So far I have lost 5 cameras in the recent floods,really lost only one but the others are trashed.If anyone needs dummy cameras or some parts let me know,Older moultries,browning.So now I am in the market and swore I would never buy another browning after the last issues but trailcampro.com has some good deals
Thoughts on new cameras
- Thread starter buckdeer1
- Start date
Ed Brodt
5 year old buck +
I tried several brands over the years. About year and a half ago I went with the Cuddelink system and gradually converted them to solar panels. More expensive than the others but far more reliable so far. Haven't had a camera failure or had to replace a battery since. On my last check the camera with the first solar panel installed has been running for 292 days. I put one on the front gate to monitor for trespassers. When it takes a pic it transmits the pic to my well hidden home camera so even if the spot and steal the gate camera I still have their picture.
Apple Junkie
5 year old buck +
I can't offer any ideas either, other than to say my Browning cams all work well. I know there are some better quality cameras, but they cost more than I am willing to pay for a trail cam. I do like the trailcampro site.
I dipped my toe in the water on the Cuddelink system and bought only 2. I'm glad I only bought 2. I hate to say it, but I've never spent so much time screwing with deer cameras and being frustrated. I just bought one of the SpyLinks, We shall see. I've had 2 Reconyx for at least 5 years, but they are expensive. Best overall value and ease of use, battery life and reliability, I would have to say my Moultries. If I was going to buy a plain trail camera that's what I would buy today.
ghilliehunter
5 year old buck +
I've tried about one of each of the trailcams out there. By far the most expensive but most reliable have been Reconyx. I have 2 and they run perfectly, batteries last forever. I have a Bushnell that's probably 10 years old, screen is black, can't set date or time, but still takes great pics. Have had several Stealth Cams. Cheap, last about a year or 2 most, take ok day pics. Have had a couple Moultries, but you could not adjust the sensitivity and they took too many pics and ate batteries. Don't waste your money on Wildgame Innovation, bought 2 on sale, total junk. A buddy uses Covert and loves them. I might try a Cuddeback Cuddelink in a few years once they get bugs worked out. Good luck.
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
I have used many different cameras through the years, Moultrie 880s were good to me, but now I either run Browning for non cell cams, or Covert for cell cams. Coverts got a bad name when they first came out, but I am running several of them, and I havent had any issues with them in the last few years. I have 3 2016's, 4 2018's, and I replace batteries in them about 1-2 times a year, usually before fall so I know they will last the rest of the hunting season. Pictures are decent, and I never have to go check on them. It just seems silly to have to babysit a cell cam every couple months like I read on another post. My purpose for cell cams are that they are in areas that I dont want to go into, and that I have them for security, and what good is a security camera that doesnt send you pictures, or that you need to put in a convenient spot so you can do regular updates, replace batteries, or send them in for repairs. I like the concept, but too many bugs for me!
weekender21
5 year old buck +
I have 10 Covert MP 8’s and Vipers running 365 days/year on my place in NC. I’ve only had issues with one and it’s a camera that was used several years in Hawaii prior to moving it to NC a few years ago. It was working but not as well as it should and was replaced by customer service.
Electronic equipment strapped to a tree under all the elements won’t last forever. Great customer service is a huge bonus if you can find it.
Im happy with a trail cam the works 4-5 years. If I was only running them a few months out of the year I’d expect more.
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Electronic equipment strapped to a tree under all the elements won’t last forever. Great customer service is a huge bonus if you can find it.
Im happy with a trail cam the works 4-5 years. If I was only running them a few months out of the year I’d expect more.
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Catscratch
5 year old buck +
I have a Moultrie that I've had for several years now. It's still working well but I had to send three of them back to the factory before I got one that worked for more than a month or two. I had a Cuddelink for almost a year before it crapped out on me. I bought it when they were promising a quick release of a home unit that would plug directly into a PC. They never released the home unit so I took it back and bought a Browning Strike Force. The Browning seems to work, but sometimes it just takes a picture every minute or two and fills up the sd card. Of the three the Moultrie has lasted the longest and is most consistent.
Jordan Selsor
5 year old buck +
wal mart tasco's for me from now on...
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tasco-10MP-Camo-Low-Glow-Trail-Camera/318684652
All trail cams are chinese junk 2-3 yr specials unless one bucks up for reconyx
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tasco-10MP-Camo-Low-Glow-Trail-Camera/318684652
All trail cams are chinese junk 2-3 yr specials unless one bucks up for reconyx
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
I am not sure if you are serious? If so, have you been using them already? How have they worked? I had a Wildgame Innovation camera out, it took decent day time pictures, night pictures sucked, but it was loud, and spooked deer. In fact it spooked the biggest deer I had coming to my land ever away, it had 2 pictures of the deer on it, one looking directly at the camera, and one with him running away a few seconds later. Never to have him on a picture ever again. He was a regular the entire month prior to putting out that camera. So just because its cheap, and gives decent pictures, doesnt mean it is a decent game camera. I know use it as a gate camera, set out in plane site, so people see it. It does work, but it does 2 things, it is cheap so if someone wants to steal it, I am not out much, and it lets people know, I have cameras on my property.
IkemanTx
5 year old buck +
I run exclusively Browning Dark Ops.
All but one of my cameras are on public land, so I don’t run visible flash. I have also noticed that the black flash spooks less animals anyways.
I can typically find last year’s models for about $125, and have had several of them in the field full time for 4 years. The batteries last for stinking ever, daytime pics are great, night time pics are good enough.
Every other camera at the same price point or cheaper has performed horribly in comparison.
I always handle them with care though, and lubricate the seals just like one of those soft sided cooler zippers. Also, it helps to toss them in a bag with some desiccant packets any time you remove them from the field.
