Reconyx Cellular

[Dukslayr]

You are probably right that the real time isn’t that big of an issue. Although it doesn’t just apply to settings it also applies to requesting a full HD photo. I know on this ridgetec if I want a full HD photo I request the photo and at some point later I get the full HD photo. I’m not sure yet what the trigger is because The few times that I have done it there was no rhyme or reason as to when it completed. Again I probably agree with you that it’s not that important and not worth the $5 per camera and that $5 is better spent on a bigger pool of pictures. Being my first cell camera it feels more important than it is. The photos I get now are posted as they are taken but the camera is set up to check in with the server every 4 hours.

My spartan cameras also have a delay in requesting/delivery of HD pictures. Takes anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours to get the HD pictures.

 

[Dukslayr]

For those interested Reconyx is taking orders for the new camera now. They expect to ship later in May. My buddy happens to get a hefty discount so I’ve got several ordered. I will plan to do a full review of the camera, their software/app, setup, experience with the cellular plans, etc. I’ll post some low res and high res photos as well.

 

[Rit]

For those interested Reconyx is taking orders for the new camera now. They expect to ship later in May. My buddy happens to get a hefty discount so I’ve got several ordered. I will plan to do a full review of the camera, their software/app, setup, experience with the cellular plans, etc. I’ll post some low res and high res photos as well.

I wouldn’t be mad at a hefty discount

 

[Dukslayr]

I wouldn’t be mad at a hefty discount

No doubt. It makes the purchase a lot more palatable. I would have bought some regardless but now I can talk myself into buying more.

 

[Rit]

No doubt. It makes the purchase a lot more palatable. I would have bought some regardless but now I can talk myself into buying more.

Maybe your buddy needs a new buddy!

 

[Dukslayr]

Happy belated birthday to me! After months of waiting they have finally arrived. After going back and forth I decided to upgrade my no wireless cams to all wireless. My initial plan was to go with a Buckeye system, which they I had priced from the company, but after seeing the Reconyx cellular I pivoted. I was never really interested in a Cuddeback system. It also helps that my buddy gets a 30-40% discount on Reconyx. for about 1/4 of the price of a 4 camera Buckeye system I was able to go with all Reconyx cellular. I’ll be pairing 4 of the 6 with an HME solar battery pack. The other 2 will be running straight lithium batteries only. Curious to see the difference in battery and how well the HME battery packs perform. I will report back as I get these cameras activated. My Spartan GoCams were a bit of a pain in the ass to activate so I’m hoping these go a little better. If anyone has questions please feel free to post back here and I’ll do my best to answer as I learn these...good, bad and ugly. I have zero affiliation with Reconyx (but if they’re reading this I’m available to consult:) outside of being a long time loyal customers. Everyone of my HC500/600 are running just like the day I bought them...expecting the same with these cameras.

 

[ACCMan]

Man I love my Reconyx cams. If I could get a discount I would pull the trigger tonight. Please keep us posted.

 

[Dukslayr]

Man I love my Reconyx cams. If I could get a discount I would pull the trigger tonight. Please keep us posted.

I activated them all this afternoon. Not going to lie, it was night and day easier than with Spartan. I activated all of them in about 1.5 hours via their app. The longest part was that I had to call Reconyx on my first cam. The good news is that Joe (who I have dealt with via email many times) answered when I called and fixed my problem. They have a glitch in their payment process that doesn’t allow Amex, which they now know about. I switched to visa and no problems. All activation is done via their app and is really quick and easy. There’s no SIM card issues or any other nonsense to deal with like I had with Spartan. I called Spartan 2x and never received a call back when I was trying to set them up. I waited two days to get an email from Spartan with a code to activate my cameras. I really appreciate the local CS with Reconyx.

 

[ACCMan]

I activated them all this afternoon. Not going to lie, it was night and day easier than with Spartan. I activated all of them in about 1.5 hours via their app. The longest part was that I had to call Reconyx on my first cam. The good news is that Joe (who I have dealt with via email many times) answered when I called and fixed my problem. They have a glitch in their payment process that doesn’t allow Amex, which they now know about. I switched to visa and no problems. All activation is done via their app and is really quick and easy. There’s no SIM card issues or any other nonsense to deal with like I had with Spartan. I called Spartan 2x and never received a call back when I was trying to set them up. I waited two days to get an email from Spartan with a code to activate my cameras. I really appreciate the local CS with Reconyx.

