What is the best trailcam [Archive]

forestryboy

03-08-2009, 02:53 PM

I looked through all the threads but there has not been a lot posted on the newer trail cams. I don't know what I should be looking for or looking to avoid. Any advice would be appreciated....

Marc

03-08-2009, 04:07 PM

I don't own one but our latest sponsor sells trail cams at a decent price and from the video I watched seem to work quite well and well priced.

http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/

358mag

03-08-2009, 07:07 PM

just remeber no matter what trail camera you get make sure that you have a lock system to keep them so called SOB sportsman from stealing it

ruger#1

03-08-2009, 07:12 PM

I own a HCO Scoutguard , And im happy with it so far. It is a small camera, Also it is easy to use.

Sitkaspruce

03-08-2009, 08:11 PM

here is a pretty good review site

http://www.whitetaildeer-management-and-hunting.com/digital-trail-camera-reviews.html

also check out Jessie's hunting.

I have a Spycam (which is no longer made) and it has worked awsome. Spend the money and get a good one, and make sure that you get some type of lockable case to protect.

Cheers

SS

Johnnybear

03-08-2009, 09:01 PM

I don't own one but our latest sponsor sells trail cams at a decent price and from the video I watched seem to work quite well and well priced.

http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/

I own a HCO Scoutguard , And im happy with it so far. It is a small camera, Also it is easy to use.

Thanks for the link Marc. I didn't even notice them as a new sponser:redface::smile:. I checked out the site and they look like nice cams.

Good report ruger#1. Nice to see support for the sponsers of this site.

30-378-magnum

03-08-2009, 09:33 PM

check out www chasin game .com they have reviews on most models of trail cameras

todbartell

03-08-2009, 09:39 PM

I got a bushnell trailscount 3.0 LED, but would steer clear of them (Bushnell). Ive seen alot of issues with them over the past few years. Slow warranty service too......

trapperdan2061

03-08-2009, 10:13 PM

I purchased a twin pack from CT the $99 one, I am having problems with one of the cameras. I am trying to work things out with the makers but they want me to ship it back to Texas. With shipping and brokerage it will cost more than it is worth. I am waiting for a reply from the president of the company as I e-mailed him direct. This is a Wild View Camera.

gbear

03-09-2009, 07:22 AM

So far I have used Leaf River and Moultrie. Both are easy to use, but I like the Moultrie better. Over 10,000 pictures out of my first one, and still going. Although, the leaf river look like they are built better. But, I have had trouble with one of mine, and a friend also had the same trouble with his.

I was looking at looking at trying a spy point possibly. But, I see now there is a new sponser as pointed out. I checked their website, and those cameras look good. Nice and small and take AA batteries. I'm thinking of trying one of those out. Glad to hear ruger#1 is having luck with it so far.

bigwhiteys

03-09-2009, 08:00 AM

Moultrie Game Cams are a royal piece of shit....

they take GREAT pictures but DO NOT stand behind their products one bit... even with the 1 year warranty.

The entire camera is made of plastic, even the mounting tabs. When they break off (which will happen) Moultrie will do absolutely nothing for you.

Instead they will try to sell you a tripod for it....

Carl

forestryboy

03-09-2009, 01:29 PM

Thanks for the replies. After checking the HCO website I've noticed the the scoutguard is not waterproof. Ruger#1 have you had any water related problems?

Kye

03-13-2009, 10:39 PM

I bought a scoutgaurd after reading alot of reviews. It has worked flawlessly. Super quick response time, you can program it to do anything. Plus its tiny (fits in the palm of my hand), I put some camo tape on it. I've had a few pictures of guys hanging out in front of it and not seeing it.

For the money its the best cam.
Heres some photos
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=13330
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=13331&size=big&cat=500

Kye

03-13-2009, 10:41 PM

Thanks for the replies. After checking the HCO website I've noticed the the scoutguard is not waterproof. Ruger#1 have you had any water related problems?

Its not rated as waterproof because the bottom of the unit doesn't have a watertight seal. Mines been out in all sorts of weather and never had a problem. Look at the reviews on the chasing game website, they took a hose to it with no problem.

sneg

03-14-2009, 09:11 AM

I got two cameras Wildview extreme 2 from Cabelas over 1 year. About $100 for both plus shipping. Work just fine And no worries about expensive gear being stolen.I need to drive a bit to my hunting grounds,so checking very infrequently, this why I need inexpensive and reliable stuff.

westhoyt

03-14-2009, 02:57 PM

just went to our local sporting goods looking for a trail cam, they sold 6 bushnell cams at xmas and they all came back, so they have some different ones on order, makes me wonder what is good and what is junk.?

UWAY Outdoors Canada

03-14-2009, 05:00 PM

Thanks for the HCO ScoutGuard comments. I'm a little biased toward them, but wanted to share a couple videos I got a while ago. Just some coyotes eating on a roadkill deer. The first one is kind of funny as I stuck the deer vertical in the snow because my dog kept dragging it home. It must have looked a little weird because they circled it for a couple days before eating it. Used lithium batteries this winter and they worked well even down to -30C.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cS5xcgPmxw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aItkZrFe6bY

I put the ScoutGuard out today on a nice trail, so should have a bunch of deer pictures tomorrow.

Marc

03-14-2009, 05:33 PM

UWAY Outdoors Canada

03-14-2009, 07:01 PM

I've been quite happy with the video quality and hence haven't taken many still pictures. All models come with video mode. Hopefully I have the camera in a good spot tonight and then I'll post some of the pictures.

westhoyt

03-15-2009, 11:04 AM

Does a guy need to get the model with the remote programer ?

