How to judge the speed of a trail camera

Everyone talks about the speed of a trail or game camera and it's a big selling point with commercial cameras, but what does speed mean. When is the starting point of the speed to begin, we know the end is with the photo taken, but how about the start. Some tests show people walking from side to side and they claim that it's how far you get into the photo shows how fast the camera setup really works. That may be true in some situations but how about walking straight toward the camera slowly, how close can you get without a photo taken? Most sensors need side to side motion to work the best and thats the best selling point. I like to believe that the time starts with how fast the sensor pics up the heat and motion to send the signal to the camera. I can always adjust the speed by using different cameras after the signal from the sensor. From the Sony P41 (1 to 1.5 seconds) Sony 32 (1.5 to 2 seconds) to the Sony S600 ( 2 to 3 seconds)

I have a different method by using the real world and its animals to do my testing. I then am able to adjust my camera and sensors for top performance, plus I am able to buy any type of sensor board available for my needs. On many of my locations I don't want or need speed, as with beaver chewing on a tree or showing them doing some type of activity. These locations need a little more time for the animal to be in front of the camera before a photo is taken, as in the photo of the beaver eating the bark off the log. I taped up the water side of the sensor lens on the outside of the camera to allow time for the beaver to get in the center for a better picture.



So speed is great but for some types of animal studies you need to improvise to match the animal.