I expected Reconyx to get it right and not half done before release. when you get time I would love to see some day and night pics.

 

[Rit]

Looking forward to this. Only thing I am disappointed in is that I read these are not actually no glow cameras but rather low glow. Hopefully the review was wrong but that came from trailcampro so it’s unlikely.

 

[Dukslayr]

I expected Reconyx to get it right and not half done before release. when you get time I would love to see some day and night pics.

I will once I get them out. I have one of the first 300 accounts/cameras (supposedly) so I’m sure there will be technical glitches along the way, but so far I’m impressed with the ease to get activated and get going. Had I not been using an Amex I would have had my first can going in around 10-15 min. The functionality otherwise is the same as the Hyperfire series from what can see.

 

[MN Slick]

Looking forward to this. Only thing I am disappointed in is that I read these are not actually no glow cameras but rather low glow. Hopefully the review was wrong but that came from trailcampro so it’s unlikely.

Here is the response I got when I asked about the flash on the Hyperfire 2. I believe the new cell cam has the same option.

Yes and no, the HF2 unlike any other camera on the market had an adjustable Flash Output setting. You can have the IR set on Low, Medium, or High depending on the location you are using the camera. The unit has an IR filter over the flash array as the HC600 had in the past.

Thus, if you want it fully covert run the camera in the low or medium flash output setting. This will make it less detectable to people or game. However if want the fully 150' flash distance (say on field edge or over a food plot) you can run the IR Flash Output on High. In High you will see a slight red transition on the face of the unit, but honestly if you mount the camera slightly higher on the tree (above line of sight) or camouflage it well, you will not experience any detection issues. The wavelength of light used in these is comparable to your HC-600 cameras you've returned previously for upgrades.

 

[MN Slick]

What I'm most interested in is do the Reconyx Cell cams spook deer. I've run their HC600's and the Ultrafire for years and I'm 100% confident they don't spook deer. On the other hand I have a couple Spartans and I'm 98% they somehow spook deer. A couple guys I know reported the same. It doesn't appear to be the flash but perhaps they make noise or somehow the cell signal boogers them. On one farm I've had deer flat out stop using scrape trees in plots after I put a Spartan on them that had been hit hard for years. I'm to the point where I won't put them in my kill spots.

 

[Rit]

What I'm most interested in is do the Reconyx Cell cams spook deer. I've run their HC600's and the Ultrafire for years and I'm 100% confident they don't spook deer. On the other hand I have a couple Spartans and I'm 98% they somehow spook deer. A couple guys I know reported the same. It doesn't appear to be the flash but perhaps they make noise or somehow the cell signal boogers them. On one farm I've had deer flat out stop using scrape trees in plots after I put a Spartan on them that had been hit hard for years. I'm to the point where I won't put them in my kill spots.

Interesting spin they put on that. I’d agree the HC600s don’t spook deer. I have three and they are good as gold. Change the batteries once a year and call it a day. I have a Browning with amazing videos but deer sometimes turn inside out when the video goes off. Thanks for the info.

 

[Rit]

Well since I mentioned the Ridgetec on here previously I thought I’d give a brief update. Three weeks ago my batteries showed 75%. The next day they must have died and I lost contact with the camera. Because of life and work I couldn’t get out to the camera. Finally today I did. I change my batteries and the camera could not find the network. Several resets and test and still nothing. I called Ridgtec and they told me to update the firmware... okay made the return trip home to get the keys. I don’t normally lock my cameras up but this was near a road. Returned fetched the camera and then home to grab the pc.

CS told me the firmware updates were on the website. That is not true you actually need to login to their portal and find your camera. Okay no problem. I tried all 5 available firmware updates and flashed the camera each time. Irritated for sure but decided to call Trailcampro. To let them know they had an issue. 5 minutes into the conversation the guy says why don’t you just send the camera back for a full refund..... wait what I only had 90 days... ya but you have had a heck of a time. So my Ridgetec experiment is over. But once again Trailcampro is top notch.

The camera was okay but not great. Too sensitive in my book. Windy days I had to put a one-hour buffer in or get a barrage of blank photos. It may work in the absolute perfect spot but I’d rather have a perfect spot for any camera not a perfect spot for this camera.

And of course now Reconyx cellular is on back order. Maybe this is trying to tell me something.

