Battery Power


Battery Power is probably the single most important aspect of a trail camera…without proper power; you basically don’t have a functioning camera.

Here at Monarch Images battery testing is an on going mission to determine the best combination for the user, camera and operating temperature

Monarch Scouting cameras require as many as 3 separate power sources:

1) Control Board Power – Primary Battery to run the Control board.
2) Internal Camera Power - Two AA’s inside the camera to run the camera.
3) External Camera Power - Two AA’s or D’s as supplementary external power to run the camera.

board_power



Control Board Power - Alkaline or Lithium Batteries
The Control board power runs the control board only, independently from the camera:

• Bigfoot board AAA – Change every 4-6 months.
• Sniper board 9 volt – Change every 8-12 months.




Internal_power
Internal Camera Batteries
– 2 AA NiMH or Lithium Batteries

The cameras inside an MI scouting camera run off 2 internal AA batteries and provide power to the camera only. The best option is to use:

• NiMh rechargeables - perform very well in temperatures down to -20 c, and allow you to recharge them over and over; or
• Lithium AA’s - a one time use, disposable battery; but perform in temperatures below -20°C.
• Don’t Use Alkaline – Alkaline batteries are not designed to handle to load of today’s digital cameras, especially in cold weather.

External Camera Batteries – AA/D cell NiMh, Alkaline or Lithium

External_powerD_external
The external camera batteries provide supplementary power to the internal camera batteries, and power the camera/internal batteries only. Depending on the external power option, you can use:


• NiMh AA/D cells – AA batteries will almost double your camera’s battery power and picture numbers. D cells are 4 times the capacity of AA’s.
• Alkalines AA/D cells – can be used with NiMh inside the camera because they are not under the direct load of the camera, they just feed power to the internal batteries.
• Lithium AA – Can ONLY be used when Lithium AA’s are inside the camera and cannot be used as external power under any other circumstances.


Here’s a rough estimate of what you can expect for picture numbers with MI Scouting cameras:
Pasted Graphic

• Picture numbers are approximate and based on cold and warm weather testing.
• Pictures numbers are dependant on how often the flash is used.
• Picture numbers dependant on duration afield, operating temperature, battery type/brand, charger and proper charging and battery maintenance.

Battery Brand and Type Makes a Difference
Not all rechargeable NiMh batteries are created equal.
Performance can vary among the type, brand and operating temperature.

Regular NiMh (Duracell, Energizer, CTA)
• High capacity (2500-2700 mAh);
• self discharge rate of approximately 1% per day;
• Good for high numbers of images in a short period of time (less than one month).

Low Discharge NiMh (Eneloop, Duracell LD)
• Lower capacity (2100 mAh)
• Retains approximately 85% of power over 1 year.
• Good for images collected over a longer period (+1 month).


Battery Brand/Type and Cold Weather Performance

Most brands of regular and low discharge NiMh batteries will run MI Scouting cameras down to -20 c without much trouble. Below -20 c can be hit or miss for any brand or type…sometimes they will run, other times they won’t, and every battery will have it’s “breaking point” where it simply shuts down from cold temperatures causing high internal battery resistance (still has power but just doesn’t run).

freezer_cams
With some help from a few scouting camera forum friends, I was able to assist in developing a method to measure the internal resistance of AA cells at room and freezing temperatures.

Cam_in_cold
The following figures show the battery types and brands tested and results of the test. This information might be confusing to some…as it’s even tough for me to figure out and explain…but basically the lower the difference in internal resistance between room and freezing temps, the better the battery will perform in the cold.



This data also supports my field testing results over the years in that the CTA brand
2700 mAh batteries offering the most consistent cold weather performance below -20°C

Battery Chart1

Battery Chart2

The Bottom Line

So with all these numbers, names, figures and tables to “chew on” here's the bottom line.
To break it down simply, here’s what I would recommend:


All Season up to -20°C

• Use Low Discharge NiMh as internal and external power; or
• Use Low Discharge NiMh internal and alkaline AA or D’s external.

In Temps Below -20°C

• Use CTA 2700 mAh NiMh as internal and external power; or
• Use CTA 2700 mAh internal and alkaline AA or D’s external; or
• Use disposable Energizer E2 Lithium AA’s internal and external.

Note: Battery power is a complex subject and one that is continuously researched here at Monarch Images.
Contact me at info @ monarchimages.ca for more information or tips on how to get the best out of your camera and batteries.