USB Cam to film birds outside

[Narcisus]

Sorry if the title misleads

I have a birdfeeder outside but I cant see it through my window because my monitor is in the way .....

I had a bit of a brain storm last week and took the webcam off the top of my screen and pointed it at the feeder giving me a live feed on my 2nd screen which I have really enjoyed when working up in the man box room.

Trouble is it's only a cheap 720p Logitech and while it's OK it would be nicer to have a bump in quality plus when I have to do hangouts I have to move it.

Can anyone recommend anything ?

[greygoose]

Amazon have loads of motion activated cameras for about £40, I got a Victure one for the garden and it has delivered very clear videos of hedgehogs, birds etc in the garden at night and in the day. You just need something to attach it to and point it at the bird feeder. Remember to get a memory card and some batteries for it too, the batteries have lasted six months so far without running out.

[Mr Pointy]

Have you got a old phone you could use as a webcam?

https://www.wired.com/story/use-your-phone-as-webc...
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/how-to-use-your-pho...
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=use+phone+a+w...

[Narcisus]

greygoose said:

Amazon have loads of motion activated cameras for about £40, I got a Victure one for the garden and it has delivered very clear videos of hedgehogs, birds etc in the garden at night and in the day. You just need something to attach it to and point it at the bird feeder. Remember to get a memory card and some batteries for it too, the batteries have lasted six months so far without running out.

Really want something I can just plug into the PC. Having it open on my other screen is like having a window. Just want it to be better quality.

[Narcisus]

Narcisus said:

greygoose said:

Amazon have loads of motion activated cameras for about £40, I got a Victure one for the garden and it has delivered very clear videos of hedgehogs, birds etc in the garden at night and in the day. You just need something to attach it to and point it at the bird feeder. Remember to get a memory card and some batteries for it too, the batteries have lasted six months so far without running out.

Really want something I can just plug into the PC. Having it open on my other screen is like having a window. Just want it to be better quality.

No as above just want a better quality camera to give me more of a ' just looking out of the window ' experience on the 2nd screen.

Couple of hundred quid budget. Can you just hook GoPro's direct to the PC and use like a webcam ?

[The_Jackal]

Mate any HD webcam will do that then.
You really dont need to spend hundreds.
Just buy a logitech HD cam from PC World.
Here you go, job done.
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessorie...

[Narcisus]

The_Jackal said:

Mate any HD webcam will do that then.
You really dont need to spend hundreds.
Just buy a logitech HD cam from PC World.
Here you go, job done.
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessorie...

Actually have one of those spare at work :-) I’ll give it a go. I think I was overthinking it !

[Cloudy147]

I suppose it depends how far away the feeder is. You could get a camcorder and zoom it onto the feeder maybe? Then plug the cam into your monitor directly.

That should give you a good picture, and with the optical zoom on cameras, you might not need a mega hd one either so if you've got an old one lying about, that might do you nicely.

[Narcisus]

Cloudy147 said:

I suppose it depends how far away the feeder is. You could get a camcorder and zoom it onto the feeder maybe? Then plug the cam into your monitor directly.

That should give you a good picture, and with the optical zoom on cameras, you might not need a mega hd one either so if you've got an old one lying about, that might do you nicely.

Cheers. Have the 1080p webcam up and running now and it's much better no alternative for a decent camera but it will do.