Suddenly recording tree branch movement

[DFH3]

We've had a camera for about 6 months that never recorded tree branch  or shadow motion and now it suddenly does. Is an activity zone the only fix for this or can an adjustment be made to motion sensitivity (currently at 90) without losing out on the alerts we want to receive.

Thank you!

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@DFH3 wrote:

We've had a camera for about 6 months that never recorded tree branch  or shadow motion and now it suddenly does. Is an activity zone the only fix for this or can an adjustment be made to motion sensitivity (currently at 90)

without losing out on the alerts we want to receive.

 FWIW, I've found that this is somewhat seasonal - depending on position of the sun, the amount of leaves on the trees, and likely other factors (amount of thermals in the air perhaps).   It not something I've been able to completely fix. On some of my cameras, I just have to live with a lot of motion recordings some times of the year.

Options include

1. turning off "all other motion" notifications in the camera smart settings
2. activity zones
3. re-aiming the camera to minimize the shadows in the field of view
4. reduction of motion sensitivity

The first two can tame unwanted notifications, but won't help battery life.  The camera I have that is most prone to these motions has a solar panel on it - without it I'd be recharging it far too often.

As far as (4) - it does increase the chance that you will miss a recording.  All I can suggest there is that you experiment with it, and see what happens.  Maybe reduce it sharply (perhaps down to 20%), and then see if it reduces the clutter.  If it does, then test for missed recordings (walking into the field of view, etc).  Adjust upwards again if you miss too much. 

Starting with bigger changes is usually a more efficient way to zero on in the correct settings.  Google "binary search" to get a better idea of what I have in mind.

[DFH3]

Thank you!