I really like this idea, but I would like to see this concept in action before investing in such an elaborate system. I would also like to see a combo package available -- complete with a solar panel, external battery pack, security box, mount, and python lock. It would also be nice to have a comprehensive warranty for it. Battery life is the biggest concern for something like this and a quality solar solution would be a requirement for this system to work optimally. My next concern would be the security of the cameras from theft. I have had one camera stolen that was cabled to the tree at eye level. On another occasion someone took the SD card out of the camera after they realized they had walked in front of it. Having the cameras 8 - 10 feet up a tree angled downward would help to keep them out of sight and reach. Having external power and solar also increases the chance of vandalism or failure due to the elements or squirrels and raccoons sabotaging the wires. Another concern I would have is the quality of the image that you will get when checking cameras remotely. It is good that a quality image will be stored on the SD card -- but will you be able to tell how many points are on the buck -- or be able to identify someone? I figured with the camera, cuddelink, security box, python lock, external power, solar panel, mount, batteries, and quality SD cards that it would cost over $450 per camera. I kept my first Cuddeback cameras for several years. They worked well -- however it was more economical to replace them after about 3 years. My second cameras were the Cuddeback Capture and the Cuddeback Attack -- and I do not know what happened to Cuddeback's quality compared to the first ones I had. I felt like the components had gotten cheaper because the range was very short and the trigger speed was very slow on these. I was seeing the tail end of deer if anything at all -- and only at 15-20 feet. Eventually they started taking constant pictures and running the battery down -- then stopped working completely. My hope is that Cuddeback has made some improvements on the quality of their cameras since then. The next cameras I owned were a Uway video camera and a Moultrie. In comparison the trigger speeds were faster than the Capture and the Attack. The Moultrie was stolen. The Uway was hard on batteries and could only be set up with a frail remote, which eventually stopped working. I now own 3 Reconyx PC 900's with 2 year warranties. I am very happy with the quality of these. The biggest selling points were their trigger speed, rapidfire capability (up to 10 pictures in 5 seconds), and the ability to set it to 'no delay' between triggers. The image quality is also very good -- and they also have an advanced settings option -- which allows you to tailor it to your exact preferences (long range, high quality, and balanced in night mode). It also has a time lapse function. Battery life is excellent on 12 AA's -- depending on how many pictures it takes. The biggest problem I have experienced from Reconyx is the battery harness. I have sent my cameras back many times (under the 2 year warranty) to have the battery harness worked on or replaced. This was marked with an apparent dead camera at the tree, with few or no images on it -- but the batteries would always test out good. Out of my 3 Reconyx cameras, 2 are working at any given time. I would like to see some of the competition have something similar to the Cuddelink as well -- unless the patent prevents that. I am trying to research Cuddeback's different units now. I cannot find the difference between a silver and a blue unit and I cannot find a security box that fits all of their cameras. I can see how to mount the Genius mount to the camera, and I can see how to mount the Cuddepower external batteries to the camera -- however I cannot see how you can use both of them simultaneously. You certainly cannot use a security box with the mount and the external power. There should be a solution that allows you to use the security box, mount, and external power/solar at the same time . . .
