camera on a timer

gday,
i was wondering if anyone can help me.

I own property out in the middle of no where that has no power and have the desire to take a photo every hour of the day while im not there. I want to monitor a number of things with this photo, including wildlife visits, red neck visits, dam water levels, weather movements etc.

I do have a current project in the making of setting up a motion sensored camera, however, this only works when motion has triggered the camera (within 5 metres).

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for setting up a camera that is completely self sufficent (solar panel) and takes a photo on a regular basis (maybe using a timer).

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Making once an hour environmental pictures

1. Try getting your camera to take a pict on its own internal timer.
2. Use a CMOS 555 timer to flash an IR LED into the motion sensor of your camera. Make the 555 timer flash once an hour. The camera may activate more often due to wind caused motion, etc. But it will also catch the passing deer and squirl. C(Ra+2Rb)/1.44 = period in seconds with C in farads and R in ohms for a classic 555 timer (Google "555 timer" for circuit).

What kind of camera is this? A film camera? Digital? Does it have means to be triggered by an outside device? Like a remote feature of some sort?

Building a timer won't be too hard, but interfacing it with the camera could be tricky.

camera specifications

Thanks for the reply.

The camera is a Swann Digital Private Eye Camera.

**broken link removed**

Unfortunately there is no remote feature or trigger by an outside device. There is however an override button that allows you to take a photo like a normal camera without the need for motion.


Here are the specifications;

Imaging Sensor: 1/ 4" Color CMOS sensor
Lens: F2.0/f3.6(4G+IR) pinhole
Resolution: 640H x 480V (4:3)
Responsively: 1.9V/lux-sec(550nm)
Dynamic Range: 60dB
S/N Ratio: 45dB
White Balance: Automatic
Exposure: Automatic
USB: 30 frames per-second
Power Supply: 8~14VDC
Current Consumption: Standby@12V~50mA
Max.(Alarm)@12V~50mA
Operating Temperature: 14°F ~140°F / -10°C ~ 60°C
Fire Protection: ABS plastic housing