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2010
February 6, 2010
Take a look at what's new in 2010.
Go to this website for the best trail camera information on the web:
Visit Chasingame.com for Unbiased Reviews
Well, time to start looking for the next great trail camera. Right now the Reconyx Camera is by far the best in the industry. But unless somebody sends one to me in the mail, I am not going to spend the $600. It's just too much of a risk in the areas I hunt. There are some new things coming out and I am anxious to read the reviews and add one or two to my inventory. The Moultrie I45 and I65 were a bust in 2009. The cameras never lived up to the hype. The word is Moultrie is already revamping the line-up.
I plan to "go small" in my inventory. I really like the Bushnell Trophy Cams but have ran into a situation where a bad batch at Cabela's required me to go through 5 different cameras before I found one on the fifth try that didn't have problems with the LCD screen.
I plan to really consider a camera that has audio with video. Some already exist.
My ideal camera will include:
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Use of AA batteries with battery life in the 6 month range
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Burst mode of 3 or more pictures
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Included security
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Choice of picture and video
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Decent infrared flash for IR cameras
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A white flash camera with dependable battery life and quality picture
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Price in the $200 range or less
I learned in 2009 that the large cameras spook the deer when they see them on the side of a tree especially when the cameras are in a security box. So if anybody wants to send me a camera to try in 2010, I'm sure I can find a tree that a nice Iowa whitetail walks by every now and then. See our photos page.
2009
Bushnell Trophy Cam
Wanted one of the new, small cameras that could run on AA batteries. Decided to purchase a Bushnell Trophy Cam due to its somewhat positive reviews. Have been putting it through the home testing regimen. So far so good except the switch is a little touchy when going from the On to Setup mode.
Pros
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Size |
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Price ($199) |
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2-year Bushnell warranty |
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Ease of setup |
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Wide sensing cone |
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Quality of daytime pictures (choices are 5 mp, 3 mp) |
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Smooth video |
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Trigger speed (about 1.5 seconds) |
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Battery life |
| Runs on 8 AA batteries (Bushnell claims lithium batteries will last a year) |
Cons
| Lack of security (additional $35 + shipping for a security box) |
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Week infrared flash but stronger than the Scoutgard 550 |
| Switches and controls are low-tech |
| No internal memory, requires SD card |
On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate the camera a 4 so far. The week IR flash is the only reason we would rate this camera below a 5.
Stealth Sniper Pro - I850
I wanted a night color game camera to add to my Moultrie IR collection. I decided to try a new Stealth Sniper Pro, 8 mp camera. I had always liked the picture quality of the Stealth cameras. My home 'getting acquainted' testing identified that the camera required standard SD cards. High speed cards would not work in the camera. With standard 2 gb SD cards the camera seems to function just fine. The incandescent flash is quite powerful and lights up the night pretty well. The Stealth security bracket is somewhat loose. The second week of field testing has shown that it can come loose and slide in front of the lens. The bracket will require some clamps or tie straps to keep it from sliding in front of the lens. I did purchase a 12V external battery and this camera performs pretty well with the 12V. I would not recommend the camera if you only plan to use the internals.
Pros
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Price ($150) |
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Ease of setup |
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Wide sensing cone |
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Strong incandescent flash |
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Quality of pictures (choices are 8 mp, 3 mp and 1.3 mp) |
Cons
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Slow trigger speed (about 4 seconds) |
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Looseness of the Stealth security bracket |
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Very poor battery life |
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Have exhibited some whiteout issues at primetime |
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Will not function with high speed SD cards |
On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate the camera a 4 with the use of the 12V battery. I would rate the camera as a 2 if you only plan to use internal batteries. It is a battery eater.
Trail Cameras
2009 looks to be like a banner year for trail cameras. Be patient, identify your budget and study the website below. Competition is looking good for all of us addicted to game cameras. Don't tell your spouse, pay cash and hide your cameras :).
Go to this website for the best trail camera information on the web:
Visit Chasingame.com for Unbiased Reviews
2009 looks to be a banner year for new cameras. Keep your eye on the following:
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Bushnell Trophy Cam - $200 at Cabela's
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Moultrie I45 and I65 - Black flash cameras (no red glow, truly invisible at night), $250 - $350 at Cabela's
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Spypoint FL Series - $130 - $450
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Recon Viper - $250 at Cabela's
The market seems to be settling in the $200 to $300 range for most of us. The top end cameras still are in the $550 to $650 range but for most of us that is just too much. Though pricey, those cameras are excellent. We personally are looking for a dependable incandescent flash camera (i.e. white flash) for nighttime $200 or below. We plan to keep our eye on the Spypoint FL-A ($130), Stealth Sniper Pro ($150 at Cabela's) and Moultrie M45 and M65 cams ($289 and $389 respectively). The Moultries look to be over this price range but dependability is important to us.
