gws
Member
Posts: 969
Location: NW New Mexico
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Post by gws on Sept 9, 2014 20:53:14 GMT -5
I want a really good trail camera. What features, brands, and price range should I be looking at? I would add a poll to this thread but I honestly don't have a clue what's important. Somebody here has expertise on the subject I'm sure.....it isn't me.
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jbnut
Member
Posts: 169 
Location: Warren, Pennsylvania
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Post by jbnut on Sept 9, 2014 22:14:53 GMT -5
First off, I'm no expert. I've come to like the Spy Point & Covert Brands in the $150 - $200 range. Black flash models are great if you do not want others to see your camera after dark but the down side is night time pics will be B&W. One of the things I like about Spy Point is that they make a rechargeable battery pack for most of their cameras and that will save you a lot of cash on batteries.
From what I've experienced you can expect to get 2 good years out of a camera but in the 3rd year the picture quality seems to go down hill.
I've also had Primos and Cuddie Back cameras in the past. To be fair the Cuddie back I had was an earlier camera that used D-cell batteries and a compact flash memory card and it did work well for 2 seasons. the 3rd season it was going down hill then it grew legs and walked away.
Some of the higher priced cameras will be able to send pics to your cell phone so you don't need to continuously go out to check them. That also would be good if someone was stealing it you could have their picture on your phone for evidence.
If you want a really expensive camera try Reconyx. On midway their $450-$1200, I wouldn't want to lose one of those.
Happy shopping.  |
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dangun
Member
I love the smell of burnt gun powder.
Posts: 517
Location: SW Florida
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Post by dangun on Sept 10, 2014 7:07:29 GMT -5
I have 10 or so game cameras. I usually just buy what is on sale. All under $100. The only 2 features that I really care about is the quality of the picture and how quiet it is when taking a picture. I walk several trails in the area and it is funny how many of these cameras I find because I heard them take a picture. Not very stealthy!
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7mmmountaineer
Member
Time to face it I am a workaholic............
Posts: 521
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Post by 7mmmountaineer on Sept 10, 2014 10:13:19 GMT -5
I use Cuddeback and Wild Game Innovation. I look for an infrared for night time and shutter speed. I also like to be able to leave cameras alone for longer periods of time so battery life plays into it. Quality pics are more important then all of the other stuff as far as I am concerned. The Cuddeback I have settled on is the Cuddeback Attack black flash infrared 5.0 megapixel works great day or night. The Wild Game Innovations Buck Commander Nano 8 infrared takes 8 megapixel pics and despite being cheaper takes better pics the draw back slower shutter speed. Price wise I am looking between 140-215 each and despite the name on it the Wild Game Innovations camers have won me over I have 8 of those to just 3 of the Cuddeback's.
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gws
Member
Posts: 969
Location: NW New Mexico
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Post by gws on Sept 10, 2014 10:29:58 GMT -5
Do the cameras you all are using just take stills, or do they do video? I'm hearing talk of shutter noise. That's referring to still clicks, right? I'm wanting something that turns on with a motion sensor (all do that I'm sure) but that takes a short video, with the ability to take stills off the video. That make sense? Reasonable? I really don't know much here.
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7mmmountaineer
Member
Time to face it I am a workaholic............
Posts: 521
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Post by 7mmmountaineer on Sept 10, 2014 12:12:50 GMT -5
Not all camera have the live action feature. Those cameras are a different bird battery life depending on the length of the video is lacking for me which means more disturbance and more trips into were I hunt off the beaten path. Shutter noise is not and has not been an issue with the cameras I use the old models had a noisier shutter and were more likely to spook game. Do your home work on this Reconyx, Moultrie, Primos, Bushnell, and a few other companies offer cameras with the features you want but they will be pricey that's why I use the cameras I use if they get found and vanish I am not out of to much $$$$$$. Something else to consider is having you cameras mounted in a tamper proof locking box it wont prevent them from being taken but will make the thief think twice. It also keeps bears and other critters from damaging them. I have had more cameras damaged than I have stolen.
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7mmmountaineer
Member
Time to face it I am a workaholic............
Posts: 521
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Post by 7mmmountaineer on Sept 10, 2014 12:37:18 GMT -5
You jst got me to thinking so I pulled my owners manuals and both of the cameras I use will shoot video. the Cuddeback shoot 5/15/30 second vids and the Wild Game Innovations shoots up to a 60 second video. HMMMMM might have to try this feature in a newish area I hunt but not very often.
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jbnut
Member
Posts: 169
Location: Warren, Pennsylvania
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Post by jbnut on Sept 10, 2014 13:16:04 GMT -5
Now that you mentioned shutter noise my old Primos Truth cam 60 I could always hear when it took a picture.
My SpyPoint and Covert cameras will take videos or pics but not both at the same time. My old Cuddieback when you would set it to take videos it would also take 1 still pic along with it. I'm not sure if the new Cuddieback cameras still have this feature or not.
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7mmmountaineer
Member
Time to face it I am a workaholic............
Posts: 521
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Post by 7mmmountaineer on Sept 10, 2014 14:02:32 GMT -5
JB my Cuddeback Attack which isn't the newest Cuddeback will take both if you program it I just tired it out on my puppy lol. It took a pic went into video mode for the programmed 15 second and then took another pic. The Wild Game Innovations camera I have did a single opening pic and a 30 second video then shut down. Videos eat up a lot on memory on an SD card though so if I use them this way all vids will be 15 seconds. The draw back to videos is the camera if left unattended for long periods of time will tape over older videos in a loop.
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gws
Member
Posts: 969
Location: NW New Mexico
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Post by gws on Sept 10, 2014 14:53:46 GMT -5
Thanks for all the replies and info. Come to think of it, if the videos are stored on SD drives, then I can open the vids on my laptop to my "VideoPad" video editor software and MAKE stills from any frame in the video.....sort of a cake and eat it too scenario. Interesting stuff........why didn't they have this technology when I was young and still enjoyed walking all over the woods! In some of my internet surfing on the subject, I've come across many who think they're going to find Bigfoot any time now.  Hadn't even thought of looking for "monsters." Shux me and my friends went looking for goblins at night in the woods when I was 8. Scared ourselves to death, but it was fun! Just glad we didn't find a bear or a mountain lion! Maybe kids really do have guardian angels! I guess the ability to see infrared would be cool though, if you could see anything more than fuzzy white ghostly objects with little definition. Nah, I can't see such being worth a lot......never been wowed by fuzzy pictures that could be anything. |
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dangun
Member
I love the smell of burnt gun powder.
Posts: 517
Location: SW Florida
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Post by dangun on Sept 10, 2014 16:15:30 GMT -5
You guys may think your cameras are quiet but other than smell the main reason bears and other critters are attracted to the cameras is because they hear them. My cameras are all Wild Game Innovations and several different models. Even if you can't hear it the critters can. Yes sometimes that click or high pitch beep scares them but usually only for a short time. They most often come back and play hell with the camera if unprotected.
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7mmmountaineer
Member
Time to face it I am a workaholic............
Posts: 521
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Post by 7mmmountaineer on Sept 10, 2014 18:20:17 GMT -5
You guys may think your cameras are quiet but other than smell the main reason bears and other critters are attracted to the cameras is because they hear them. My cameras are all Wild Game Innovations and several different models. Even if you can't hear it the critters can. Yes sometimes that click or high pitch beep scares them but usually only for a short time. They most often come back and play hell with the camera if unprotected. Yup Dan they do lol that's how I learned about the locking boxes. I know animals hear far far far better than humans and certainly me. So yup you are correct they might spook at first them they get to thinking what the hell was that and can I eat it lol. |
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