Trail cam blunder...need advice on new ones

[Tap]

It's been a while since I needed a new trail cam, that is until the bone-head move I pulled yesterday.
I was getting the only 3 cameras that I own ready for today to hang and I accidentally left them outside and open...We got a quarter inch of rain last night. One FiremanJim home-brew and 2 cheap Bushnell are most likely toast. That was probably $500 or $600 worth of cameras.:(:(:(

So, What cameras, in the lower price range, are folks happy (or unhappy) with these days?
I don't want white flash or ones that need a cell phone plan.
I'd be willing to spend a little more on one camera, but I also want some less expensive cams to use in some higher-risk areas where they could get stolen.

Also, any opinions on which are the better web sites dedicated to camera reviews?

 

[mglenn005]

I run at least 8 cameras 10 months out of the year. I have owned moultrie, stealthcam, wildgame innovations and eyecon. All of these are low-mid end cameras.

Moultrie - these are top notch in my opinion. My first moultrie lasted 10+years. It did finally die but great value. I have 2 moultries that are less than 6 months old that i got from cabelas for 60/each.

Eyecon blackouts - I have two of these running and I sometimes feel that do not trigger and miss pictures. They are three years old.

Stealthcam - we have 3 of these. Two are 1 year old, 1 is brand new. Great pictures and are working very reliably.

Wildgame innovations - i have 3 of these. I use to be a big fan of these because of the price point. But I cannot seem to get one to last very long. I probably have to replace these on average every 13 months (right past the warranty). I probably have 2 sitting in the barn - where I hope they start working again. It's too frustrating working with these cameras. I will NEVER BUY a WGI again.

All of these cameras were IR or blackout flash, no cell phone plan.


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[CuivreDog]

Set those cameras out in the sun and let them dry out real good - you may be surprised when they come back to life.

I had three cameras stolen in November 2015 and wrote them off as gone. In February 2016 while walking down a trail on my property I found all three cameras with sd cards removed laying wide open in a pile on the ground just off the trail. These had been out in the open with the cases wide open from November to February through numerous rain and snowstorms. I thought for sure all three would be toast but all three are working right now.

I guess whoever stole them got a little leery after picking off the three and began to wonder how many they walked by that they didn't find and decided to ditch them.

Either way it was a good ending to a bad situation.

 

[Tap]

Set those cameras out in the sun and let them dry out real good - you may be surprised when they come back to life.

I had three cameras stolen in November 2015 and wrote them off as gone. In February 2016 while walking down a trail on my property I found all three cameras with sd cards removed laying wide open in a pile on the ground just off the trail. These had been out in the open with the cases wide open from November to February through numerous rain and snowstorms. I thought for sure all three would be toast but all three are working right now.

I guess whoever stole them got a little leery after picking off the three and began to wonder how many they walked by that they didn't find and decided to ditch them.

Either way it was a good ending to a bad situation.

I took them apart as much as could easily be done and I blew them dry with an air compressor. I then put some warm, dry air to them with a blow dryer on low.
One of the Trophy Cams won't turn on at all, and the other turns on but the LCD screen goes into only a portion of set-up commands, but won't actually respond to any setting adjustments.

The home-brew uses a Sony P-52 camera and it will turn-on but then it shuts off. The screen lights up and it's in the "date set" phase, but so far, hasn't responded to setting the date.
I'm not sure if the control board or other components suffered any damage...the indicator lights for the control board and slave flash are lighting like normal, but without a working camera I can't test those components.

I hope I'm not making a bad situation worse by trying to power-on the units if there is still moisture contained somewhere.

I'd like to talk to Jim Sanders who built the unit. I see him on this forum at times. Does anyone know if he still builds cameras?

 

[mglenn005]

Set those cameras out in the sun and let them dry out real good - you may be surprised when they come back to life.

I had three cameras stolen in November 2015 and wrote them off as gone. In February 2016 while walking down a trail on my property I found all three cameras with sd cards removed laying wide open in a pile on the ground just off the trail. These had been out in the open with the cases wide open from November to February through numerous rain and snowstorms. I thought for sure all three would be toast but all three are working right now.

I guess whoever stole them got a little leery after picking off the three and began to wonder how many they walked by that they didn't find and decided to ditch them.

Either way it was a good ending to a bad situation.

I will do that and maybe get 1-2 months before it happens again.

The OP asked for advice and I wanted to highlight that I have the most problems with that brand.


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[Tap]

I will do that and maybe get 1-2 months before it happens again.

The OP asked for advice and I wanted to highlight that I have the most problems with that brand.


