This may have been covered one time or not.

What is it about a trail cam that allows animals to sense it is there? I always have deer looking directly at them and even spooking. Can they hear them ? See infrared light?

Just seems odd.

Smell, sound, lights. It just dont beling there in general. Ive got a white flash camera thatll light up a 50'x50' area and the deer dont seem to mind it. My uncle has a bunch of pics of big bucks with the white flash cuddybacks and they just stand there chewing.

Ive got hundreds of pics like this. The flash dont seem to bother them at all. Ive also put a Infrared camera on a trail and got pics of deer running like they saw a ghost. I dont really understand it except maybe theyre just used to getting their picture took at that feeder and they werent used to the camera on the trail

I agree with JWalker. The infrared flash seems to spook more deer than the white flash or blackout cameras. I actually switched to 100% blackout cameras 4 or 5 years ago and it has helped a lot. I also try to hide or make my cameras as inconspicuous as possible when installing them.

Deer notice EVERYTHING that isn’t as it should be naturally. Cameras stand out like a sore thumb. If I can spot them walking through the woods deer have no problem with it. If it’s out of the ordinary they investigate it or run from it. They do hear them. They do see them. And they smell where we’ve touched them.

There used to be a video where a guy put up a camera, and then put another camera to take video of the interactions.
They usually become aware of them at some distance. But then... you can see some rubbing post footage where the
camera is right in their face and they don't care.

I hav started getting mine 7-8 feet off ground - some do higher - gets it out of direct line of sight - I don’t think it bothers as much - on my cell cams - I should try 10’ cause I don’t touch unless out of battery life

Most, if not all, make a noise. You don't think so until dark thirty on a quite morning and you walk in front of one. Some are down right loud when the IR filter thingamabob moves into place before a picture. Trail Cam Pro use to measure the loudness and rate it in comparison to others.

They have a smell too, the cameras themselves. Electricity has a smell. If i can smell it, i know a deer can

X2

I've tried high cameras and low (hip level) cameras. I don't think my deer care. I only go high now in flood prone areas. I also don't have much worry of theft so that figures in also. I might feel different if cameras started disappearing.

Don't know if deer react to photos the same as they do videos, but the first set of videos I downloaded off my tactacam was surprising. Set the camera as 7-8' off the ground on a trail and almost every deer slowed their pace and stared directly at the camera. Would have never known their reaction from typical photos. Didn't matter if it was daylight or dark they stared right at it.

Along with everything else I think they see the round lens and it looks like an eye ball. That's just my dumb theory though.