Trail Camera Recommendations
 

Hey folks,
trying to navigate through the myriad of trail cam choices. I think I will go cellular this time just because it saves time and disturbance checking cameras but anyone got direct experience with a particular brand that they'd highly recommend ? Also brands to stay away from.

I bought some cheap ones on impulse pre season and they are adequate but don't have good image quality and can't freeze the subject and i'd prefer one with no white flash for nighttime exposures.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated
thx
Mark

I have 2 Stealth cam fusions I am trying this year and they don’t like tight bush. In tight bush they give lots of false pics and I know they are missing animals

My buddy has been running spy points and says they are not reliable

We have both tested them on the same tree as some of our standard cams and both brands are missing animals the standard cams are catching

Between poor cell service in a lot of my spots and I am finding the standard cams more reliable I will likely sell my fusions. I would rather spend fuel checking cams I trust will catch pics of the animals that pass by.

The truth is it is a good thing to let cams soak for long periods vs over checking them

That is my 2 cents

trail cam feedback
 

Thanks for this as this is exactly the info that i'm looking for. Like you, cell coverage is a potential issue in a couple of my spots. As for the pictures of nothing... i have experienced similar but i think it might have more to do the placement of the camera and sensitivity settings. Nearby bush etc seems to trigger the sensor. I just don't want to spent $200-$300 and get the same results as with my cheap $50 on sale standard trail cams.

However I do think the better models do have different LED lights for no startle flash and the camera is better quality at at freezing the image instead of blurs but i have no direct experience hence the post.

Myself and my buddy I mentioned both have lots of experience running cams. We both know the tricks to adjusting our set up and playing with settings. With all the brands of standard cams we have run we know there quirks and flaws so we can apply them best. We test any new cams against our proven cams and adjust to find where a new cam excels or fails. We put in effort well beyond most to make sure our cams don’t miss pics

I can tell you I have been testing my fusions with multiple set ups and have compared their reliability to my multiple standard cam brand/models. I do so by having them on the same tree. I attempted changes in settings and style of locations. Right now the fusions have fallen short of all my standard cams. The fusions vs my cheap stealth cam will get 25-50% more pics then the fusions when on the same tree

My opinion of theses cellular cams are well tested

My buddy has two models of spy points and one fusion. His opinion is the spy points are worse for missing animals. My brother jumped around mooning my buddies spy point and not a single pic of him was taken. He is just as OCD as I am when testing cams if he says the cam has issues I trust him

Most don’t test their cams ability to catch images and just go on pic quality.

If you are dead set on trying cellular cams don’t buy the ones we already tested because they fall short. I will take my cheap cam that may not provide the same quality of pics but actually captures pics of animals

Lots of threads on the site with regards to cell cams. I would search Tactacam (have to import from the US) but for the price they are unbeatable.

I would try to post so links from these threads, but do not know how.

DR

i really appreciate this @smoky buck thanks !

Reconeco Outdoors, local company great to deal with.

LC

Hey DRHunter

yes i have watched some youtube videos and trying to decipher between those who are sponsored with freebies and those who are impartial. I'm finding that price isn't always indicative of quality or performance. Some have features like cellular but lack in image quality.

The other problem I had heard with the Tactacam is that they only run off AT/T so won't work on Canada cell system service providers. Is that true ?

Just buy a cheapie camera and the Spypoint cell link. Super easy to use and I haven’t had any issues with the 4 I am running.

I have 3 Reveal from Tactacam At/T work great only issue I’ve
Seen is when the App shows you 60% Battery power left they go dead
Shortly after but if you use the Energizer Lithium’s they will last a whole
Season.

so the AT/T works here on whatever network they piggy back off ?

thanks

It does with Telus that’s all I know

Please post pics of "tight bush":)

My buddy was thinking about trying this. I have a spy point link micro lte and I find that wheni set up and the service says 25% I get no pics. You know if the cell link gets better range that just regular camera? Kinda silly that most places guys hunt there is no or little service so why use a cell camera. I won mine, not sure I would buy another. I set it up in a area and got some ok pics of does, check the SD card and it didn't send me a bunch of pics of moose there.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

I often get pics even when the cell link shows 0% or 25% signal.

I only set them up in places where I get 1 bar of LTE and I don’t have any issues loading a page like AO or opening Facebook on my phone.

Call their help line. I think you will find it is not an issue with the camera but with their system. Pictures have to go through their services before they are relaid to you.

I cant speak for the spypoint link, but I have used Spypoint mini's and they really struggle to find service even when I would have 2 bars on my phone. Pictures were spotty when they would come in.

I put up a Tactacam reveal in one location that I had a mini out and the service coverage was night and day better. Based on that success, I put up another one in an area where I barely have any service on my phone and I still have really good coverage on the Reveal.

Save yourself the frustration and headache (not to mention how poor Spypoints customer service has become) and buy a couple Tactacams. You have to import them out of the States and pay shipping... I was lucky to buy mine in Canada, but still worth it in my opinion to import; probably cost you $250/camera if you order 2 or 3.

DR

A good point ! I know some spots the cell coverage is one bar if any. I wonder if in those areas the cellular camera won't even work with that main feature if weak signal which defeats the purpose.

The more I read about this, i'm wondering if i just focus on finding a good reliable camera brand that takes good, clear pictures and doesn't have high failure or misfire rate.

thanks for input

GTK ... i hope all camera brands work well on low signal strength.

cheers

Thanks and i'm pleased to read that someone said it works by piggy backing off Telus service. Cabelas write ups have good reviews on this camera but i hesitated because i did'nt think it worked on our Canadian networks.


I appreciate the input .

Was In Cabelas North Edm couple weeks ago they had a shipment
Of Tactacams come in there on separate shelf away from other cameras
not sure why but pretty sure selling for 179.00

Tactacam camera
 

Thanks so much !

I have been running Cuddeback cameras for the past couple of years and have nothing but great things to say. No not a true cell camera, so you don't get instant pictures but they have their own network/signal and download to a home camera, which for me is right beside the garden. Therefore no cell plan to purchase and still you are not walking through your hunting ground everyday. Great picture and video quality and 6+ months of camera life if you purchase the larger battery pack. Definitely not cheap cameras, probably the same price as a cell camera but with no plans you don't keep paying.

Here is an example of the video.

Good luck.

Sorry, I can't upload the video so attached a pic instead.

Image quality is good and the bull is a beauty !

thx

Browning

Would you happen to have the GPS coordinates? :)

Just curious, how many of you guys have had your trail cameras stolen?

I am 4 for 4! :angry3: