A Brief History of the Trail Camera

While the trail cameras of the late 19^th century couldn’t be more different from the ones used today, it’s a fact that a camera was used then by “wildlife enthusiast” George Shiras. He invented a trap with trip wires that set off an automatic flash in the camera. National Geographic magazine printed some of his pictures in 1906, and he eventually published a book called Hunting Wild Life with Camera and Flashlight: A Record of Sixty Five years' Visits to the Woods and Waters of North America.

From the bulky box cameras to a comparatively sleek 35mm camera in the 1950s, trail cameras progressed significantly from Shiras’ original invention. However, even the motion-detector cameras used in the late 20^th century were not so useful because they took pictures of leaves, branches, or anything else that was swept by the wind.

Trail cameras have come a long way since then. For example, today’s wireless trail cameras work through a network that’s a combination of a camera and a basic cell phone. It can send the hunter images before he even packs up his gear. There are also remote cameras that just record pictures—as photos or videos—they are weatherproof cameras meant for extended outdoor use to surveil game.

 Today there are a number of different trail cameras available. Those sold at Al Flaherty’s Outdoor Store in Toronto are meant to simplify camera functions and give hunters a convenient and easy way to capture photos and videos. Visit AlFlahertys.com to review our camera choices, as well as our wide variety of gun accessories for sale.