LTL ACORN MINI30 TRAIL CAMERA

£164.99

There are many trail cameras on the market, most of which do a great job of producing images or videos, but one thing it seems most are unable to do is the create good quality colour images at night. The only way to produce colour images at night is to shine visible light on the subject, and that’s just what the Mini30 does, using white light flash.

This impressive level of illumination, together with an ability to capture images at 30MP, results in some equally impressive stills and video footage. But if you don’t want to have the camera bathing the garden in light, then you can opt for the more conventional 940nm ‘no glow’ infrared setting. However, you only get black-and-white images.

The Mini30 is, as its name suggests, small, at only 13x8x5cm, and has a somewhat ‘unconventional’ appearance. The light camo exterior doesn’t do much to disguise it ,but being so small, it does allow you to place it in locations that might otherwise be impossible. To reduce the case size, Acorn has removed the screen and most of the menu controls, and put these on a detachable external screen in the same way as Bushnell did with their Nature View model. The major advantage of the external screen is it’s easy to check and to reposition the camera when setting up.

To further reduce the size of the camera, the number of batteries it uses has been reduced to just four. This is a shame, as the power consumption when using the white light option is increased ,so you’d need to check the camera frequently, if you use this option. Having said this, there is an opportunity to connect an external power source, including a solar panel.

The Mini30 stores images on a micro SD card’s up to 128Gb, and the lens has a field of view of 130º, so you might find subjects may appear small when viewed on-screen.

In use, I found the camera easy to use, but I have owned a number of Ltl Acorn trail cameras in the past. However, there are a few additional instructions, provided by Pakatak, the official UK importer of the Ltl Acorn range, which are specific to this model and worth reading. I managed to capture some good quality footage of my local Badger family, although, due to the wide-angle of view, there is a need to get the camera close to the subjects. This can result in burnt out images when lit with the white light. This, though, can be overcome by adjusting the settings in the main menu. The primary use for trail cameras has always been to see what wildlife is about, and when quality hasn’t always been a prerequisite of the images. Available from Pakatak Ltd pakatak.co.uk