 

[Peplin Creek]

What I'm most interested in is do the Reconyx Cell cams spook deer. I've run their HC600's and the Ultrafire for years and I'm 100% confident they don't spook deer. On the other hand I have a couple Spartans and I'm 98% they somehow spook deer. A couple guys I know reported the same. It doesn't appear to be the flash but perhaps they make noise or somehow the cell signal boogers them. On one farm I've had deer flat out stop using scrape trees in plots after I put a Spartan on them that had been hit hard for years. I'm to the point where I won't put them in my kill spots.

No kidding... that hasn’t been my experience with the Spartans, however I don’t use them over scrapes just in food plots. So maybe not an issue there. Are they the 3g or 4g models. Perhaps a hum when they transmit? I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

maybe a filter issue too.

 

[Dukslayr]

Well since I mentioned the Ridgetec on here previously I thought I’d give a brief update. Three weeks ago my batteries showed 75%. The next day they must have died and I lost contact with the camera. Because of life and work I couldn’t get out to the camera. Finally today I did. I change my batteries and the camera could not find the network. Several resets and test and still nothing. I called Ridgtec and they told me to update the firmware... okay made the return trip home to get the keys. I don’t normally lock my cameras up but this was near a road. Returned fetched the camera and then home to grab the pc.

CS told me the firmware updates were on the website. That is not true you actually need to login to their portal and find your camera. Okay no problem. I tried all 5 available firmware updates and flashed the camera each time. Irritated for sure but decided to call Trailcampro. To let them know they had an issue. 5 minutes into the conversation the guy says why don’t you just send the camera back for a full refund..... wait what I only had 90 days... ya but you have had a heck of a time. So my Ridgetec experiment is over. But once again Trailcampro is top notch.

The camera was okay but not great. Too sensitive in my book. Windy days I had to put a one-hour buffer in or get a barrage of blank photos. It may work in the absolute perfect spot but I’d rather have a perfect spot for any camera not a perfect spot for this camera.

And of course now Reconyx cellular is on back order. Maybe this is trying to tell me something.

Good customer service is a lost art. I will pay more for it. The handful of times I’ve had to deal with Reconyx CS it’s been a pleasure...as much as having to deal with CS can be anyway. It’s 100% the reason I ponied up the money for the new cams. 5 year warranty and I know they’ll stand by them long after that. Anyway, I hope to get all of mine out next week so I’ll start to update once I do.

 

[Tamarack]

Yes and no, the HF2 unlike any other camera on the market had an adjustable Flash Output setting. You can have the IR set on Low, Medium, or High depending on the location you are using the camera. The unit has an IR filter over the flash array as the HC600 had in the past.

Thus, if you want it fully covert run the camera in the low or medium flash output setting. This will make it less detectable to people or game. However if want the fully 150' flash distance (say on field edge or over a food plot) you can run the IR Flash Output on High. In High you will see a slight red transition on the face of the unit, but honestly if you mount the camera slightly higher on the tree (above line of sight) or camouflage it well, you will not experience any detection issues. The wavelength of light used in these is comparable to your HC-600 cameras you've returned previously for upgrades.

Isn't that pretty much the same as other cams that have "full" and "half"(for Stealthcam) and indoors/close, far, field etc(Cuddeback)?
I recently got the Stealth XV4X after vowing never to get another red-blobber..got it cheap. Never seen so much red in my life Decent night vids though.

I'm surprised they(Reconyx) don't have a black flash option as well. Although if I could find such a discount I'd consider getting one.

 

[MN Slick]

No kidding... that hasn’t been my experience with the Spartans, however I don’t use them over scrapes just in food plots. So maybe not an issue there. Are they the 3g or 4g models. Perhaps a hum when they transmit? I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

maybe a filter issue too.

I started with a 3G and now have 4G. I get a weak signal on the farm and they don't seem to mind the cell cam on which makes me think it's something to do with the signal. Pure speculation on my part!!!!

 

[Dukslayr]

I haven’t gotten up to my farm to put the cameras out, but my wife is having problems with something in the garden. I deployed two cameras to the back yard this afternoon. FYI there’s no difference in setting up and arming the cellular cameras versus the regular Hyperfire. Turn on and hit “arm camera” on the first screen and close the camera. I did not pay for “real time” access but it looks like if you do you can use the app in “aim mode” and see what’s in front of your camera real time. I may turn on real time access on one of them to play with it. It might be useful on big plots if you can in fact view what’s in front of the camera in real-time. The aim mode isn’t intended for “field observation” but it might work for it.