2008 and older cameras
Without a doubt the most important factor in choosing a camera is price. The approximate price range for commercial cameras ranges from $100 to $600 with some exceptions to this rule but you have many choices in this range. The higher the cost the more dependable the camera for the most part.
|
Price Range |
Popular Cameras |
Approximate Price |
Type |
Comment |
|
$100-$150 |
Moultrie D40 |
$100 |
Flash |
Poor quality pictures |
|
|
Stealth I590 |
$100 |
Flash |
5.5 second trigger, cheap parts, wide sensing cone, does not like cold weather |
|
$200-$250 |
Moultrie I40 |
$200 |
IR |
Cheap strap, strap slots break easily, dependable |
|
|
Cabela's I50 |
$230 |
IR |
Cabela's exclusive version of the I40, 5 mp |
|
|
ScoutGuard SG550 |
$200 |
IR |
Small, 1.5 second trigger, very dependable, new |
|
Capture |
$200 | Flash | 1.3 Second trigger, no video, those that have a good one need to keep them | |
|
> $500 |
Reconyx RC60 |
$600 |
IR |
Fast trigger, dependable |
|
|
Buckeye Cam Apollo |
$600 |
IR |
Nice camo, excellent reputation, fast trigger |
|
|
|
|
|
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It should be noted that these prices don't include security such as a box, python cable, padlocks, etc. We have had a camera stolen. It is very disheartening. Security can range between $20 and $60.
Type
For commercial trail cameras the basic choices are color by day and infrared (IR) at night or color by day and color at night. The infrared night pictures are black and white while the color at night cameras require an incandescent flash. The advantage to the IR cameras is that they use much less battery for the IR flash as compared to the incandescent flash cameras.
Moultrie I40
This was a very popular camera in 2007 due to its dependability and price. It boasted of a 1.5 second trigger. A problem with this camera were "whiteouts" at dawn and dusk. A firmware upgrade fixed this issue for the most part. 2008 was a different story, websites dedicated to trail camera reviews (www.chasingame.com) discovered the triggers dropped to 3+ seconds. The camera can be purchased for $200 at Cabela's. Security for this camera generally costs in the $40 to $50 range for a box. Battery life is outstanding. You can go an easy 4 months or more on 6 D-cell batteries. The brass thumb screw receivers easily separate from the molded plastic (i.e. the come loose, don't over tighten). The best fix we have found is super glue to reset the brass receivers or to send the camera back to Moultrie. For the price, this camera is hard to beat if you like nighttime IR photos. It is difficult to reach the SD card for removal and exchange for a new one.
Sent an I40 back to Moultrie on December 30, 2008. We will get first hand experience with customer service and be able to report it here.
Received a replacement camera on January 14. Customer service performed very well.
Cabela's I50 by Moultrie (5 mp version of the Moultrie I40).
We've totally committed to the I40 and I50 for now. they seem to be the only cameras in the $200 price range we can count on.
This camera is made by Moultrie for Cabela's. We really like this camera not so much for its 5 mp rating but because it just continues to take pictures. The trigger time is around 1.5 seconds by our estimation. We prefer still photos. We typically set the camera on High or Enhanced quality and 3-shot mode. The 13 second spacing between shots on this and the I40 is poor in our opinion. The camera operates pretty well in cold weather but the display screen is slow. This is understandable when the temperatures get below 30 degrees F. Like the I40 the SD card excess is a pain in the behind for fat fingered people like me.
Cabela's 5.0 Outfitter (5 mp version of the Moultrie D40)
Poor quality photos is the main fault of this camera. A 2 second sleep mode on this camera prior to the first 1 second trigger also could be better in our opinion. We understand the reasoning (to save battery) on a nighttime incandescent flash camera but it is still undesirable. The camera is built well in our opinion for a list price of $150. We wish this camera had Stealth I590 quality photos and it would be a top notch camera in our opinion. The SD card access is excellent and the controls appear to be solid. The camera is only rated down to 32 degrees F. This needs to be lower for Iowa.
One of our site visitors had this to say about his D40:
"I have had good luck with my D40 except for a few issues:"
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Sleep timer causes “false positive” pictures on windy days |
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In rare instances, the flash won’t fire and you end up with “black outs” |
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Sunrise/Sunset
“white outs” |
The flash failed on this camera. It was returned under warranty to Cabela's. No replacement. This ends the Cabela's 5.0 Outfitter feedback.
Stealth I590
The quality of the pictures from this camera are awesome! I love it. HOWEVER, the controls on this cam are really cheap. When sliding the switch from Off to Test to On it is extremely SSSLLLOOOWWW to respond. It also eats batteries like no tomorrow. But when it works, it is sweet. The trigger time is awful at 5 seconds plus but the wide sensing cone of the PIR sensor does a good job of sensing the quarry before they get to the posing spot. With all the bad points of this camera it is still one many people should look at. For $100 it makes for a good warm weather camera. It says it is rated down to 14 degrees F but not sure if I believe the manual.
Well, returned this camera just before the warranty period was up. The darn thing failed to initialize on two different field deployments. It worked great in the house on cat-cam. The picture quality is excellent but I couldn't depend on it. I am done with Stealth for a while.
This ends the Stealth I590 feedback.
Favorite Web Sites
For Trail Camera Addicts
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Site Updated: 03/06/2010