I'm looking at getting a trail camera and I am looking for advice, answers and suggestions
What do you use or recommend?
Picture - video or still - what settings are best to look for?
How is the cold weather battery usage/life?
What features do you consider the most important?
Brands to stay away from.
Thanks
Czy Horse
Trail Cam Recomendations
Moderator: Excalibur Marketing Dude
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warningshot
- Posts: 763
- Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:55 pm
- Location: North bay, ontario
i have gone thru 3 stealths and one bushnell trophy...and the winner is bushnell hands down...only ever owned these 2 so can't say anything good or bad about others ...also scoutguard is almost the same as the bushnell...important things to me are a reliable unit , great battery life and fast trigger speed and quality pics...i'm not looking for a pic i can hang on the wall but want to be able to identify deer etc
http://www.trailcampro.com/2009trailcamerashootout.aspx
Gives you all the pros and cons....Big thing with us is the cold...my trail cameras seem to work ok when deep down in the cedars out of the wind...not worth a crap when out in the cold unless you look into the external solar panel with a larger 6V or 12V battery on the ground
my 2 cents
Gives you all the pros and cons....Big thing with us is the cold...my trail cameras seem to work ok when deep down in the cedars out of the wind...not worth a crap when out in the cold unless you look into the external solar panel with a larger 6V or 12V battery on the ground
my 2 cents
Summit Viper SS
Exocet 200
Gold Tip Laser II
4" vanes
100gr G5 Montecs
Exocet 200
Gold Tip Laser II
4" vanes
100gr G5 Montecs
I got a Cudde back for my birthday on Oct. 17 2005. It has taken thousands of pics over the years. I have got pics of deer,bear,turkey,coons,fox,chipmunks,mice,bats,owls and a bunch more that i cant think of rigt now. This camera has NOT spent one minute indoors since I got it! The battery life is great, but last longer in the warmer mounths. It still takes great pics(3 megapixels) and works fine for being outdoors and (armed) for over 4 years. This is the only cam that I have or used so i cant tell you about the other brands. But, if I were to get another one it would be a cuddeback also. Maybe the one that takes infered pics at night. Hope this helps and good luck with what ever you choose 
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longwinters
- Posts: 525
- Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:06 pm
- Location: CENTRAL U.P MICHIGAN
I bought a Moeltre this year. I like it a lot but the SD card is in a small area (at least for my fingers) so it can be annoying to get out. It is the kind that does not flash which is very good. Has a 50ft range which is good. I don't remember the model but it was a little over 200.00. Batteries have been in it for over 2 months and no problems yet.
My son works for a sporting goods store and told me not to buy the Bushnells. Said the return rate was rediculous. Problems with some filter thing so at night all you get for pics is a black screen. That surprised me because I have always liked their optics.
Cuddybacks are real nice but every pic I see from one has their name in bright letters on the bottom of the pic. To me that is really annoying.
Long
My son works for a sporting goods store and told me not to buy the Bushnells. Said the return rate was rediculous. Problems with some filter thing so at night all you get for pics is a black screen. That surprised me because I have always liked their optics.
Cuddybacks are real nice but every pic I see from one has their name in bright letters on the bottom of the pic. To me that is really annoying.
Long
I got the Bushnell trophy cam this fall and am very well satisfied with it.
I get a few pics with no critter present, but far fewer than with the older cams I have used.
I like the long battery life and the fact that it uses 8 AA batteries, but actually will work with 4 AA batteries. I use rechargables, so I replace 4 of the 8 every couple of weeks. That way I always have a "fresh" set of 4 in the cam.
One big mistake I made when ordering was to order just the cam alone. I got it with free shipping, but when I decided I'd better buy the insurance of the steel security case to lock it up in, I had to pay shipping. If you order the camera order the case at the same time and save $$$$.
If I were going to use it in very cold temps I would probably go with lithium batteries. They claim close to a year's life out of a set, so they aren't a bad deal for the price.
BTW - I bought it from company in the link ger34 provided ( trailcampro ) and had no problems with the transaction.
I get a few pics with no critter present, but far fewer than with the older cams I have used.
I like the long battery life and the fact that it uses 8 AA batteries, but actually will work with 4 AA batteries. I use rechargables, so I replace 4 of the 8 every couple of weeks. That way I always have a "fresh" set of 4 in the cam.
One big mistake I made when ordering was to order just the cam alone. I got it with free shipping, but when I decided I'd better buy the insurance of the steel security case to lock it up in, I had to pay shipping. If you order the camera order the case at the same time and save $$$$.
If I were going to use it in very cold temps I would probably go with lithium batteries. They claim close to a year's life out of a set, so they aren't a bad deal for the price.
BTW - I bought it from company in the link ger34 provided ( trailcampro ) and had no problems with the transaction.
wabi
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curmudgeon
A pretty good cheap one that does the johttp://www.wildviewcam.com/b for me is the Wildview.
