Trail Cam Reviews and Recommendations

Otghuntingclub

Otghuntingclub

Member
Hoping to start an informational discussion on the pros and cons of the various trail cams on the market. I'm a couple years into a new piece of property and the number of cameras continues to grow. Currently running between 12-15 cameras at any given time. Started with predominantly Bushnell's, but as the number has grown other manufacturers and models have crept into the mix. My thought process has evolved into the idea that with 4 or 5 different people setting and checking cameras, I'd be better off commonizing on one manufacture and model. Looking for thoughts and experiences from others before making a final decision.

Briefly, what I've been working with so far:

Bushnell Trophy Cam HD Wireless (3) - 1st Generation: Pros: Fairly easy to set up, easy to administer wireless plan, nice to get pictures from afar, good battery life. Cons: Fairly expensive, erratic function (finicky), slow trigger speed - lots of missed shots, marginal picture quality, especially at night, slow transition from night to day mode.

Bushnell Trophy Cam HD (5): Pros: Fairly inexpensive, easy to set up, decent picture quality, good battery life. Cons: Battery compartment (easy for batteries to pop out of place and lose connection), Mode Switch (Off/Setup/On) erratic, suspect poor contact, Loss of time setting (some but not all camera), washed out pictures during day/night transition.

Bushnell Trophy Cam HD Essentials (2): Essentially same as HD above. No discernible difference in operation or quality

Bushnell Trophy Cam HD Aggressor (1): Pros: Few over Bushnell's listed above, picture quality may be marginally better (14 MP). Cons: Expensive, at least relative to other Bushnell models above.

SpyPoint Tiny (1): Pros: Easy to set up and maintain, foolproof operation, decent picture quality. Cons: Battery life (only holds 6 AA batteries), not real fond of the locking arrangement - Python cable goes thru mounting bracket and camera, forces you to remove cable to swap cards.

Cuddeback LE Long Range IR (2). My newest cameras. Pros (so far): Acceptable cost, Good battery life, nice case design, most weather and insect resistant of any of my cameras, decent pictures, appears to have good trigger speed. Cons: Operation menu is cumbersome to navigate...perhaps will get better with time, but with multiple people checking cameras, easy is best, Not real fond of mounting bracket...no means to use Python cable to lock without using security box.

Moultrie M-550 (3). Donated cameras, my least favorite. Pros (free...at least to me), decent battery life, easy to setup, program, change cards and batteries. Cons: Poor picture quality.

Thanks in advance for the input.
 
I have 5 reconyx hc600. They are a fortune but are amazing. I love them. I had one problem with a three year old camera that just kept taking pictures. I sent it back and they took very good care of it.
 
Reconyx HC600. I have owned several different brands and these are in a league of their own. I wish they weren't so expensive.

Pro's- Battery life is over a year, (sensor)they catch everything, very easy to operate, great picture quality IMO and great customer service should you ever need it.

Con- only one, they are expensive
 
JDunham said:
Reconyx HC600. I have owned several different brands and these are in a league of their own. I wish they weren't so expensive.

Pro's- Battery life is over a year, (sensor)they catch everything, very easy to operate, great picture quality IMO and great customer service should you ever need it.

Con- only one, they are expensive
Click to expand...
Wow!! U get a year out of yours? Is there low activity?
 
Nope, pretty heavy traffic. I usually check them every week and have from a couple hundred to a couple thousand pictures depending on the cameras location. I bought 4 last fall and have only had to replace the batteries on one, and that was last month. The others still show 99% battery power. I am very impressed.

I did pull the cameras from February through May. They have been out the rest of the time. I use the energizer Lithiums batteries.
 
Robertesq1 said:
Wow!! U get a year out of yours? Is there low activity?
Click to expand...


I have 3 Reconyx H600s and all will last at least a year with energizer lithium batteries with hundreds to thousands of pics a month. I leave mine out year around and never misses a beat.To me they are worth the money because you save money on batteries and they are very reliable. I'm buying another one when Cabelas has there trade a camera sale next fall and save $100 on it.
 
JDunham said:
Nope, pretty heavy traffic. I usually check them every week and have from a couple hundred to a couple thousand pictures depending on the cameras location. I bought 4 last fall and have only had to replace the batteries on one, and that was last month. The others still show 99% battery power. I am very impressed.

I did pull the cameras from February through May. They have been out the rest of the time. I use the energizer Lithiums batteries.
Click to expand...
I must be doing something wrong. I get about six months out of mine.
 
deer patch said:
I have 3 Reconyx H600s and all will last at least a year with energizer lithium batteries with hundreds to thousands of pics a month. I leave mine out year around and never misses a beat.To me they are worth the money because you save money on batteries and they are very reliable. I'm buying another one when Cabelas has there trade a camera sale next fall and save $100 on it.
Click to expand...
I use the energizer lithium ultimate as well :) I have to jump in on that sale at Cabelas as well.
 
I'm a pro-Moultrie guy. I'm running five cams from them now. I started out running M-880's and have evolved along with them. I'm now on the M-888i and I am very pleased with them. My original cams are just wrapping up their fourth season and are running great. Since they have upped their game with the M-888i, I think I've found my camera.

