Posted: 9/11/2015 2:26:15 PM EDT
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So I'm looking into buy my first trail camera(s) and I would like some suggestions on the best brand and model for my purposes. I would like to get 2-4 cameras, so a price point of $100 or less per camera would be ideal. I want something that will give me clear day and night pictures. Bonus points for color pictures during the day. An optional security enclosure that can be secured to a tree would be nice to have as well. Something small/lightweight would be nice to have since I would be hiking a ways from road access to set up some of the cameras.
There are probably more features I would like but that is all I can think of right now. I appreciate any suggestions. Please feel free to also include any tips on using trail cameras such as where to put them and any accessories that I May find useful. |
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Very relevant to my interests.
For an inexpensive game camera, here's what I've been leaning towards as it seems like a decent deal for the price: Moultrie SG-8. |
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I just bought a Bushnell Trophy HD 14MP Aggressor, it was on sale @ cabelas for $149, with a 30 rebate. so $119 final cost.
I set it up on labor day weekend to see if i liked the settings, having it aimed right and stuff. I had it on burst, but I took it off, it just seems to burst too fast for me to see its benefit. I changed it back to 1 pic, and shortened the interval as a compromise. a 32GB card on 8MP setting will store over 15k pictures. Since this cam is not in WI, I wont see it for weeks/months at a time and wanted a lot of space. I looked at pics on 14MP, and its basically interpolated pixels and quality isnt much different at normal viewing sizes. here are a burst set from a small buck on my property, and a little bastard coon that showed up at night. No deer pics at night yet since I only checked it after 48 hours while I was there over the weekend, I wasnt expecting a deer at all 
There are various settings for adjusting the sensitivity and IR flash, I set sensitivity to normal, and IR flash to medium, read some reports about the auto settings giving you more blank pictures. and of 246 pictures in 48 hours, 82 triggers since 3x burst, there was less than a dozen where there wasnt at least a bird or chipmunk. |
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Bushnell Trophy Cam is the hotness right now
Also Browning trail cams are really good for the price as well. I have some range ops, spec ops, and dark ops, and they're all very nice. Fantastic on battery....ran them for 6 months(summer) and they all still show 100% battery and that's probably 200 activation each.......I'm guessing it goes by quarters though... |
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Did the Primos just crap out on you? Were you able to get them replaced? Quoted:
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I'm on my third Primos  so you might want to pass on those...
The best one we have ever owned is a Stealthcam. Great pic's, never had any issues. Did the Primos just crap out on you? Were you able to get them replaced? They have a common problem with the power supply side of the circuit board, well documented on the innerweb. The first two lasted about 14-15 months, then took a shit just out of warranty. They sold me the 'new' one at a slight discount for my trouble, now it has gone tits-up. The Stealthcam we have now is one fine sumbitch'. |
| I have 18 stealth cams that I have been using for the last 5 years. I use the external battery packs and get a good month and a half out of a 12v battery. They take quality pictures especially the newer ones that I picked up in the last few years. I have tried some of the more expensive brands and some of the cheaper ones but I keep using stealth cams because they work. |
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Quoted:
They have a common problem with the power supply side of the circuit board, well documented on the innerweb. The first two lasted about 14-15 months, then took a shit just out of warranty. They sold me the 'new' one at a slight discount for my trouble, now it has gone tits-up. The Stealthcam we have now is one fine sumbitch'. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm on my third Primos so you might want to pass on those...
The best one we have ever owned is a Stealthcam. Great pic's, never had any issues. Did the Primos just crap out on you? Were you able to get them replaced? They have a common problem with the power supply side of the circuit board, well documented on the innerweb. The first two lasted about 14-15 months, then took a shit just out of warranty. They sold me the 'new' one at a slight discount for my trouble, now it has gone tits-up. The Stealthcam we have now is one fine sumbitch'. Oh damn, I have a Primos truth cam 46, it's on month 16, I hope to make it through the season... I should start looking for the next. After finally getting a camera, I am hooked on keeping it out year round and watching everything. |
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Quoted:
I have 18 stealth cams that I have been using for the last 5 years. I use the external battery packs and get a good month and a half out of a 12v battery. They take quality pictures especially the newer ones that I picked up in the last few years. I have tried some of the more expensive brands and some of the cheaper ones but I keep using stealth cams because they work. A month and a half? Are they taking thousands of pictures in that time? That seems really short... |
