Wingscapes WSCA02 BirdCam 2.0 with Flash

First, I must say that as long as there is bright sunlight, this camera works as advertised. However, the camera flash works poorly or not at all.

The first unit's display would blank out after a period of time and rarely take a flash picture ... even when waving my hands in front of the camera. I called the manufacturer and they promptly sent a replacement.

Consequently, I was setting up the replacement unit for its first night out to see if it operated properly. I installed relatively new batteries (EverReady Alkaline Engergizer purchased new, had been used in first BirdCam for 2 days -- display indicated 91%). I tested unit in house, and noticed that immediately after the display would indicate "Flash Charging", the display would cycle back to "Auto" and then perform a 30 second countdown. This happened over and over -- occasionally it would take a picture. But more often than not, it would simply return to the countdown menu.

My...Read more

I've been using this camera for a few weeks. In that time, I've been able to go from watching hummingbirds visit my feeder on weekends only, to getting some really nice pictures during my work day, most days. The camera takes great pictures, though of course for small, fast moving birds it's important to have it as close as possible. In my case, it's about eighteen inches from the feeder, and the feeder has a perch, which helps birds stay longer, and stay still.

As other reviewers have pointed out, there are some critical settings to understand. First, the camera doesn't take a picture the instant there's movement and heat in the target area, so you'll get best results if there's a second or two with the bird in the frame. Second, understanding the DELAY setting is important. The delay puts some time between sets of photos, so that you don't get continuous pictures of one bird, and run out of memory. If it's set to 30 seconds, for example, you'd get pictures of a bird,...Read more

I am still getting used to this pricey backyard birdcam, but so far, it is doing everything as advertised. I have not tried the video yet, sticking with still photos while I get the hang of the camera.

There was a "learning curve" for me, particularly with use of the motion sensing - there is a lag between the time motion is sensed and the first picture is snapped. I have one feeder where bluejays land, grab a peanut and fly immediately. This camera took 113 pictures one afternoon and only one bluejay was captured. On more static feeders, I get good pictures - see my uploads above.

For best results, leave the camera set in one location day-and-night, then seeing what is caught in the cross-hairs! As they say on TV, "set it and forget it".

Oh yes, get the camera with a flash so you can photograph the night creatures too!

I look forward to Spring when birds begin to migrate, bringing new "friends" to our feeders.