What trail Camera to buy?

crazy_davey

crazy_davey

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I have no experience with trail cams so I am seeking some advice. I have a few spots where I would like to stick one year round to see whats walking by. I have heard some of the cheaper ones are too slow etc. but cant confirm. Opinions on price and ease of use would be helpful as well.

Thanks!

P.S. I would like to buy one or two in the next few days so not much time for research.
 
I use Cuddeback and Moultrie with no problems, with the Cuddeback seeming to have a bit faster trigger time and better battery life.

I didn't like the Stealth Cam, it was an infrared one and prohibitively expensive. When I phoned them and asked why it wasn't working, they said it hasn't been tested for use below 40'F!!!! Not so good for Canada, though Jim Shockey endorses them. :rolleyes:

I've also had the best life using Energizer Lithium batteries, especially in sub-zero temps. The infrared cameras don't use as much battery, but IMO the flash type take better pictures.

Cabelas Canada has the Moultrie Outfitter on sale for $130, it's a good camera. Moultrie also uses SD cards, my Cuddebacks use Compact Flash, which are getting hard to find. The new ones may be different, not sure.
 
bearkilr said:
I use Cuddeback and Moultrie with no problems, with the Cuddeback seeming to have a bit faster trigger time and better battery life.

I didn't like the Stealth Cam, it was an infrared one and prohibitively expensive. When I phoned them and asked why it wasn't working, they said it hasn't been tested for use below 40'F!!!! Not so good for Canada, though Jim Shockey endorses them. :rolleyes:

I've also had the best life using Energizer Lithium batteries, especially in sub-zero temps. The infrared cameras don't use as much battery, but IMO the flash type take better pitures.
Click to expand...



X2:cool:
 
bearkilr said:
I use Cuddeback and Moultrie with no problems, with the Cuddeback seeming to have a bit faster trigger time and better battery life.

I didn't like the Stealth Cam, it was an infrared one and prohibitively expensive. When I phoned them and asked why it wasn't working, they said it hasn't been tested for use below 40'F!!!! Not so good for Canada, though Jim Shockey endorses them. :rolleyes:

I've also had the best life using Energizer Lithium batteries, especially in sub-zero temps. The infrared cameras don't use as much battery, but IMO the flash type take better pictures.

Cabelas Canada has the Moultrie Outfitter on sale for $130, it's a good camera. Moultrie also uses SD cards, my Cuddebacks use Compact Flash, which are getting hard to find. The new ones may be different, not sure.
Click to expand...

I agree with your statement about the stealth cams. I bought a $420(after taxes) stealth cam with the viewing screen built into it. The camera dies in a few hours at -20 and the trigger speed sucked. I used it in +20 weather also and the trigger speed still sucked. I missed so many deer and coyotes because of this camera. Lots of tracks within 10-15 feet of the camera, but only blank pictures. It seemed to take the pics like 10 seconds after the motion sensor was activated. What a piece of crap.
 
Bushnell Trophy Cam, or a Scoutguard or Spypoint. The Bushnell and Scoutguard use the same camera. Check out the trigger speed on my Spypoint FL-A. great for a $159 camera.

If you want to use them in cold weather you need to use an external 12 volt battery or get a trailcam that used AA batteries. You can then use lithium batteries that work down to -40. Normal alkaline batteries die in the cold weather.

4046889592_8822f86f84_o.jpg
 
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I used a cheap Moultrie D-40 . They are going cheap because they have flash and not infrared. I had it in the field for 3 months and it worked great until a bear took it down and damaged the sensor. Battery life was good, didnt' seem like the flash had any effect on the bears .

Its well worth to have the camera in a solid enclosure if there are bears around.
 
kseniuk said:
Bushnell Trophy Cam, or a Scoutguard or Spypoint. The Bushnell and Scoutguard use the same camera. Check out the trigger speed on my Spypoint FL-A. great for a $159 camera.

If you want to use them in cold weather you need to use an external 12 volt battery or get a trailcam that used AA batteries. You can then use lithium batteries that work down to -40. Normal alkaline batteries die after
Click to expand...

Does the Spypoint use AA batteries?
 
I really like my Moultrie I50...but I'm waiting to see the reviews of the new Uway NT50 ($300)...it's an updated version of the Scoutguard, and they sound GREAT. :)
 
After looking around a bit I think I would like to try the Spypoint FL-A(with the IR) to start off with. The price is cheap enough and they seem to take OK pics.

Does anyone have anything negative to say about these? Who has the best price on them if you know?

Thanks!
 
re: bushnell

My only trail camera experience has been with Bushnell, and I have not been impressed. They take nice clear pictures most of the time, but the sensor takes FOREVER to trigger the camera. Not only that, but the shutter speed is very slow, so any movement becomes a blur.

