I recently purchased a Covert Illuminator camera. I’ve been using infrared cameras exclusively for about five years and like many others, I was worried about the flash spooking deer. I bought this camera with predators in mind, but I plan to use it along with my IR cameras for deer as well. I’ve had it in the field for roughly one month, and so far, I couldn’t be happier with it. I haven’t had a chance to get it out to the timber yet, but I have been running it in a pasture behind my house as well as chasing a pair of fox behind the shop where I work. I have not seen any evidence of deer reacting negatively to the white led whatsoever.
I purchased my first Covert Scouting Camera in 2012, and I haven’t bought any other brand of cameras since. I believe they make one of the best cameras on the market at any price. One of their best features is exceptional battery life. I have a Red 40 model that has been in constant use since June of 2012 and it still has over 50% life remaining on the second set of batteries that have ever been in it. This camera has taken over 40,000 pictures and I have had zero issues with it.
The Illuminator uses the same housing as the Red 40, only it features eight white LED lights instead of an infrared panel. The white LED’s function in a similar way to the old flash cameras, but they have a distinct
advantage. They don’t need to recharge to flash, so they are able to fire a three shot burst in under two seconds. The LED’s cover a wide area and I have been pleased with the detection range. As expected, the daytime pictures are excellent, with the highest quality setting of 12MP.The color screen is a great feature, and the controls are very user friendly. I look forward to years of use with this camera, and especially throughout the winter running my carcass cam.
