Sometimes it is really good to get really close to your wildlife subject and this little Hikvision covert cam is great for that. It is a tiny cylinder and can be focused manually by twisting the lens. It is a high resolution cam designed for CCTV work and is around the £300 mark, so not a cheap option. It has been loaned to me and I am seeing what can be achieved with it. It does not have a microphone nor IR.
The camera is designed to be used inside, so I have to waterproof it when I use it outside. I mount it in a plastic water bottle at the moment, with the cable to the connection box coming in through the window as I have been using it on some little window feeder set-ups on my office window.
I am pretty pleased with these. If you can get the focus correct, the clarity is fantastic on it! I have it just a few cm from the birds and it is wonderful to see the detail on them!
I then moved it over to a fat ball feeder, to try something different. As you can see, the set-up is pretty basic as it is temporary and I need to be able to move it around... works a treat though!
I love the creative potential with a little camera like this and I will be trying it out on a range of other set-ups in the coming weeks. The good thing about this window set-up is that the squirrel can't get to it..... well it hasn't yet!