Looking to add a couple more trail cameras to my fleet for public land scouting. I don't have alot of money to spend on them. plus I don't want an expensive camera getting stolen. What are some good cameras on a budget? Sent from my Moto E (4) using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Go on EBay and buy some Moultrie camera that you can use with security codes. I believe they are the cheapest with this option. I use the 40i.
I like the Wildgame Innovations Terra 10 Lightsout camera. I found them at ****'s Sporting Goods for $50. They use invisible LEDs which I really like. It's a very basic no-frills camera, but it takes perfectly good pictures. I bought six and they have all worked great all season, even with frigid temps and lots of snow.
I have a bunch of the lower end stealth cams. You can find refurbished ones on camofire for 40-60 bucks. Not the best picture but good enough to see what’s there and how big. These 3 pictures were from stealth cams that I paid 40 bucks for.
Much easier if you give an amount...anything less than $60 I've honestly had better luck just grabbing refurbs or not having expectations. Shoot I even have a $10 BResser that does zero time stamps that somehow keeps ticking and serves a purpose but I'd never recommend it.
I think budget is a subjective term. Everyone looks at budget a little different. To me a 100 dollars or less would be a budget camera, however I see people purchase the Wal-mart Tasco cameras for much less and like them. For me I'd never purchase the Tasco cuz I think I want something that has more features and decent reputation. Now if I'm recommending a decent budget camera I'd recommend as Ty suggested a refurbished model or even you can find older (very dependable) models for a better price on Amazon than what they originally sold for. If I'm purchasing a new budget camera for myself I'd probably go with this one by Spypoint. https://www.trailcampro.com/products/spypoint-force-10 The Force 10 has a video option, a viewing screen (I love them), decent pics, easy to setup, and only uses 6 AAs. I'm not a camera geek so normally those are the features that I really like to have in a camera. Anything more is a bonus!
Another thing to consider is the cheaper a camera gets, typically the shorter or even lack of warranty becomes an issue. I believe I've probably at some point within 2-3 years of use see 50%-75% of my cameras start having issues of some kind. Maybe night images start failing...battery life shortens...only works on certain settings or so on and so forth. 2 year warranties cover most of these issues and if I start having any kind of issues covered the warranty is an amazing way to get a new camera basically 20-23 months later. I have a few cheap Covert Mpe5s and Mpe6s that gotta be going on year 5 or so and still ticking....Pops has an old Primos 35 that takes the D batteries still going...probably pushing 8 or 9 years old. Just something to consider or chances are an electronic device left in heat, cold, rain, snow, wind and around insects have the odds stacked against them for survival long term and a solid warranty or reputable company that will do refurb work for you if not covered at times IS WORTH THEIR PRICE.
I got a couple of older Tasco's for free and thought, "hot dog free cameras". I figured cheapos were better than nothing. Wrong. Getting bad info is actually worse than no info. I took them both down and threw them away. So, it's fine to get an inexpensive camera with few functions, but make sure you pay enough to get something that will actually work.
I concur...outside of refurbed Covert Mpe6s I think the Proof Cams are cheap and seemed to be dependable just don't have HUGE expectations. If truly desiring ONLY to get pics, I actually have a $9.99 (reg is like $19.99) Bresser cam from Walmart. Pics suck overall for resolution and such but easily clear enough to know what it is and the time of day must be guessed as zero timestamps.
Exactly why I buy all my cams from Trailcampro.com They have been great for me even though i've never had a camera go bad yet.
I have 2 of the spypoint force 10’s. I like them a lot but one of them is having battery issues or some kind of issue that it will take some night pics, then pics will go black. I purchased them on jet.com about a yr ago for under $60 each. Their trigger speed is amazing & will take a ton of pics one the instant setting. For slightly more & as suggested on this sight I purchased 2 Bushnell essential E’s. These have shown me some awesome pics & while on sale on amazon they were $87 each. Hands down better pics but fewer captured.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/8...&utm_campaign=stealthcam-trailhawk-noglocombo Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Some of my best camera's have been the cheap wildgames, most of the time they out preform my higher end cameras.
