I have been kicking around getting a couple trail cameras, even looked at a few cellular ones. The reviews are all over the place. What do you guys have, and how do you like them? Which ones should you stay away from? And anyone have any experience with cellular cams? Costs and thoughts? Thanks
It depends on what you will use the photos for ? I just want to know what’s out there. In the past I purchased several of the more expensive brand name cameras. They all ended up being problematic. Now I only purchase the $28 Tasco cameras sold at Walmart. They are a throw away, and I have had great luck with them. Picture quality OK for scouting and battery life is great. If someone steals one or a bear eats it , no big deal.
... don’t do it... it’s a gateway to bone hunter stickers on your truck back window ... and wearing thin camo beanie hats with a beard trimmed real short ... and giving animals human names .. and planting clover and what not
Squash made a good point in knowing what you want the pictures for. I want them for simply seeing what is there day and night and at what time. I may need help with knowing about the different flash lighting and what each may do from your experience to the animals being pictured. Here are some of the flash types I have seen and wondered about. Infrared, low glow infrared, white flash, Please let me know about these terms or types of light. I also wondered about the trigger speed needed. I have seen several pictures of animals nearly off screen when picture is taken. How fast is generally really needed 1 sec, .8, .5, .3. Please let me know what you think about these items.
Squash made a good point in knowing what you want the pictures for. I want them for simply seeing what is there day and night and at what time. I may need help with knowing about the different flash lighting and what each may do from your experience to the animals being pictured. Here are some of the flash types I have seen and wondered about. Infrared, low glow infrared, white flash, Please let me know about these terms or types of light. I also wondered about the trigger speed needed. I have seen several pictures of animals nearly off screen when picture is taken. How fast is generally really needed for them. 1 sec, ..8, .5, .3. Please let me know what you think about these times..
... don’t do it... it’s a gateway to bone hunter stickers on your truck back window ... and wearing thin camo beanie hats with a beard trimmed real short ... and giving animals human names .. and planting clover and what not
Cell cams are only as good as the cell service where using it. For 38 bucks can't beat wild games terra 12 .Then if someone likes it so much they take it home with them you don't get sick.
I LOVE trail cams, lol! Especially taking videos. Cell cams are great for removing unwanted critters whether with traps or playing Indian and sneaking in on them (Hogs!!) I use cameras on just about everything...nests, gopher tortoise dens, ponds, rubs, scrapes, etc. Even let my son use a cell cam as a security device until he could get WiFi and cameras at his house. Worked great too.
I have everything from the cheap Tasco to a Spartan. I have Brownings as old as 6 and a Spartan thats 5...no issues at all with either...knock on wood.
I haven’t had good luck with Primos or Moultrie cams for some reason.
If we could post videos here without having to download to YouTube or something similar I could show my rub line. My coolest idea yet! Got everything from grown bucks to spikes tearing that tree up!!! I have grunting bucks, chasing bucks, even does that aren’t being very lady like. Bet y’all didn’t know a doe will rub up on a rub, lol.
Buy some cheap cams to start out with and go from there.
I LOVE trail cams, lol! Especially taking videos. Cell cams are great for removing unwanted critters whether with traps or playing Indian and sneaking in on them (Hogs!!) I use cameras on just about everything...nests, gopher tortoise dens, ponds, rubs, scrapes, etc. Even let my son use a cell cam as a security device until he could get WiFi and cameras at his house. Worked great too.
I have everything from the cheap Tasco to a Spartan. I have Brownings as old as 6 and a Spartan thats 5...no issues at all with either...knock on wood.
I haven’t had good luck with Primos or Moultrie cams for some reason.
If we could post videos here without having to download to YouTube or something similar I could show my rub line. My coolest idea yet! Got everything from grown bucks to spikes tearing that tree up!!! I have grunting bucks, chasing bucks, even does that aren’t being very lady like. Bet y’all didn’t know a doe will rub up on a rub, lol.
