thoughts on what type of trail cam to buy

[trapman]

Looking to buy 6 trail cams and the more i look the more confused I get. Looking for best bang for your buck , must have video
Thanks

[twoSevenO]

What's your budget?

I started with primarily lower end Stealth cams. They were often on sale and you could pick up a pack of two for $130 or so.

But ... they are pretty much only good for determining whether it's a big buck or a little buck .... details will not be easy to distinguish as the quality is not very good.

I've also tried a couple of "Apeman" cams off Amazon and for $75 including shipping they have actually been quite good. They even have screens on them so checking the cards is very quick.

One thing to completely disregard in the lower end cams is the megapixels. They often "blow up" the image in a process similar to when you zoom in on your phone (digital zoom) and you get a larger but shittier quality photos. It is infuriating that this cant be turned off.

If you are looking to spend more money ($150+ per cam) then you should really be OK with anyhing from Spypoint, browning and other high end cameras.

[wrenchhead]

Iv had a few different brands and the best bang for buck one iv found is the browning brand. Good price, pic quality, battery life, and trigger speed.

[XPEIer]

I am running Bushnell and Moultrie, both take good photos, havent tried the video feed much and both are less than 140.00ea.

XPEIER

[twoSevenO]

I am running Bushnell and Moultrie, both take good photos, havent tried the video feed much and both are less than 140.00ea.

XPEIER

x2 ... I have heard very good things about Bushnell Trophy cams. Been meaning to try a couple myself as well, as soon as i find some on sale.

[HighCountryBC]

There's a lot more to trail cams than getting a decent picture or video. After trying it out many years ago, I now only run my cams on video mode. It is amazing what you miss if your camera is just set to take pictures and most guys wouldn't have a clue. I certainly didn't until I made the switch.

That being said, trigger speed is hands down the most important factor in my opinion. For that reason, I'd recommend Bushnell and/or Browning. Extremely fast trigger speed and quality images. I would stay clear of Moultrie, Stealth Cam, Primos etc. I strictly run Bushnell and Browning cams now and have never had an issue.

Best thing you can do is check out the reviews on the site I've linked below and make a decision.

https://www.trailcampro.com/collecti...camera-reviews

[Cdog]

I paid $45 Canadian after additional discounts for being a first time customer for this one: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p...trrxtrm12mptch The price went up slightly since thanksgiving weekend but I'm happy with it so far! Picked it up at Bellis Fair Mall.

[masoncade1992]

What's your budget?

I started with primarily lower end Stealth cams. They were often on sale and you could pick up a pack of two for $130 or so.

But ... they are pretty much only good for determining whether it's a big buck or a little buck .... details will not be easy to distinguish as the quality is not very good.

I've also tried a couple of "Apeman" cams off Amazon and for $75 including shipping they have actually been quite good. They even have screens on them so checking the cards is very quick.

One thing to completely disregard in the lower end cams is the megapixels. They often "blow up" the image in a process similar to when you zoom in on your phone (digital zoom) and you get a larger but shittier quality photos. It is infuriating that this cant be turned off.

If you are looking to spend more money ($150+ per cam) then you should really be OK with anyhing from Spypoint, browning and other high end cameras.

I just ordered 3 "apeman" game cams off amazon. I glad to hear they are working for you. seem like a good cam for the price. How long do the battery's last?

[J_T]

I started off using Moultrie. I still have my original Moultries. I like the cameras and I like the C size batteries. They do last longer. The one concern I do have, is that these cams came out at a time when a big sd card was 4mb. Now I'm using 32 and 64 mb cards. Faster cards and these cameras take a bit of time to wake up and refresh.

More recently I've moved to the Browning Command Ops cameras. Video, Audio, 12 megapixel images. Great cameras. They definitely take better pictures in darker times of the day. These all run on AA batteries.

I like that the Browning cams have their display that lights up when activated. And, that they give you a read out of the battery power left. The more recent Moulties don't have a lighted display panel and they don't show battery status. Which is a must have. The most recent Browning I bought has a 0.4sec wake up for activation and when I'm taking pics of cougars and wolves, this has really resulted in my not missing a pic.

[twoSevenO]

I just ordered 3 "apeman" game cams off amazon. I glad to hear they are working for you. seem like a good cam for the price. How long do the battery's last?

I'll find out when i go to collect them. Not sure when i'll be in that spot .... sometime in November i recon. Deployed it on June 10th i believe.