need help choosing a game/trail camera
- Thread starter cajun48
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der Teufel
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I have a Primos TruthCam 35. It's a couple of years old and the company may have made improvements, but mine won't run two weeks on a set of batteries. Something just 'happens' to it. I've had occasions when the wind was blowing something in front of it and it filled up the card with photos, so it CAN take a bunch of pictures. It just won't operate more than 10-11 days (sometimes only 3) before it dies. I've tried putting an external battery on it, same thing happens.
On the other hand, I've heard from folks who have one and absolutely love it. If you get one, start using it immediately and see how it performs so that if it's a lemon, you can return it quickly.
On the other hand, I've heard from folks who have one and absolutely love it. If you get one, start using it immediately and see how it performs so that if it's a lemon, you can return it quickly.
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cajun48
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BP, Thanks for the warning. That kind of stuff is why I wanted inexpensive. A friend had his blind stolen the same day he put it up. Set up was around 7-8AM back to hunt around 4ish, no tree stand!.
der Teufel, I had heard that comment (on 2011 models) but was hoping for improvements, don't think they made any.
Thanks again to you both for posting responses! aj b
der Teufel, I had heard that comment (on 2011 models) but was hoping for improvements, don't think they made any.
Thanks again to you both for posting responses! aj b
A few thoughts for you to mull over, what are the camera traps to be used for, specifically? Deer, over a bait pile? Static subjects such as deer at the corn feeder don't require much in the way of sophistication, 3-5 megapixels will be more then adequate.
Silent operation is a must, and the last Primos Truth cam(the only one)I field tested made an extremely loud clunk everytime it snapped an image! Also, the Primos cameras are very poor performers at, and after dark, producing images suffering from grainy distortions, and substantial blurring, even of totally stationary subjects, imaging of daylight targets all suffered from a strange pinkish hue! Unfortunately, this includes the brand new 2012 versions as well!
They come packaged brightly, inviting us to "speak the language," and marvel at they're outstanding "anti-blur" IR performance! In my tests, they didn't graduate to the field for trail evaluations, the very first trail cam that failed to do so! That means that they failed to even take an adequate image from the controlled laboratory of my back yard!
Other cameras to avoid are the Bushnell Trophy Cam HD's, which were recomended to me highly by TrailcamPro.com. I had four of them deployed at wolf den sites this past year, all four failed repeatedly, not that they are not capable of some impressive performance feats, such as an almost instant reset capability, high burst rates, and other such high performance enhancements. They all suffered from the exact same failings, which is to say that they could not produce a single, quality, nightime image at any range! They all suffered from significant blurring, at first only at, and after dark, then ultimately it bled over into the daytime operations of the cameras as well!
The best cameras are from Reconyx, but they are far beyond the $75.00 price range you've established. One other thing, Reconyx cameras, the very best available, they all possess just three megapixels. So don't be hoodwinked by high megapixel claims, the Bushnell trophy cam HD's were all selectable from 3-8 megapixels!
Instead of recomending a specific camera, I'd steer you in the direction of certain performance features that are nice for capturing deer at the feeder, and essential for capturing clear, contrasty images of wary predators on game trails! Burst fire modes of up to three(3)images per second are highly preferred(Bushnell was capable of taking hundreds of images in just a few minutes), a wide detection circuit, one that can reach out at least 50 feet from the camera trap mount,(some exist that can reach out beyond 70 feet), and is also adjustable by the user, also an important feature is reset, if the cameras you're looking at don't have a fast reset rate they simply won't adervtise any at all! I consider any camera that is able to rearm itself and take images again in ten seconds or under, as decent! Reconyx camera reset rates are literally instantaneous, Bushnell Trophy Cam HD's reset in just 2.9 seconds(Don't forget that they blur)
The most important feature to me, in any trail camera trap is "trigger speed!" This is the amount of time it takes the camera to detect a target, and capture its image, at ranges out to 90 feet or so, depending upon the camera. The best are all under 1 second, some well under the 1 second mark. Consider, the best trail camera video I've ever seen, come from the extremely cheap Wildgame Inovations "Red6" cameras. Great video, no blurring, high contrast images ect.. The problem is that the trigger times are 5-10 seconds, so that by the time the camera is imaging, there is nothing in the frame to image! Understand? Trigger speed is essential.
Four images taken from both the Primos & Bushnell brands, woeful performance.
Silent operation is a must, and the last Primos Truth cam(the only one)I field tested made an extremely loud clunk everytime it snapped an image! Also, the Primos cameras are very poor performers at, and after dark, producing images suffering from grainy distortions, and substantial blurring, even of totally stationary subjects, imaging of daylight targets all suffered from a strange pinkish hue! Unfortunately, this includes the brand new 2012 versions as well!
They come packaged brightly, inviting us to "speak the language," and marvel at they're outstanding "anti-blur" IR performance! In my tests, they didn't graduate to the field for trail evaluations, the very first trail cam that failed to do so! That means that they failed to even take an adequate image from the controlled laboratory of my back yard!
Other cameras to avoid are the Bushnell Trophy Cam HD's, which were recomended to me highly by TrailcamPro.com. I had four of them deployed at wolf den sites this past year, all four failed repeatedly, not that they are not capable of some impressive performance feats, such as an almost instant reset capability, high burst rates, and other such high performance enhancements. They all suffered from the exact same failings, which is to say that they could not produce a single, quality, nightime image at any range! They all suffered from significant blurring, at first only at, and after dark, then ultimately it bled over into the daytime operations of the cameras as well!
The best cameras are from Reconyx, but they are far beyond the $75.00 price range you've established. One other thing, Reconyx cameras, the very best available, they all possess just three megapixels. So don't be hoodwinked by high megapixel claims, the Bushnell trophy cam HD's were all selectable from 3-8 megapixels!
Instead of recomending a specific camera, I'd steer you in the direction of certain performance features that are nice for capturing deer at the feeder, and essential for capturing clear, contrasty images of wary predators on game trails! Burst fire modes of up to three(3)images per second are highly preferred(Bushnell was capable of taking hundreds of images in just a few minutes), a wide detection circuit, one that can reach out at least 50 feet from the camera trap mount,(some exist that can reach out beyond 70 feet), and is also adjustable by the user, also an important feature is reset, if the cameras you're looking at don't have a fast reset rate they simply won't adervtise any at all! I consider any camera that is able to rearm itself and take images again in ten seconds or under, as decent! Reconyx camera reset rates are literally instantaneous, Bushnell Trophy Cam HD's reset in just 2.9 seconds(Don't forget that they blur)
The most important feature to me, in any trail camera trap is "trigger speed!" This is the amount of time it takes the camera to detect a target, and capture its image, at ranges out to 90 feet or so, depending upon the camera. The best are all under 1 second, some well under the 1 second mark. Consider, the best trail camera video I've ever seen, come from the extremely cheap Wildgame Inovations "Red6" cameras. Great video, no blurring, high contrast images ect.. The problem is that the trigger times are 5-10 seconds, so that by the time the camera is imaging, there is nothing in the frame to image! Understand? Trigger speed is essential.
Four images taken from both the Primos & Bushnell brands, woeful performance.
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