Buy some cheap cams to start out with and go from there.
I have had some primos easy cams for about 5 years now. They worked great, but are getting old and not taking as many pictures. I am looking for something to put out where I deer hunt, and am wanting to put a couple over sets on video to maybe learn something. I found a place that had browning dark ops on sale for $80 and I have seen more good reviews on those than a lot of others. I have also been looking at the wild game innovations shadow micro cam. Dad has one and it seems alright, Im just not completly sure about the mounting base. What browning cams do you run?
Just personally my thoughts. I usually make my own (diytrailcams.com). Quality of the pic. wise a homebrew usually is much better clarity as it uses a real camera (Zeiss, Leica, etc.lens). Cost wise can be made as cheap or expensive as what you want (okay, not AS cheap), as was said depending on what you want...just to see what's there or National Geographic quality. White flash vs. infrared. Personally again I haven't found white flash to alarm an animal, have thousands of pics. of multiple animals walking in to the cam at night and even licking the lens. Out of frame wise is shutter speed/reset, etc. I guess it all comes down to what you want that way. A homebrew usually has a much slower refresh rate (2.5 sec. or more is the norm. it seems) so getting an animal going out of the pic. while not common is something more likely to happen. I like getting pics. of hummingbirds so a Sony S40 (4 mega pixel) cam with forced flash gives me stop wing motion so there is a bit can do to get animal in frame. That said I bought a cheap WildGame Terra and love the night video but daylight color for me isn't the greatest but it was a $60.00 "throw away" am just to compare. Here are just a few pics. from the homebrew S40 that I built for under $120.00. Guess this didn't really answer the question but guys that come into the shop like the Moultrie, Cuddyback and WildGame.
... ever since the advent of trail cams ... I haven’t had a peaceful second in the woods... I always feel like someone with a subscription to the outdoor channel is watching me
I run the Browning Strike Force HD Pro mainly for pics and video. I use Spartan for cell. I will say this, I have an older Spartan and have had NO ISSUES. But, I have friends with the new Ghost Cams that have had some issues. They call me just to see if it’s a Spartan thing or their actual camera. If I have a signal it works...all the time.
Wow That is interesting. Dad gets quite a few pictures of coyotes, but they are always just walking infront of the camera, never being spooked like that that we have ever seen. Is that a trophy cam?
I run the Browning Strike Force HD Pro mainly for pics and video. I use Spartan for cell. I will say this, I have an older Spartan and have had NO ISSUES. But, I have friends with the new Ghost Cams that have had some issues. They call me just to see if it’s a Spartan thing or their actual camera. If I have a signal it works...all the time.
What does a plan for spartan run? I know a guy that sells them, but I have never heard much about them. From what I have seen, none of these manufacturers put a clear cost chart out there so you can know how much it really costs, its seems almost like a bunch of hidden fees. That is what scares me.
Trophy cam, B-16 types the yotes look like they are scalded in the pic you get one half or the other, they are close not far shots the get them moving.
Stealth cam are my favorite for deer. Best flash and trigger Browning are the best pics and great battery life Wildgame for coyotes. Only one out of the 4 I've tried that won't spook coyotes working a set. The others get pics of coyotes but over a set the coyotes can hear or see them and won't commit to the set. Pics are not the best Spypoint was junk for me
I think I pay $60 a year for unlimited pics. To be honest I really don’t pay attention to it. When it’s time to pay I just have it automatically deducted. The cool thing about cell cams or any trail cam for that matter is you can take them anywhere. I took my Spartan to Texas when I was turkey hunting on a private ranch. Got pics of deer I didn’t even know the names of, lol.
I’ve tried quite a few over the years. Best by far is the Browning Strike Force. Awesome picture quality as well as video. I bought a bushnell bone collector 10 mp camera in 2010, and it’s still going strong. I personally had bad luck with Primos and Muddy. Got a two pack of Wildgame Terra last year for $70, including batteries and SD cards, and so far they are great for the price. But my vote goes to Browning Strike Force, pricy though.
