Frequently Asked Questions For The Exodus LIFT II
If you need help or have any questions that cannot be self answered below, feel free to contact us via our customer support line or email. We love helping people who help support our business through purchasing our products. Frankly we love talking to our customers and hearing their feedback as well as what they would like to see in our future products. That being said, here are some of the most frequently ask question we receive.
Q. What SD card should I use?
We recommend using a standard size Sandisk or PNY brand card, please refrain from using micro sd cards as they have additional contact points which increase the odds of experiencing card errors. Technical SD card info can be found in your product's user guide. For more education on SD cards and best practices please check out this blog article.
LIFT II - up to a 64GB class 4 or above. If you plan to utilize the 1080p HD video from this camera, we recommend using a higher class card such as a class 10.
Q. Why should I format my SD card in the camera?
It always important to format your SD card, no matter if it’s being used in an Exodus camera or any other piece of equipment. Formatting ensures the card has the proper structure of it's file allocation tables and it is free of corrupted files for proper data writing. It also allows the card and camera to “sync” writing speeds and ensure that both pieces of equipment are working together efficiently. If you haven’t made formatting apart of your camera setup routine, we urge you to start. You may go a long time without ever having an issue, but chances are eventually you will come back to find that something went wrong, like no pictures were saved, or worse, the card corrupted your camera. It takes about 30 seconds to go through the format process, and it’s worth it in the long run.
Q. Why use Lithium over Alkaline batteries?
Lithium batteries offer several strong advantages to trail camera users over standard alkaline batteries.
- To start, lithium batteries have 3 times the capacity (3,000mAh vs 1,000mAh) over their alkaline counterparts.
- When it comes to the weather, Lithium batteries are virtually unaffected by the cold down to extreme temperatures (-20F). Alkaline batteries will start draining exponentially faster when temperatures drop into the teens, and will completely stop working in the single digits.
- Consistent life cycle is likely the biggest advantage of lithium batteries that most folks don’t realize. Every day that alkaline batteries sit in your camera and every picture they take slowly use up the capacity of the battery. As alkaline move through their life cycle, they lose voltage. They start at about 1.5 volts each (12 volts for 8 batteries), and will die somewhere around 1 volt, depending on the battery. Trail cameras are designed for the full voltage of however many batteries they take. All of the specifications that you read, trigger speed, flash range, ect. are taken from that voltage. As alkaline batteries die, your cameras performance will be effected. Because of this, most cameras will stop taking night pictures or pictures all together before your alkaline batteries are completely empty. Lithiums however, have consistent voltage from start until right before they die, giving you completely consistent performance from start to finish.
- Dollar for dollar, Lithium batteries are about 3X as expensive as alkalines, but will ultimately give you more bang for your buck! It’s also important that you NEVER MIX BATTERY TYPES OR BRANDS! For more information on batteries visit www.batteryuniversity.com
Q. Does the Exodus LIFT trail camera record in a loop?
No, current models will not record over previous pictures. Once your card is full, you have to transfer the data before that card is usable again.
Q. What is Hybrid Mode?
Hybrid mode is simply picture and video mode in one. In simplest terms, the camera will take a picture than proceed to take a video after. You can customize the photo/video size and video length to suit your needs.
Q. Why can't update my camera's FW?
If your camera will not allow you to run an update, there are two possible causes. The first and most obvious is you do not have adequate power. To prevent the possibility of the camera losing power during a FW update, we have a safety protocol enable where the camera will not run the update if your batteries are below 55%. The second is that you do not have the FW files properly installed on your SD card. For more information you can visit the LIFT II FW Update page.
Q. What is PIR ON/OFF in Time-Lapse Mode?
The PIR ON/OFF function, inside time-lapse mode, gives the user the ability to run time-lapse in a traditional manner where the camera triggers at a set time interval when PIR OFF is selected. When PIR ON is selected the camera will also trigger by the PIR detection circuit in addition to the set time interval.
Q. Why are my night images black?
Many times this is a result of improper power often from the use of alkaline batteries. Once alkaline batteries reach 50% they no longer have the proper voltage needed to operate the camera correctly.
Q. My LIFT II will not power on?
This could be a result of serval problems, one which includes product failure. In many cases the camera simply just needs to be updated with new FW. Before reaching out to our support team please be sure the camera has the proper FW installed. For further information on FW updates for the LIFT II, please visit Exodus LIFT II FW Update page.