TIKKA TIGER

03-15-2009, 11:19 AM

Does a guy need to get the model with the remote programer ?
I don't believe so. I'm looking into buying the SG550V camera which comes with the remote viewer. The one that doesn't is the SG550. Scoutguard... Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Cheers... :smile:

UWAY Outdoors Canada

03-15-2009, 12:55 PM

Correct.

The SG550V comes with a remote viewer that plugs into a USB port on the camera. You can view pictures from the camera in the field. It also helps if you take a quick picture when your setting it up to see if you have the camera in the correct location.

The SG550 comes with a remote that looks the same, but it is only for programming the camera. Some guys bring their digital camera (if compatible with the SD Card) along with them while checking the trail camera and view the pictures through their digital camera.

UWAY Outdoors Canada

03-15-2009, 02:31 PM

Here are a few pictures I got last night and this morning on a lake by my house. The deer migrate back and forth to a pea field every morning and night. Just add or subtract 12 hours to the time because I mixed up the clock. Got 126 pictures total since yesterday at 3pm. I had it set to wait 5 sec between triggering from motion. The sun hadn't quite come out yet so I'll try and get some full color ones soon.

The first two pictures are in the evening and the last two pictures are from the morning today.

http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/Deer1.jpg

http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/Deer2.jpg

http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/Deer3.jpg

http://www.trailnsecuritycameras.ca/Deer4.jpg

Marc

03-15-2009, 03:09 PM

Looks like you have a shortage of deer :biggrin:

Ambush

03-15-2009, 03:34 PM

ScoutGuard. I looked on the spec page, but have a couple of questions.

I see that a six volt battery can be used. Is that a dry cell or lead acid battery? Can a person use a 6V ATV battery, for example?

Is the 6V adapter cable included with the camera? If not, how much?

How many minutes of video could I expect from one set of quality AA batteries?

Good quality pics and video you have on your site.

UWAY Outdoors Canada

03-15-2009, 04:22 PM

There is a 6 V port on the bottom of the camera. It was designed to use a 120V AC to 6V DC power adapter. I have heard of guys buying some kind of adapters from stores like "The Source" and then hooking it up to a 6V DC battery. I haven't done it myself, but am planning on figuring it out for next winter. The AC to DC adapters that I sell are 1 amp output. A quad battery would have many more amps, but I am not sure how that affects electronics.
With 8 AA batteries you should be able to get a few thousand pictures out of it before the batteries go dead (I found the Lithium batteris are rated the best for cold, but they are expensive). I use regular rechargables in the summer and fall.

As for video, I have about 100 one minute videos and about 1000 pictures and the batteries are still at 1.6V each. I'll try putting it on video and see how many more minutes I can get out of it.

Ambush

03-15-2009, 04:54 PM

There is a 6 V port on the bottom of the camera. It was designed to use a 120V AC to 6V DC power adapter. I have heard of guys buying some kind of adapters from stores like "The Source" and then hooking it up to a 6V DC battery. I haven't done it myself, but am planning on figuring it out for next winter. The AC to DC adapters that I sell are 1 amp output. A quad battery would have many more amps, but I am not sure how that affects electronics.

Thanks for the info.
So what you are saying is that the camera has a 6V port, but you don't supply a cable and you don't know how it works. And you can't for certain tell me what cable I can buy to connect it to the 6V battery or what kind of battery I can use.

Can you get this info from the manufacturer?

UWAY Outdoors Canada

03-15-2009, 06:09 PM

Thanks for the info.
So what you are saying is that the camera has a 6V port, but you don't supply a cable and you don't know how it works. And you can't for certain tell me what cable I can buy to connect it to the 6V battery or what kind of battery I can use.

Can you get this info from the manufacturer?

I just sell the 6V AC to DC power adapter. The camera uses 8 AA batteries which would be 12V, so 4 of them are in parallel to provide 6V to the camera. I have talked to the manufacture and they didn't know how a quad battery would work on it. Technically, if the quad battery is 6V it should work. The camera will only draw the amps it needs to run. I'll have been planning on going to The Source and figuring this out, so I'll let you know.

Otherwise, a camera reviewed last year by chasingame got 5120 pictures and 175 videos on 8 AA regular Energizer batteries. Rechargables do not last quite this long.

Depending on how your using it, the memory card will fill up long before the batteries go dead.

Ambush

03-15-2009, 10:32 PM

Thanks ScoutGuard. I was looking on their website for more specs. I will send you a PM with a few more questions. It's time I change up some of my old cameras, but for the money I want to make the right choice.

TIKKA TIGER

03-16-2009, 06:11 AM

I looked through all the threads but there has not been a lot posted on the newer trail cams. I don't know what I should be looking for or looking to avoid. Any advice would be appreciated....
I've been looking at alot of game / trail cameras recently and the Scoutguard has many of the features I want. Anyway... I just purchased the ScoutGuard / Scoutview SG550V game / trail camera c/w all accessories. Once I get it and set it up in some of my favorite hunting areas I'll keep you posted on what I think of the camera and perhaps share some photos.
Cheers... :smile:

Wild Bill

03-22-2009, 07:49 PM

Another website to check out: www.treebarkcameras.com (http://www.treebarkcameras.com)
These are built right here in Alberta and will withstand the cold temperatures. They are fully weatherproof and are lockable to the tree. Just a thought...