I think I pay $60 a year for unlimited pics. To be honest I really don’t pay attention to it. When it’s time to pay I just have it automatically deducted. The cool thing about cell cams or any trail cam for that matter is you can take them anywhere. I took my Spartan to Texas when I was turkey hunting on a private ranch. Got pics of deer I didn’t even know the names of, lol.
... 60$ a year for unlimited pics ... you ought to be ashamed.... if there’s any ladies and kids in here right now ...go find another post to hang out in while alert the moderator
Stealth cam are my favorite for deer. Best flash and trigger Browning are the best pics and great battery life Wildgame for coyotes. Only one out of the 4 I've tried that won't spook coyotes working a set. The others get pics of coyotes but over a set the coyotes can hear or see them and won't commit to the set. Pics are not the best Spypoint was junk for me
Which wildgame innovations camera do you run? Do you know anything about the shadow micro cams? Also, which stealth cams do you run? I dont know much about any of the stealth cams at all. My dad is a bushnell trophy cam guy, hes got quite a few of the older ones, and the newer ones are junk from his experience.
I think I pay $60 a year for unlimited pics. To be honest I really don’t pay attention to it. When it’s time to pay I just have it automatically deducted. The cool thing about cell cams or any trail cam for that matter is you can take them anywhere. I took my Spartan to Texas when I was turkey hunting on a private ranch. Got pics of deer I didn’t even know the names of, lol.
Thats not as bad as I was expecting. I looked at the spypoint costs, and it from what I gather, its $10-15 a month for the unlimited plan on one of those
I’ve tried quite a few over the years. Best by far is the Browning Strike Force. Awesome picture quality as well as video. I bought a bushnell bone collector 10 mp camera in 2010, and it’s still going strong. I personally had bad luck with Primos and Muddy. Got a two pack of Wildgame Terra last year for $70, including batteries and SD cards, and so far they are great for the price. But my vote goes to Browning Strike Force, pricy though.
John
Have you ran one of the dark ops apex yet? I found some on sale for $80 and ordered one to try
I’ve tried quite a few over the years. Best by far is the Browning Strike Force. Awesome picture quality as well as video. I bought a bushnell bone collector 10 mp camera in 2010, and it’s still going strong. I personally had bad luck with Primos and Muddy. Got a two pack of Wildgame Terra last year for $70, including batteries and SD cards, and so far they are great for the price. But my vote goes to Browning Strike Force, pricy though.
John
Have you ran one of the dark ops apex yet? I found some on sale for $80 and ordered one to try
Where? I run a lott of dark ops with great results.
New this year Tactacam Reveal. You won't find any. They are sold out for the year. Don't know how long they will last but for $99 they are entry level. My first cell cam. They get better signal than my phone.
Yea ive never bought from them before. I just searched browning trail cameras and it came up with those on sale. Seemed like a pretty good price so I ordered one haha
... ever since the advent of trail cams ... I haven’t had a peaceful second in the woods... I always feel like someone with a subscription to the outdoor channel is watching me
... ever since the advent of trail cams ... I haven’t had a peaceful second in the woods... I always feel like someone with a subscription to the outdoor channel is watching me
Okay. Having better digested this thread? I've ~ sporadically ~ run what must, by now, be an older Bushnell Trophy. I'd be extremely interested in exchanging notes, please, with:
Possumcatcher (With a view to possibly having a chat with his Dad?)
just a couple of other brands of trail cams i didnt see mentioned that ive had success with in Aus. ltl acorns Vimel and scoutguards ive been using these 3 for about 8 years.they take good photos (though i use them on video) relatively cheap and cheap to run with recharegeable batteries. in my experience the white flash can spook dingos but ive rarely seen koalas,cattle,feral cats and other animals show much interest in the light. i find the low glow cams the best personally.i havnt had any experience with cellular cams due to the price and lack of service where i use the cams. hope that helps a bit
