I've been assigned the task of researching trailcams by my lovely wife's siblings. They'd like to get one for my father in-law and I apparently give the illusion of competency in this area. (Perhaps other areas as well, but that's beyond the scope of this posting.)

In addition to solving the mystery of what sort of critter keeps eating the cat food out of his shed (it's either a coon or a skunk), I suspect that he'd also use the camera as a measure of security at the deer cabin. The cabin is situated about 3+ hours from his front door, so I'm thinking that one of those nifty wireless units would be slick. There is ample cell coverage (both AT&T and Verizon) at the cabin.

My brother has had good luck by using the Spypoint link unit added to his existing trailcams. I'm looking for a stand-alone wireless unit though - but one that also records the images onto an SD card.

Here's my question - which brand(s) make the most sense as far as the wireless service is concerned? I'm less worried about trigger speed/image quality/battery life as it seems that most brands have gotten to a pretty acceptable level of performance for our needs. I just don't want to get him something that requires an expensive monthly contract.

Any insights you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Heck, this could raise the value of my stock within the family. Although I confess that the value of that stock has been artificially inflated for sometime and I'm just trying to stave off a "market correction".

As fas as I can see, they’re all about the same. At least all the ones I’ve looked at have been. You can get basic service for $5/month, up $15 for premium. The difference is how many pics you receive. There is also a way to use pre paid minute cards but I’m not sure the details on that yet.

Tactacam if you can find one

Can we use real time cams now here?

TTT

Reconex hyperfire is probably the best cellular trail cam on the market, expensive but have a 5 year warranty which is probably the best of any camera out there.

Doesn’t take much time researching reviews on cellular cameras to realize that most of them are junk.

A friend has one he uses for security inside of his cabin when he's away. He spends most winters in Ohio and spends spring, summer and fall here in Maine. His sends pics in real time as well as a once a day update to show the camera is working. It also sends pics to my phone as well. I live close by his cabin and if it indicates someone is inside who shouldn't be, it gives me a chance to get there before they know they're on camera. I'll definitely have one in my place once it is complete.

His is through US Cellular.

Good Idea

I have a spypoint link evo and a spypoint link micro.

The evo takes videos and the micro does not. Both work well. The batteries last a pretty long time, but can vary greatly depending on your settings. You can also add a solar unit for power.

The videos download to the card, but I have the camera take a picture before the video and the camera sends that picture. The videos don't have sound which is kind of a bummer.

The plans are $15 month/camera for the premium package.

Here are some pictures and video from them.







https://youtu.be/yJmnMaa5Ggs

Tactacam Reveal. But you'll probably have to wait till spring to be able to buy one as like mentioned above. $99 and they are sold out everywhere.

The Reveals WERE $99. The new one coming out is over $150 if I recall. The only real advantage to it was the price, that's gone now. There are several cheap cell cams on the market now, all seem to be similar. I bought my 12 year old one, a cheap Muddy (Stealth) I paid $85 for. I've had zero issues with it so far.

Thanks for the insights. Very helpful. That was a cool video!