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Thank you.
I do want to get "learned-up" on the current state of trail cams. Like every other high tech device, features and quality goes up, and price comes down. My cameras were okay for the era when they were made or the price I paid, but they had their downsides.
The home-brew has a total of 15 batteries and a ton of settings to get wrong. It sucks to go check a camera and find out one of the um-teen settings was wrong and the camera didn't work. Also had to carry a multimeter to check battery life. But it took great pics.
The Bushnell were inexpensive, it takes 4 AA that lasted forever and it took decent daytime pics. But the nighttime pics weren't very good on a moving subject. Blur was horrible.

So, even if my cameras can be saved, I'll probably buy a few new ones. But I don't want to break the bank.

Keep the opinions coming. I appreciate the input and help.

 

[bueller]

I've been using cheaper Spypoint cameras for a few years now. On sale they are under $100. Quality is decent, good for the price I would say. Battery life is great. Setup is simple.

 

[Big Snow Man]

Is Fireman Jim still making cameras. In the last year I didn't see him post on the QDM site ?

 

[ghilliehunter]

1 Reconyx-excellent, 1 Bushnell -very good and just bought a Stealth Cam - have not checked card yet, but it was $89 and came with batteries and an SD card. I will post results later.

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[Tap]

Is Fireman Jim still making cameras. In the last year I didn't see him post on the QDM site ?

I don't know. I called and texted him today and haven't heard back from him.
There is JSanders on this forum but I don't know if it's the same person.

 

[tooln]

Put them in a zip lock bag full of rice. It's worked for me. The rice draws out the moisture.

 

[bueller]

Put them in a zip lock bag full of rice. It's worked for me. The rice draws out the moisture.

Works with cell phones, definitely worth a try with trail cams.

 

[wbpdeer]

Tap,

Go to trailcampro.com

They have some Bushnells marked down on sale. We like cameras in the 120 to 150 price range. We really like to catch them on sale.

Trailcampro has demos on sale once in awhile and those are great deals. I echo - try the rice in a bag. Leave them in there for 3 or 4 days.

Good luck.

 

[Tap]

Tap,

Go to trailcampro.com

They have some Bushnells marked down on sale. We like cameras in the 120 to 150 price range. We really like to catch them on sale.

Trailcampro has demos on sale once in awhile and those are great deals. I echo - try the rice in a bag. Leave them in there for 3 or 4 days.

Good luck.

Thanks. I've spent a few hours on trailcampro.com today. It's a pretty helpful site. I do like what they say about 2 of the Bushnell units...the Essential E2 and the HD Aggressor. Any opinions on those?
Also seems like the Browning Strike force Elite and Spypoint 11D sound decent.

One of my "damaged" Bushnell Trophy Cam seems to be working now. The other BTC still won't turn on...or at least the LCD doesn't show that it's on. Maybe it will be okay after drying for a few days.
The home brew is starting to come to life, but... the Sony P52 will now let me negotiate through the set-up and the unit "sees" me in test mode, but it won't take pics. Maybe it needs a few days in the rice.
Thanks for the help guys.
I'm still interested in hearing opinions on a new camera, though.

 

[wbpdeer]

Browning are made in China. I have 7 different Brownings on my list of bad cameras we wish we could get repaired. They only last about 3 years.

I am looking at the Essential E2 as a possible. I have not used one - so I have no experience to share. Trail Cam Pro really does a great job of testing cameras and remaining objective about the abilities of each.

 

[Barndog56]

My stealthcam quit working a couple months ago, after about 15 months. Took great pics beforethat though.

Just replaced it with a moultrie 888 i bought on sale, and the night pictures suck. It says the nighttime flash range is 100 feet but it's lucky if it's even 30 feet.

 

[browndog]

Thanks. I've spent a few hours on trailcampro.com today. It's a pretty helpful site.

TCP is a helpful site and I do browse their site but they are in the business of selling trail cams. I like to look at sites like chasingame or slaycam for good solid user pics/info on trailcams.

 

[mglenn005]

Mods - would it be worthwhile to have a trail cam review forum where users post pictures and review the cameras that they have in the field?


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[Tap]

TCP is a helpful site and I do browse their site but they are in the business of selling trail cams. I like to look at sites like chasingame or slaycam for good solid user pics/info on trailcams.

Thanks. I'll check-out those sites. I'm looking for as much input, from as many sources as I can get.

 

[Tap]

Just replaced it with a moultrie 888 i bought on sale, and the night pictures suck. It says the nighttime flash range is 100 feet but it's lucky if it's even 30 feet.

That's one of the things I don't like about my old Bushnell Trophy Cams. They are okay for a still object, but the blur is horrible if the animal is moving. Reduced night blur is something I'm looking for in the new cameras.