I'm all but convinced that most of these trail cam companies build their cams to only last a couple years. With today's advances in tech, they could do MUCH better. I have bought quality cams over the years, but my Cudde Attack is the only one that's lasted more than 3 years. Mine is now 6 years old and still working great! Even my Coverts, which I love, don't last more than 2 or 3 years. Anyone agree with this thinking?
If they didn't stop you wouldn't buy more and they would be out of business. That's why I purchase good but inexpensive cameras. When they quit I can buy another. $75 once in a while is better than $500 because they will all stop working at some point. Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk
I've got homebrews that are 10 years old and still going strong. The beauty of a homebrew is if it quits you can usually fix it. Really the whole homebrew thing started up because of the unreliability of the first commercial cams. I think the commercial cams have improved in that respect but they have definitely not caught up to the hombrews in that area. Blessings..........Pastorjim
I still have a cheap Moultrie A-5, six years old and works like a champ. My Covert blackout MP8 lasted 5 years and they replaced it for $62.50 when I sent it in. My wife is a photo archivist and has good knowledge of cameras so we have discussed building a trail cam. The main reason is what PastorJim hit on, we can fix it ourselves. As far as the worst one I have bought.. Stealthcam, it barely lasted a season and the customer service is nonexistent.
I agree with this thinking to a certain point, but wouldn't you want your product to last long enough that the customer says "hey, this thing's been working great, I think I'll buy another one or two"?
I agree totally with your thought process, that's why there is always an upgrade every year. So you'll buy more. Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk
To many it doesn't matter as long as it's a couple of years. They want the latest and greatest thing. Just look at the iPhone sales. I have some old moultrie cams that are 6 years old. My 5 Reconyx xr6 just keep on going year after year. Got them the first year they came out. I had 5 home brew cams and sold them to get no glow cams with video. All the Chinese cams are Chinese. They are into mass production. And they are good at it. They never had quality just cheap stuff. The manufacturer only can control so much and be competitive with Chinese products. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
I’ll take a picture of the shelf in my garage tomorrow and post it, 6 or 7 different brands of non working trail cameras. Some only a year old. I’ve known for a long time that cameras don’t last, I have a few Coverts in the 5-6 year old age bracket that are still working but everything else I own is less than 3 years old. That’s why I don’t rely on any particular brand, I just but ones that take good pictures when there’s a good sale or deal and know that I’m going to have to do the same again in a year or two. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had 4 Cuddebacks that failed literally within 2 weeks of the warranty expiration. Built in to fail???? And the CS is the worst. Been running 6-7 Moultrie for 3 or 4 years with no issues.
It is a shame that they are made this way, and its probably an inexpensive problem to fix if you had the equipment to do it. I wonder if someone who was tech savvy enough could run a business refurbishing trail cams. I bet there are alot of people out there who would pay a few bucks to have a camera work for another year or two before tossing it.
When new cameras are $80-$100, how much are people gonna charge to repair them? They arnt gonna want to spend more than $20-$30 to do it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I am talking higher quality cameras, like the ones that are $150+ I know I wouldnt want to spend that kind of money only to have it crap out 3 years later.
Strange thing i see with cams is its like they have shelf life rather then a use life. Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
This is what I'm referring to. My cams only sit out for 3 months a year, it's not like I leave them out 365. I might get 100-150 pics per cam each year.
I have Covert cameras that are 6 years old and still going. I have a Covert MP6 that has taken over 500,000 pics and is still going strong. Like Siman/OH said, I don't rely on one brand. I have several Stealth Cams, a Cuddeback and a couple of USA Trail cams as well.