Pros:
*Invisible flash. Tested this in my windowless bathroom. Truly zero indicator of flash to the human eye.
*Completely silent. Tested in bathroom lab as well. Could not hear it trigger.
*Photo quality is excellent. Transition period photos turn out great.
*Doesn't spook bucks. I've gotten follow up photos of big bucks and they showed no sign of even realizing they were on cam.
*It works. I'd rather do it right the first time instead of buying more cams.

Cons:
*The cam lock box that goes with this does not fit the older generation cams. So you have to buy new lock boxes if you switch models.
*Cost, it ends up around $200 for cam, box, card, batteries, and masterlock.
 
I've tried most all brands and types of trail cameras and have most recently switched all my cameras over to the Browning's. I've tried the more expensive Cuddeback's, and Reconyx, but just can't justify spending for one camera what I could by three or four reasonably priced cameras that work equally well. The Browning's take some of the best night time, and daytime pictures going, are super easy to setup, and battery life is so good, that sometimes I wonder if the battery percentage indicator actually works. The only other camera that I'm currently running is the Bushnell Trophy Cam's. They are an equally impressive camera, but lack in ease of setup, and they use two more batteries than the Browning's do, and cost a few dollars more as well.

Also, I used to run lithium batteries in all my cameras but have recently switched to low discharge high capacity rechargeable's. With these batteries I'm able to run one set of batteries throughout the entire fall before they need recharging, even when it gets bitterly cold. It got old buying the Lithium batteries and getting a year out of them and having to throw them away. The rechargeable's cost about the same as the lithiums and you get many years of service out of them.

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-BK...&qid=1484425498&sr=1-3&keywords=sanyo+eneloop
 
I run 20+ cams and use a mix:
Brownings: love em when they work. The have a battery tray defect that allows to power down. I also have one that's eating batteries in under a month--should go 6+. Need to send back to trailcampro. If they were more reliable, they'd compete for best bang for the buck.

Coverts: the cheaper older and mid level models remain my favorites for cost and reliability. They don't take great night pics but are good enough. Midway had the cheap ones on sale for $60. Wish I'd picked up a bunch more.

Bushnell Agressors: I've been pleased with performance and reliability. I do have 1 that makes a sound as it triggers, the others do not. I think the low glow are a better bargain. If Cabelas has them on sale again for $109, I'll pick up another half dozen.

Reconyx Hyperfire: perfection but too spendy to use across my property or risk near trespassers.

Exodous: So far, it's been great. I've left on video and am quite pleased. If it proves reliable, I will purchase more.
 
I'm sold on HC600 as well. In the long run you save money because of battery life and camera longevity.

I hope someone starts a thread when Cabela's has that trade in sale. I'm bad about missing good buying opportunities like that due to getting busy and would appreciate a heads up from someone. Would be a good opportunity for me to unload a bunch of junk cams.
 
If you only need a cam or two, Reconyx. I have about 400 acres I'm trying to cover. Browning Strike Force Elite's for me. Bought another 6 at Cabela's Christmas sale for $79. Smoking deal.....
 
I like the bushnells. I have about 10 of them and am getting almost a year out of a set of batteries. Most are the Trophy cam hd with a few trophy cam hd essentials. I've been very happy with them. The moultries I had quit after a couple years and I had similar experiences with a few wildgame cameras.

I'd like to try the reconyx but I'm too cheap. If I buy any more, I'll probably get a wireless model.
 
Followup post at end of season. The Cuddeback LE Long Range IR's performed the best for me over the course of the season. I have a couple that are over 4 months in the field, with 1000's of pictures taken, and still on the original batteries (I use Energizer Lithium's). Picture quality and trigger speed are satisfactory. So far, no failures with any of them. I'd still like to give the Reconyx a try, just trying to get past the price.
 
I use Exodus cameras exodusoutdoorgear.com . They are a newer camera company and do not do any major advertising. Camera's are priced well at $229.00, I would put them at the equivalent to the Covert cameras but they have a better warranty. Basically if anything happens to your camera from cosmetic to electronic they will replace that camera for you. The owners are a couple of great guys that have a vision for their camera company and they are working hard to come up with the best, most durable camera on the market. These cameras have most of the same functions as the higher end cameras at a lower cost. Battery life is great and will last most of the year with lithium batteries. I ran 35 of these cameras this year with only one camera having a malfunction and of course they replaced that for me no questions asked. I just ran alkaline batteries in mine because I couldn't afford lithium's for 35 cameras. I have replaced batteries once and I put cameras out in June. Just replaced last week and battery life was still at 50% or better on most of the cameras. I just knew the cold winter would eat batteries up quick. My cameras would capture on average approx. 4000-5000 pictures a month.
 
Reconyx for me. Tried cuddies, Moultrie and busnell. No comparison

I've got 6 and hope to get 6 more. 0 issues in 3 years and one set of batteries per season. I even forgot to take one out last and it spent the winter taking pictures. Found it in May and batteries still working
 
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