Any of you hunters or nature lovers using a trail/game camera? If so, I would love to hear recommendations for a good one and how you’ve used it. Most of the on-line reviews have been mixed. My outdoor equipment purchases are usually from Cabela’s because of the strong customer service and return policy, but I’ll consider other sources. I don’t hunt anymore, but I think there is a fair amount of activity on some property I bought (variety of tracks and scat) and I’d like to know what’s going on there.
Reconyx. A little on the expensive side, but amazing quality. Great battery life. I used one last fall for 10 days, got 10,880 photos, batteries were still over 3/4 full. I will try to find some of the images I got.
Plotwatcher basically records non-stop, but I believe only during daylight hours. Their software will skip through hours of footage looking for actual movement, so you don’t have to watch it all. Haven’t used one myself, but coworkers love them.
U-Way makes one that you put a cell phone sim card into, and it automatically text messages you any images it takes so you don’t have to walk in and disturb wildlife / leave scent behind. I have not used or heard personal accounts, but have read reviews on them and they seem pretty good. It will likely be my next purchase.
Admit it. You read this article and want to cash in on it.
It has been a few years since I used game cameras, so I can’t make any current recommendations. I do know it is important to use the suggested battery types otherwise they go dead in a short period of time.
If you go to the Bass Pro Shops website, you can see the different cameras and read the reviews. I’ve found those to be helpful before.
Thanks for the good info, skinny! I don’t mind paying for quality and that battery life is a bonus. I’ll check into Reconyx for sure.
One of the womens has an amazing one in her back year. Catches bear, deer, bobcat, etc. I’ll ping her on Facebook and ask her to post info here.
Admit it. You read this article and want to cash in on it.
http://gma.yahoo.com/…-news-tech.html?vp=1
Thanks for the tips, Rick! Yes, I haven’t looked at Bass Pro Shops yet, so that’s now on the list. As for the Yahoo article, I used to play softball with a guy from Kentucky. He told me the state has a history of strange prehistoric man-like primates, and that was 30 years ago. He said they were Cave-billies. Still cracks me up.
*I used to play softball with a guy from Kentucky. He told me the state has a history of strange prehistoric man-like primates, and that was 30 years ago. He said they were Cave-billies. Still cracks me up. *
Cave-billies. hahaha
I don’t know that they are prehistoric primates - probably just backwoods boys from Tennessee. I can see how they could be mistaken for them though. 
Cool. Thanks!
I have a Moultrie sitting here and it’s pooched… Think it has two seasons on it. Put it away and now the LCD screen isn’t working. Kinda frustrating. Made a few back in the day when homebrew’s were cheaper. Kind of a neat hobby.
I have a Moultrie sitting here and it’s pooched… Think it has two seasons on it. Put it away and now the LCD screen isn’t working. Kinda frustrating. Made a few back in the day when homebrew’s were cheaper. Kind of a neat hobby.
Thanks for the input. I’ve seen mixed reviews about Moultrie. Some like them, some don’t. Sounds like you might be in the latter camp.
Not sure what you mean by “Made a few back in the day when homebrew’s were cheaper.”
JenSW asked me to weigh in – I think this may be my first LR post…
I live in the “urban interface,” and my property backs on National Forest land, so I get a lot of animal visitors. I decided to hang a trail camera to see what I was missing at night. My goals were small – did not need to be fancy, expensive, or high-tech, but I wanted infrared for night views. I initially bought a Wildview, which I saw in a National Geographic catalog (http://www.amazon.com/…;keywords=wildview+8). The pix are quite good, especially during the day. However, it uses a lot of battery power, so I bought a 12-volt battery, and after about 8 months the jack from the camera to the battery failed. The company is replacing it under warranty, but I have a bear family right now and didn’t want to miss them growing up, so I bought a second cheap one that could use the same 12v battery (same company: http://www.amazon.com/...words=stealth+camera). It’s also good – better options, not quite as clear photos.
The park service biologists here recommend that for my next camera I get the Cuddeback with a white flash for better resolution on night pix, but they say the Attack is a pain in the ass to use. It’s twice the cost, so I’m in no hurry for my purposes at this point.
I use an Eye-Fi card in mine, but the photos don’t usually transfer from the field automatically, because the camera basically shuts off after it takes a picture and only turns back on when the motion sensor is tripped. Then it’s not usually on long enough for the photos to upload via WiFi. But, I’m working on a fix for that. As it is, I check it every morning to see who’s visited.
Pics/video are higher resolution than they appear here – Facebook lowers the resolution when I post. But, (if I’ve linked properly) you’ll get the idea:
https://www.facebook.com/...776&l=871285bdfc – day
https://www.facebook.com/...697&l=adb73a523d – night
https://www.facebook.com/…=8761055067576096962 – video w/o sound (the other camera has sound, too)
Thanks for sharing your photos. Do you mind telling us what part of the county you are in?
I live in LA county, south slope of the San Gabriel mountains. Straight up and over, I end up in Xantusia.
JenSW asked me to weigh in – I think this may be my first LR post…
The park service biologists here recommend that for my next camera I get the Cuddeback with a white flash for better resolution on night pix, but they say the Attack is a pain in the ass to use. It’s twice the cost, so I’m in no hurry for my purposes at this point.
Thanks for sharing the photos and video, Gee. I’m sure everyone who sees your post will feel the same way. I’ve seen Cuddeback on-line. Is white flash invisible to the animal, or is it like a typical camera flash and might scare them? Also, did the biologists recommend Cuddeback in general, or the Attack specifically? Either way, your night photo with the Wildview is more than good enough for animal identification.
I have a Moultrie sitting here and it’s pooched… Think it has two seasons on it. Put it away and now the LCD screen isn’t working. Kinda frustrating. Made a few back in the day when homebrew’s were cheaper. Kind of a neat hobby.
Thanks for the input. I’ve seen mixed reviews about Moultrie. Some like them, some don’t. Sounds like you might be in the latter camp.
Not sure what you mean by** “Made a few back in the day when homebrew’s were cheaper.**”
About 10 or 15 years ago or so the only way to get a trail cam was to build them on your own, I built around 10 or so mostly film camera’s using the Canon Sureshot OWL’s and an infrared outdoor security light sensor from Wal-mart (model was a CMS10) Some electronic’s guru figured out how to make the CMS10 run on a 9v battery for 6 mos or so. with a just a few gadget changes. IIRC the Cuddleback is actually a child of that homebrew crowd. (possibly Hags House??). Any way as time went on and some larger companies got involved the result was the price of the camera’s falling below what they could be built for at home.
I’ve seen Cuddeback on-line. Is white flash invisible to the animal, or is it like a typical camera flash and might scare them? Also, did the biologists recommend Cuddeback in general, or the Attack specifically? Either way, your night photo with the Wildview is more than good enough for animal identification.
They specifically recommended against the Attack – “You could also purchase a white flash camera (Cuddeback makes them and perhaps are the only ones, but I do NOT recommend the Attack model- its a real pain). With the white flash, photos you get at night won’t be blurry and so you could see in more detail the animals. The pics can be pretty spectacular and wildlife in our area don’t seem to be too bothered by the white flash.”
Someday, maybe. For now, I’m good with two cheaper ones.
I’m not entirely convinced that the animals are blind to the infrared flashes either, cam visits were always good in the first few weeks and then would peter out. Not sure if it was because they don’t like being flashed or the forage had changed sufficiently that their feeding patterns and trail movements were altered naturally.