I run lithium batteries, and have gotten 11 months (and an entirely full 16G card) out of a camera I forgot to pull.
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All but one of my cameras are on public land, so I don’t run visible flash. I have also noticed that the black flash spooks less animals anyways.
I can typically find last year’s models for about $125, and have had several of them in the field full time for 4 years. The batteries last for stinking ever, daytime pics are great, night time pics are good enough.
Every other camera at the same price point or cheaper has performed horribly in comparison.
I always handle them with care though, and lubricate the seals just like one of those soft sided cooler zippers. Also, it helps to toss them in a bag with some desiccant packets any time you remove them from the field.
I run lithium batteries, and have gotten 11 months (and an entirely full 16G card) out of a camera I forgot to pull.
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yoderjac
5 year old buck +
I've been out of the market for quite a long time. Back when I first got my property, I was using the cheap ($200-$300) Chinese cams. It was a constant hassle. They had very good picture quality, but horrible quality control. Many got replaced under warranty and the replacements didn't last long. I spent more time messing with cameras than getting the data I wanted. If you just want to see what is out there and don't care about life span or missing game, most of the cameras made in China will do. If the data you collect is important, these are a poor choice.
I was looking to collect data for QDM decisions. If you have gaps in the data, it becomes hard to find trends. I did a pretty thorough analysis at the time. I came up with two companies that had good QC, good life span, and fast reliable trigger times. They were Reconyx and BuckeyeCam. I ended up choosing BuckeyeCam. At the time my Orion's came out, the company was first servicing the military and once those orders for filled, started selling them to consumers. That meant the design was very well tested and went through shock and vibe. All of the electronics were coated. Even if you get a good Chinese cam off the line, the lifespan is short. The reason is that you need to change batteries so the camera can't be sealed. Any moisture that gets in through the battery compartment vaporizes when the sun heats up the camera and it then condenses when it cools down at night. Without coated electronics, eventually you get corrosion. The only reason I chose BuckeyeCam over Reconyx at the time was they BEC had wireless (well before cell cams).
My cameras have very old, but well proven, technology. The picture quality is "good enough" for my purposes. The reliability is top notch. With solar panels, my Orions run for well over a year with no attention and the pics are sent back to my camp.
These cameras were NOT cheap, but were a perfect fit for my application. I certainly would not choose these cameras for use in a high theft environment. My point is, the best fit camera for you will really depend on your application. It all boils down to trading off characteristics. There is no "best" camera out there. They don't make Orions any more. I bought my last group used from John on this site. I bought them for backup because at some point, one of my dozen orions on the farm is bound to have a failure. None of mine have failed yet and they have been running for many years, but everything fails eventually. The current BuckeyeCam is the X80. I bought one of those to experiment with as a future alternative when the Orion network eventually fails. I like it just as well as the Orions. It is much smaller and 12-volt with somewhat newer technology.
Thanks,
Jack
The brownings I had were purchased close to same time and they would take great pics for a week then may not take any the next week.Browning told me they had reports of that and was caused by bad battery trays so they sent me new ones and that didn't fix,then they said had to use lithiums not that then they told me I had to use dedicated cards for each camera so I bought some new cards and marked them for each cam and that didn't help but they seem pretty popular now.maybe I just got some bad ones.Still can't get my exodus upgraded to where it takes night pics right too bad it wasn't one of the wet ones
gwm
5 year old buck +
I bought two Exodus cameras but have yet to put them out. Exodus has a 5 year warranty and includes half off another cam if yours gets stolen. They are also running a 25% off sale now.
The reviews seem to be good but I can't speak for them personally. With the 5 year warranty I thought what the hell so I bought two to try.
The reviews seem to be good but I can't speak for them personally. With the 5 year warranty I thought what the hell so I bought two to try.
I think Jack brings up a good point - a good camera for you may not be a good camera for me. I have had a couple Reconyx - and while they took good pictures - I can afford $15,000 in game cameras - and the reconyx - in my opinion, are not twice as good as a lot of other cameras out there.
In my experience - a higher number of $150 cameras is going to show me a lot more information than a fewer number of higher priced cameras. And I am not one of these that believes you have to stay out of the hunting area or you run off all your deer - I live on my land and am out on it everyday. I have walked through a food plot coon hunting at three in the morning and the biggest buck in the woods is in there fifteen minutes later. We have duck hunted in the morning shooting three boxes of shells and pull camera cards and find out the biggest buck in the woods was feeding in a food plot 400 yards away in broad daylight while we were banging away. So, I dont need a camera that lasts for a year without changing batteries or every camera to be a cell cam. As far as inventorying my deer - we have killed one buck in the past ten years we did not have on camera - so I dont feel like I am missing many pictures.
So, for me - it is about an affordable camera, that I can buy in quantity - without breaking the bank. And they need to have good longevity and decent quality, decent flash range, and a reasonable trigger speed. A lot of the $120-$175 cameras do pretty well all of that - and it comes down to how long the camera lasts before it breaks down.
For me - the various $150 Brownings have been the best. I have some going on five yrs old. I run about thirty cameras and have never had a Browning quit on me that wasnt flooded. Yet a buddy of mine asked me for a camera recommendation and he bought two brownings - which worked fine the first year - but he claimed neither worked the second season. I try a few new cameras every year - just for the heck of it - and have not found another model that works as well - for me - as the Brownings - yet. I have not found another in that price range that is as reliable.
But - maybe you dont need or want 30 cameras. Maybe you want year long battery life. Maybe you want everything delivered to your phone or computer. There are lots of things that may make a camera good for you but not for me.
MY first exodus last a month sent it back,didn't hear anything for a couple months finally called and they sent me another.Then it took really bad night pics and so so day pics and they told me there was a firmware upgrade coming out in a couple months.That was 5 months ago.
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