When shopping for a new trail camera, there are a few things you should keep in mind, but two are arguably
more important that pretty much any other. Trigger and recovery speed are a measure of how fast a camera
is able to prepare to take a shot: the former refers to the amount of time between ..............

The Importance of Trigger & Recovery Speed

When shopping for a new trail camera, there are a few things you should keep in mind, but two are arguably
more important that pretty much any other. Trigger and recovery speed are a measure of how fast a camera
is able to prepare to take a shot: the former refers to the amount of time between the passive infrared
sensor detecting movement and the camera taking the shot, and the latter to the amount of time between
successive shots.

Many people make the mistake of shopping for a camera based on the number of megapixels it boasts, but if
megapixels are the car’s top speed, trigger and recovery speed are the mileage – one is going to affect how
use it a lot more than the other. In this blog, we break down why finding a camera with a good trigger and
recovery speed is so important and give you a few examples where it can make the difference between a
productive hunting trip and a fizzler.

A better chance of a clean shot

If you’re hunting fast-moving game like rabbits, deer, ducks and other birds, a camera with a fast trigger time
will mean the difference between no picture and a picture at all. If the animal just grazes the edge of the
infrared sensor’s detection zone, you need a fast trigger time otherwise the animal might leave the frame
before the picture is taken. Without the right specs, you could return to your camera to find an SD card full
of unhelpful or empty images, effectively wasting the time the camera was in position.

Capturing multiple subjects

Where you’re hunting game that travels in large groups such as birds, a low recovery time is absolutely
essential, ensuring you get the maximum number of images possible. This allows you to more accurately
determine the size and composition of a group of animals, giving you the information you need to be better
prepared.
Even the fastest trigger time will be useless for herd shots without an equally fast recovery time. For
example, let’s say you’re hunting deer. Without a rapid recovery time, you’re likely to come back to a
camera full of pictures of does, and no bucks. Should the bucks follow the does, the camera will sense the
doe, take a picture, and the buck will slip past before it can take a second, leaving you with no information
about your target.
To find a camera with the trigger time you need, speak to the team at Pro’s Choice and let us equip you.

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