Trail Cam Advice Wanted

[Boomer]

I'm looking at purchasing a couple trail cams and I would like some advice on what to buy. I'm looking in the $150 to $200 price range. (cheaper if possible) They don't need to be anything fancy. Just reliable and easy to setup and use.

[NewGuy]

I really like my scoutguard 550s

http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/sco ... _camo.html

[Meat Hunter]

Boomer,

I feel your pain regarding finding an inexpensive game camera that is a good all-around game camera.

There are a number of cameras on the market that meet your criteria and I have owned many of them.

In my opinion, the two things that make a good game camera a good all-around game camera are:
(1) Trigger speed - The time that it takes the camera to sense movement, spool-up and take the first image. Most of the cameras in your price range have longer Trigger speeds; possibly as long as 2 to 5 seconds.

(2) Field of view - The area in front of the camera that is covered by the lens. Most of the cameras in your price range have a very narrow Field of View; possibly no wider than 10 to 15 degrees.

Unfortunately, the combination of slower Trigger Speed and narrower Field of View, most of the walking deer that the camera will the sense will be out of the Field of View before the first image is taken. These limitations are fine when a camera is directed over a scrape, salt lick or feeder. But, they are very limited in their ability to capture images overlooking a food plot where a Wide Angle of View is needed or on a trail where a fast trigger speed is required to capture images of walking deer.

Last year, I saved all year and purchased an up-market camera that has a 1/10 sec. Trigger Speed and a 45 degree Angle of View. On trails, where in the past I was either not capturing any images or on food plots where I was capturing nothing but blank images; I now capture as many as 100 to 500 images a night. On occasion, I have captured as many as 1,500 images in a three day period.

At $599 MSRP, the Reconix RC 60 may be totally out of your price range. It is easy to set-up; my disposable c-cell batteries have been known to last for sometimes as long as 3 months and the image quality are great. Day images are in color and the night images are infrared black/white.

For all that I spent over the years on the lesser expensive models, if I had saved my money a little longer, I could have purchased 2 of these cameras. I suppose that the old economic axiom holds true with game cameras also; you get what you pay for.

I know that I have not eased your pain, but I hope that I may have given you 2 features to consider when you are selecting your camera.

[vixenmaster]

Find someone who will build you a Homebrew or has one built fer sale. Sony P32 is a great work-horse camera & you can get one complete about $225 maybe less. Have them build you one using a simple sniper

[vixenmaster]

It threw a double & i can't delete so i used edit

[Boomer]

I want to use it along trails for scouting. It looks like I will need to save my pennys and get one with a faster trigger speed. If I go with a more expensive one, how do you prevent them from being stolen. Can you lag them into a tree or install them in a medal box with a lock?

[vixenmaster]

Yup some can use diff locking devices, that doesn;t mean they won't get stole. A cam in the 2 sec. & faster works well on trails. Just angle it catching the coming or going on trail, reason fer that is motion is detected farther away fer cam to become ready.

[Meat Hunter]

Boomer,

A determined thief can steal anything. The best that I can hope for is that I will deter the opportunist thief.

Chains and locks are easy to cut with a bolt cutter. Heavy cables, with a built-in combination lock, are more difficult to cut. All the steel strands prevent someone from cutting it with one snip.

A thief stole one of my cameras. They had tried multiple times to cut the cable without success. They ended-up cutting through the two ‘wings’ on both side of the camera and leaving the cable around the tree.

Needless to say, they would have had a difficult time attaching the camera to another tree and if I ever saw it again, I would have the matching ‘wings’ to prove it is mine.

_______________

A side note regarding camera placement. Motion detectors in all game cameras have a more difficult time sensing movement when the movement is directly towards the camera. If you are trying to capture images on a trail, try to locate the camera so that the camera will have as much angle to the route of travel as you can.

Cameras with a wider Field of View that can be placed back from the side of the trail and work better than cameras with a narrow Field of View which need to be placed looking down the route of travel -- which means that the motion detector will have a more difficult time sensing movement.

[crazyfarmer]

Meat, the cuddeback captures have instant trigger and are 179.99 on ebay. The bushnell tropy cam, also in that price range has a VERYYYYYY quick trigger and it usually snaps before the deer is in front of it. Its 159.99 on ebay

I use both and love them... I'd put the cuddeback captures up against the reconyx and etc as far as image quality goes. I know they are tons of different features though and are GREAT cameras. I'd rather get 2 captures for the price of 1 reconyx... Now its some cameras I wont touch that are cheaply made. But bushnell and cuddeback hit the BUDGET camera market HARD this past year! The high end price cameras will need achange in the future to compete

I have not had a deer pass by the capture yet without triggering. Even the running ones are caught in midjump. I ahve hundreds of pics on here from mine posted

but you can get a great camera for 159-200bucks now;) Just depends on what you get

[Meat Hunter]

Crazyfarmer,

Thanks for your observations concerning the current models of cameras. This is real progress over what was available a short two years ago.

I am in need of several more cameras and I will make sure that I take a look at the current models that you are recommending.

[crazyfarmer]

Crazyfarmer,

Thanks for your observations concerning the current models of cameras. This is real progress over what was available a short two years ago.

I am in need of several more cameras and I will make sure that I take a look at the current models that you are recommending.

if you lok at the capture, dont get the IR model. I cant stand the images from that. They are ok, but not worth the extra money if you ask me. The flash models are very nice and I have 10 of those right now. Super simple setup since its only 1 switch LOL. You just turn the switch to the right for your delay between shots and its ready to go. Thats the only downfall since its a "picture" camera. No video and other advanced options. If you want a good picture and thats all, its the camera for you for 179bucks(199 at bass pro).

trophy cam is good also at 159.99 since it was 199.99. The newer model just hit the stores so you can get last years one cheap now. I have mine set for 3 shot bursts which is a must. I never use the video on it, but I hear its ok. IR is nice, but out past 20 yards it gets iffy. Size is a plus, since it can be hidden well and battery life like the capture is 3-5months depending on weather conditions and use. I always get 3months out of mine and I switch batteries then just so I dont miss a shot. Cheaper cameras might give you 30-60days life tops LOL.

its other decent cameras out there.. but those are 2 ive had great success with and im very picky about what I use to hunt with

[Limbs and Sticks]

I'll stay with my 100.00 cam, still haven't seen any thing any better and I've had the high $$$$ CAMS, save your money 500.00 or 100.00 going to show you the same thing you need to see.

Wes

[crazyfarmer]

ive had a few pms for pictures from both the trophy cam and Capture so ill post some here..

basically between those 2 cameras it would come down to if you want flash at night or IR at night. I choose flash for the reason you will see below.. Unmatched detail

Cuddeback Random Capture images at night with flash




Bushnell trophy cam random IR night shot same spot


daytime

Cuddeback Capture


Bushnell Trophy Cam Day



thats a few examples from what ive mentioned.. Trophy camera has a slightly underexposed darker image which is ok. Cuddeback is slightly overexposed but im picky so it wouldnt matter to most.

[Boomer]

Thanks for everyones advice. You have given me a few more things to think about before picking a trail cam. One more question. Consumers Service. Which companies are better to deal with, if I have problems?

[Rich]

Thanks CF,

I am looking at both the Cuddeback and Bushnell and seeing the 2 cameras side by side the Cuddeback IMO has the better pics.

Thanks Rich