Mounts, power and signage for trail cameras. The mount decides whether the camera is any use. A strap-on holder is quick but drifts as the tree moves and the strap stretches; a screw-in tree mount holds a fixed angle season after season; and a ground stake or post mount is the answer where there is no tree at all — over a feed ride, a mineral lick or a gateway.
Set the camera a little above the height of the animal and angle it down. Cameras set square-on at chest height fire late and give you the back end of everything that walks past. Point it north where the ground allows, so the sun is never straight into the lens at dawn or dusk.
Rechargeable lithium packs such as Spypoint's are worth it on a camera you visit weekly — alkalines fade fast in cold weather, and a dead camera looks exactly like an empty wood.
Where a camera covers ground the public can reach, signage matters: data protection rules apply once you are recording people, and a visible sign is the sensible minimum.
Related: trail cameras, trail cameras and accessories, game release and feeding, highseats.
