Otter clip

Mike Sims · January 5th, 2009, 06:18 PM

I’ve used IR LED arrays with my camera traps with good luck. I did have one mishap, however. A couple of years ago I habituated a pair of Great Horned Owls to let me get near the nest. I wanted to tape the parents dropping off food to the fledglings. I mounted the arrays on 20 ft telescoping poles used by painters to paint high ceilings and positioned them by the nest. One of the arrays failed spectacularly. There was a great flash of green light and many sparks. It melted a 1 cm hole in the plastic case. The array was one month out of warranty. Unfortunately it happened just as Mom was delivering a dead skunk. Instead of dropping it to the fledglings she bombed me (hydrogen peroxide- not tomato juice!). Needless to say they never let me near the nest again. Since then I have been using 12 volt lamps for slide projectors covered with this filter:
Optical Cast IR Longpass Filters - Edmund Optics

No problems yet. I still use my remaining LED array, I just don’t trust it as much as I used to. I really enjoyed your Otter footage. I hope you’re able to get more!

Annie Haycock · January 8th, 2009, 06:50 AM

Mike

Wow, that sounds like an event to remember!!

The LEDs I've been using are fairly small arrays of about 60 lights. They have been out in all weathers, and so far haven't given me any problem (except for not being powerful enough).

I doubt I'll get to see these particular otters again, as they have gone off into the wide wild world. However, I am always hopeful of filming others somewhere along the estuary system.

Chris Swanberg · January 24th, 2009, 09:00 PM

Annie.... what you have may be better, I dunno,but for those reading this clip interested in supplemental IR lighting I wanted to pass this along.

SIMA makes some terrific little LED IR lights that are a wonder for their size (about 2 inches square - 36 LED's) and price (under $50 ). That is the good news, the bad is that while they are VERY bright in IR (and practically invisible to the human eye) they are only rechargeable and run for about an hour or so before they need recharging... But still a HUGE improvement over the on camera IR light source.

http://www.simaproducts.com/products...product_id=615

Thanks for the clip. Was very interesting.

Annie Haycock · April 29th, 2009, 04:27 AM

Having been involved with the release of cubs into the wild on two occasions, this time I was involved in the other end of the story - the newly-abandoned cub.

Rescued otter cub on Vimeo

This five-week old cub was found wandering around the car park of a small tourist attraction, and I collected him and took care of him for a couple of hours until the RSPCA man transfered him to specialist care.

Mike Sims · April 29th, 2009, 10:24 AM

What a cutie! I'm glad he appears to be in such good shape and has a chance to get back where he belongs. I liked the yarn box shot. I knit sweaters in my "spare" time and now I know what to tell people when my yarn bin gets snarled- "An otter kipped there."

Gilles Debord · May 9th, 2009, 02:17 PM

Hi

My second really bad Otter clip is here:

Vidéo de la faune Espagnole
the last clip named "Loutre" in French.

We spent the last night in a hide near a little French river 40 miles from the house. We have observed the Otter 3 times during the night (20 minutes) a male and a female but not the "cub". The spot is on a cottage of a friend of me, this man study the Otter's.

The picture are fuzzy due to the low light mode of the XL2 "everybody know this camcorder for his high performance in low light conditions" you can see magnificent blue bar on the right side and yellow on the left side.

But the Otter was here, the clip is unmounted, without title and music i remove it in a month, that's just for fun.

If you have tips for low light filming without expensive "micro channel plates" i take all idea.

Regards

Gilles

January 5th, 2009, 06:18 PM	#16
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	I’ve used IR LED arrays with my camera traps with good luck. I did have one mishap, however. A couple of years ago I habituated a pair of Great Horned Owls to let me get near the nest. I wanted to tape the parents dropping off food to the fledglings. I mounted the arrays on 20 ft telescoping poles used by painters to paint high ceilings and positioned them by the nest. One of the arrays failed spectacularly. There was a great flash of green light and many sparks. It melted a 1 cm hole in the plastic case. The array was one month out of warranty. Unfortunately it happened just as Mom was delivering a dead skunk. Instead of dropping it to the fledglings she bombed me (hydrogen peroxide- not tomato juice!). Needless to say they never let me near the nest again. Since then I have been using 12 volt lamps for slide projectors covered with this filter: Optical Cast IR Longpass Filters - Edmund Optics No problems yet. I still use my remaining LED array, I just don’t trust it as much as I used to. I really enjoyed your Otter footage. I hope you’re able to get more! Last edited by Mike Sims; January 5th, 2009 at 09:02 PM.

January 8th, 2009, 06:50 AM	#17
Annie Haycock Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales Posts: 734	Mike Wow, that sounds like an event to remember!! The LEDs I've been using are fairly small arrays of about 60 lights. They have been out in all weathers, and so far haven't given me any problem (except for not being powerful enough). I doubt I'll get to see these particular otters again, as they have gone off into the wide wild world. However, I am always hopeful of filming others somewhere along the estuary system. __________________ Canon XH A1; Canon XF100; Nikon D800

January 24th, 2009, 09:00 PM	#18
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Annie.... what you have may be better, I dunno,but for those reading this clip interested in supplemental IR lighting I wanted to pass this along. SIMA makes some terrific little LED IR lights that are a wonder for their size (about 2 inches square - 36 LED's) and price (under $50 ). That is the good news, the bad is that while they are VERY bright in IR (and practically invisible to the human eye) they are only rechargeable and run for about an hour or so before they need recharging... But still a HUGE improvement over the on camera IR light source. http://www.simaproducts.com/products...product_id=615 Thanks for the clip. Was very interesting. Last edited by Chris Swanberg; January 24th, 2009 at 09:34 PM.

April 29th, 2009, 04:27 AM	#19
Annie Haycock Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales Posts: 734	More otter cub Having been involved with the release of cubs into the wild on two occasions, this time I was involved in the other end of the story - the newly-abandoned cub. Rescued otter cub on Vimeo This five-week old cub was found wandering around the car park of a small tourist attraction, and I collected him and took care of him for a couple of hours until the RSPCA man transfered him to specialist care. __________________ Canon XH A1; Canon XF100; Nikon D800 Last edited by Annie Haycock; April 29th, 2009 at 05:01 AM. Reason: typo

May 9th, 2009, 02:17 PM	#21
Gilles Debord Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: France Posts: 152	Otter second clip Hi My second really bad Otter clip is here: Vidéo de la faune Espagnole the last clip named "Loutre" in French. We spent the last night in a hide near a little French river 40 miles from the house. We have observed the Otter 3 times during the night (20 minutes) a male and a female but not the "cub". The spot is on a cottage of a friend of me, this man study the Otter's. The picture are fuzzy due to the low light mode of the XL2 "everybody know this camcorder for his high performance in low light conditions" you can see magnificent blue bar on the right side and yellow on the left side. But the Otter was here, the clip is unmounted, without title and music i remove it in a month, that's just for fun. If you have tips for low light filming without expensive "micro channel plates" i take all idea. Regards Gilles __________________ Gilles Debord http://www.wwvideo.tv

April 29th, 2009, 10:24 AM	#20
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	What a cutie! I'm glad he appears to be in such good shape and has a chance to get back where he belongs. I liked the yarn box shot. I knit sweaters in my "spare" time and now I know what to tell people when my yarn bin gets snarled- "An otter kipped there."