I have 2 Cuddeback cams; one is regular flash that I've had for several year and the other is IR which I've had for 2 years.longwinters wrote:Cuddybacks are real nice but every pic I see from one has their name in bright letters on the bottom of the pic. To me that is really annoying.
Long
My pictures do not have my name stamped on them. That is an option that you can set.
As for battery life in the cold I do not know because mine get pulled on November 15 or 16 and then I do not use them again until the following summer.
The older Cuddeback has been trouble free but even though others with the same cam have excellent battery time, for some reason mine does not. They will last a couple weeks or maybe 3 weeks.
The IR battery life is extremely good. A couple months on 4 C batteries. I did have problems with the IR camera and sent it in to be fixed. I think they put some old components in it and sent it back. The night pictures just are not that good since doing this. Daytime pictures are good. Video is great.
Cuddeback is offering to trade my IR cam for the newer Capture model for $100 and I may do it.
I used to be a believer that the flash did not bother the deer until it was pointed out to me by a man who hunts mature bucks in 3 states that mature bucks won't come back to a flash camera. So I went back over all my pictures and found that the mature bucks did indeed give me only one picture if it was after dark.
That is when I purchased the IR camera....and he was right. Indeed, with the IR camera I can get many pictures of the same bigger bucks but with the flash it is usually one time only.
A few years ago I had the flash cam set up on a food plot. The night before opening day I got a picture of a nice buck. I moved the camera that night. The next morning that buck was coming towards me and would have been into my shooting lane with just a few more steps. However, he suddenly stopped and turned his head towards the camera. He was out of there like a shot!!! I wondered; now I know. btw, my neighbor shot that buck that very same evening....
Keep smiling!
Dennis
Dennis
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crazyfarmer
- Posts: 5250
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 10:21 pm
- Location: Virginia
- Contact:
ive seen bucks spook just as well with the IR red glow though. I have buck after buck reapting themselves on the flash. Perhaps even more than the IR LOL. I know its weird, but every IR pic I have they are looking at the camera.
Ive become a trail cam freak. Bewteen me and my bother in law we bought 10 total for this year to use. After alot of reviews I went with the Cudeeback capture. I tried a IR capture but hated it since its not every good at all taking IR photos. I started out with one capture and loved it. Then I started picking up one after another. None have had issues and batteries lasted 4 months on average during the summer. All images were crisp and clear. Im not worried about fancy video modes or whats at the bottom of the picture either. I want a GOOD picture of a deer. Thats all I want and need. I want something that I know will not miss a deer also. I have deer running in my stride by these cameras. I give them a 9 out of 10 since nothing is perfect. Price is 199.99 for these so they are budget friendly. I plan to pick up 5-6 more for next year also lol.
I did buy a bushenll trophy camera which is 199.99 also. Its a very nice camera. Its compact, has IR, and has a great trigger. Almost to good of a sensor since you will get blanks before the deer is in front of the camera(set on 3shot burst to make sure you dont miss one). I may get another, but I just love the cuddeback captures.
again, im picky so if I have 10 cameras of one kind then they must work well;)
btw, its nothing like knowing the deer in your area. These cameras tell me whats there so I know what areas to hunt. You cant kill a mature deer if none are in the area
Ive become a trail cam freak. Bewteen me and my bother in law we bought 10 total for this year to use. After alot of reviews I went with the Cudeeback capture. I tried a IR capture but hated it since its not every good at all taking IR photos. I started out with one capture and loved it. Then I started picking up one after another. None have had issues and batteries lasted 4 months on average during the summer. All images were crisp and clear. Im not worried about fancy video modes or whats at the bottom of the picture either. I want a GOOD picture of a deer. Thats all I want and need. I want something that I know will not miss a deer also. I have deer running in my stride by these cameras. I give them a 9 out of 10 since nothing is perfect. Price is 199.99 for these so they are budget friendly. I plan to pick up 5-6 more for next year also lol.
I did buy a bushenll trophy camera which is 199.99 also. Its a very nice camera. Its compact, has IR, and has a great trigger. Almost to good of a sensor since you will get blanks before the deer is in front of the camera(set on 3shot burst to make sure you dont miss one). I may get another, but I just love the cuddeback captures.
again, im picky so if I have 10 cameras of one kind then they must work well;)
btw, its nothing like knowing the deer in your area. These cameras tell me whats there so I know what areas to hunt. You cant kill a mature deer if none are in the area
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bill morrison
- Posts: 83
- Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:46 am
- Location: dry prong, la
i got the camtrakker mk8 this year and have been well pleased with it. it operates on one battery that is recharchable. it also has a viewing port included so that you can view the pics in the field. does seem a little slow on trigger speed so feeding areas or scrapes would probably be more reliable than trails. it can be set up as infrared or standard color,and also has adjustable flash intensity for different distance sets.