl Acorn range of wildlife trail cameras and deal directly with the manufacturer (we’re the only UK based company to do so!).
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Ben (verified owner) –
Great device, thank you.
Helen (verified owner) –
The Little Acorn Mini30 is a very interesting, unique wildlife/trail camera – I bought the white light version, which is a facility not often seen these days in trail cameras – so that I could get colour video of animals at night in the garden. This is something I’ve not been able to do with my normal trail cameras, which all provide black and white results in the dark using infra red illumination. The Mini30 works well – the 14MP image sensor really is 14MP rather than a 2 or 5MP one that is interpolated (i.e. processed by best guess) up to any higher megapixel counts, which is usually the case the with trail cameras – the Mini30 interpolates to get 30MP results but starts from a much higher resolution result at 14MP. It even allows me to choose from three levels of exposure (another rare facility) as well as the more expected option of high or low power for the white light illumination. Due to the better-than-expected image sensor (a Japanese back-illuminated one, it says – Sony perhaps?) the results are very impressively sharp and detailed. It’s early days yet, so that my footage thus far is of the neighbourhood cats, but I live in hope that as the local fauna gets used to the camera, I’ll get some colour video of the local foxes, hedgehogs and anything else interesting that happens by! The lens is sharp edge to edge and has a wide angle of view. It records sound well too.
It is important to opt for the plug-in screen with your first Mini30 as it gives access to the controls, seeing where the lens is pointing whilst setting up, playback of video straight from the camera with sound and so on (obviously you can do the latter elsewhere by removing the memory card too, but it can be handy to check without removing the card and coming back again) and it costs less than buying it separately. The screen is pretty large and nice quality. Plus, you only need one screen even if you have more than one Mini30!
Alan of Pakatak was very helpful and friendly in online communication, and the camera arrived quickly, well-packed and safely. Great experience, thank you!
john stephen ogilvie (verified owner) –
Bought for my dad to go with his other one he got from you so we can keep watch on our hedgehogs
derek mcconville (verified owner) –
Very good camera with colour at night…brill
Christopher Wilson (verified owner) –
This is my second camera .switch broke on first one. Tried to solder a new switch but battery connection just disappeared one connection is through the board. The other just sits on it. Can’t go through because SD card unit is behind ..that’s the bad. The good is this is a great little camera. Great pics and video. Field of view is 130°. Night vision good, daylight superb.
James M. (verified owner) –
Ltl Acorn Mini 30 white light purchased.
Purpose colour shots of birds and night view of hedgehogs in garden.
Prev used Wingscape BirdPro – but white light discontinued in UK it seems.
Ltl Acorn Mini clearer images and greater focus but AA batteries last only 3/4 nights hence rechargeable AAs a must for Ltl Acorn Mini30.
Portable screen on Ltl Acorn a good idea – visually easier than fixed screen on the WBPro.
However, I do find Ltl Acorn Mini30 less simple to use.
Mainly because I use a tripod a lot of the time and the shoe attachment has to be unscrewed from the Mini30 each time you need to enter it’s bottom door to switch on or off or reset parameters.
With the WBPro the front hinges open so can be done whilst on the tripod.
The Mini 30 seems to be strap fitting preferred.
Ltl Acorn need to reposition the shoe thread to side or back of the Mini30 – then it will be as easy to use as WBPro.
Happy with service and delivery from Pakatak – first rate.
Will forward sample video re night time hedgehog activity in due course.
Jim McC. 1 Sept 20
Alison (verified owner) –
Arrived very quickly, easy to use and the customer service is very good.
Brian Barron (verified owner) –
First of all, ordered the Acorn mini 30 from Alan on Friday past and received items early Saturday morning, very fast turn around. I had a small issue with the LCD unit so I informed Alan who sent an other unit out to me next day ..Great service again from Pakatak.
I’ve been getting some great footage during the night with Badgers and Foxes on this we Acorn Mini, really happy customer, and I would highly recommend Pakatak!!
Brian.
andrew edwards (verified owner) –
Great company to deal with alltogether
Raewyn Vicary (verified owner) –
Brilliant pictures and great that you can view the area you wish to capture. Looking forward to a security box being made for this camera so I have more choice to location