Infa-red, is it worth it?

[Red Dwarf]

Thinking about trail cameras: Is it worth paying the extra for an infa-red flash?
I know that this has been discussed before but....
If, every time an animal walks by a certain spot in the forest a bright flash goes off, will the animal not get spooked after a while and decide to change its route accordingly?

What have been your experiences with trail cameras.

Love to see some of your pics and get your recommendations.

Red Dwarf

[Jimbob]

I think that it is a big marketing gimmik myself. I have picture after picture of deer (the same deer) standing there while getting their pictures taken. I have no reason to believe that the camera flash spooks them. I have pictures of the same buck, coming back almost every evening for 3 months to drink from my pond. The only benefit that I can see from it is that you can hide it very well and no one (human) will be alterted to its presence by the flash going off.

[OconeeDan]

Last season, I had a little 3pt walk right under me when it was near dark.  I took about 8 photos, all with flash.  He never even flinched, paid it no attention.  I think he related it to lightning?  Don't know, but I don't think the flash bothers them much.
Big bucks?  I have trail camera flash photos 10 seconds apart of a big buck standing in the flash.  So at least the first one didn't scare him.
Others may have a different opinion.
Dan

[Shovelbuck]

As others have said, I also have a lot of photos of the same deer posing for photos one after the other with white flash cameras. The only thing I have noticed is that deer will sometimes move to another trail a few yards away. But that has only happened a few times in almost 5 years of running trail cams.
As a scouting tool, the IR's may be a good deal mainly for a theft deterrent. Although, if you are looking at the camera when it goes off, you can see a red glow.
I've had an IR cam for about a year and most of the time it sits around the house gathering dust. My white flash cams are out year round.
Here's a pic from my Leaf River IR.

 

[ehntr]

Theft deterrence is the major benefit...If they do not know its there...they cannnot steal it.