The more expensive Bushnell was purchased last summer, and used all summer & fall, taken down around Christmas time. It's been up all summer again, and I constantly get pictures of nothing, whether they're false triggers or simply the camera being too slow, I don't know.

The new one is one of the "super-cheap" $99.99 models. It takes good pictures, but again takes forever to trigger, so unless the animal STOPS in front of the camera, it might as well not be there. I've been using a salt block & apples to get the deer to stop, but who knows what I'm not getting pictures of.

My buddy has 3 Moultries out, and gets lots of pictures, next summer I think I'm actually going to spend some money and get a couple of Cuddebacks. I hate to buy something that's advertised as much as they are, but I hear good things about them.

So in a nut-shell, a big thumbs DOWN for Bushnell trail-cams.

Cheers.

Tim H
 
Just to add, Cuddeback makes a bearproof steel housing for their cameras, about $40-$50. There's a newer Cuddeback out now that sells for about $210, flash type.
The infrared is really only an advantage if you're worried about theft, ie. someone seeing the flash and finding the camera. The flash ones seem to take better pictures. I have not found any evidence that they spook game.

Top one Cuddeback(not sharp, just to show trigger speed)
Bottom one Moultrie in IR
Cuddeback010.jpg

Homestead065.jpg
 
Thanks for all of the info so far guys! I am going to do a bit more reading etc, tonight and see what I come up with.

Any other info you would like to ad would be great :cool:

Thanks again!
 
I have heard nothing but negative stuff about the Bushnells. Moultries are good, but some have a whiteout problem. Mine is a I40. Sometimes the camera cannot decide it is daytime, and the camera stays in night time mode, therefore many pics are in Black and white. The color pics it does take are of very good quality.

If you want your batteries to last a long time, purchase a camera with IR, not a flash. My I40 has 1000 pics on the same batteries, and the battery power is still 74%

Check out http://www.chasingame.com/ They do very good tests and reviews on many of the most popular cameras. They do not sell cameras, so the reviews are not biased.

They also give tips on how to use and mount your camera, and there is even a camera forum.
 
heavyBullet said:
I have heard nothing but negative stuff about the Bushnells. Moultries are good, but some have a whiteout problem. Mine is a I40. Sometimes the camera cannot decide it is daytime, and the camera stays in night time mode, therefore many pics are in Black and white. The color pics it does take are of very good quality.

If you want your batteries to last a long time, purchase a camera with IR, not a flash. My I40 has 1000 pics on the same batteries, and the battery power is still 74%

Check out http://www.chasingame.com/ They do very good tests and reviews on many of the most popular cameras. They do not sell cameras, so the reviews are not biased.

They also give tips on how to use and mount your camera, and there is even a camera forum.
Click to expand...

Very helpful link HB, thanks again!
 
Well, the guy at the local archery shop sold me on the Bushnell Trophy cam :eek:. I never actually thought that I would buy another Bushnell product but he assured me for what I was looking for I would be happy.

I have played with it a bit so far and everything works good. Very easy to set up and use. If it works good(over a period of time) and I decide to buy another I will go with the same one but with the built in view screen.

I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again guys!
 
I've got 2 Bushnells and they take D cell batts. They go through them pretty quickly. If you know someone that is into electronics, it is possible to rig them up with bigger batteries.
My brother is an electronics whiz and he explained how it can be done; trouble is, he lives in Ontario and I'm not smart enough to figure out the simple stuff he told me...

I think some cameras have auxiliary batteries as available options.

As far as brands go, I think I'd look at Cuddeback or Moultrie; Bushnell? Meh...

A handy thing to do is to position the camera over a food source/bait, since that holds the animal a bit, it makes it easier to get good pics.
 
Demonical said:
I've got 2 Bushnells and they take D cell batts. They go through them pretty quickly. If you know someone that is into electronics, it is possible to rig them up with bigger batteries.
My brother is an electronics whiz and he explained how it can be done; trouble is, he lives in Ontario and I'm not smart enough to figure out the simple stuff he told me...

I think some cameras have auxiliary batteries as available options.

As far as brands go, I think I'd look at Cuddeback or Moultrie; Bushnell? Meh...

A handy thing to do is to position the camera over a food source/bait, since that holds the animal a bit, it makes it easier to get good pics.
Click to expand...

This one take AA's and can be attached to an external battery source or a solar panel. I thought about buying the solar panel but will wait and see if it interests me enough to keep spending on it.

Never really had any interest in these before but I am starting to see that they can be kinda fun. Just another hobby I will have no time for :(
 
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