I notice all the anti - Cuddeback sentiment here and I have to say that I haven't had many prob;ems with my Cudde's. I have 3 No Flash IRs and 1 expert flash cam. Aside from the hassle of extreme cold eating the batteries, they've been pretty good. I also had to learn how to set them so the sun wouldn't trigger them, but I never had to send one in. The 3 IRs are 4 years old and the Expert is 6. I keep them out from June through April and they see the worst weather. Is the problem just with the other models?
I have 8 cuddeback captures (flash version) and the only problem i've ever had with any of them is when i let the batteries run down to far the flash won't go off and that certainly isnt the cameras fault. Some whine about the 30 second delay, it says it right on the outside of the box. Why even buy a camera when it doesnt have the features you want? I've heard some complain about how narrow the cone angle is on these cams, or how the subject has to be in the center before it takes a pic, i havent seen a problem with mine. I have alot bird pics to confirm it. I will say that i believe there are cams out there that have a wider field of view then the cuddes have. On average, and im talking from the beginning of april thru november, i get right at 2000 pics per set of batteries, i can live with that. I havent used them in the extreme cold so i cant comment on that. I dont think there is a manufacturer out there that makes the perfect camera (although reconyx is pretty close in my book). I believe that it all boils down to doing your research before you buy one. Get 1 that best suits your needs and test it out before you put it the field so that you know what it can and cant do. As long as my cuddes keep preforming the way they do i'll keep buying them because they do what i expect them to, but that doesnt mean i wont have different makes and models in my arsenal also.
I Like the ones I had I liked I found that my battery life seed to go down hill as they got older and mu IR is having problems taking pics that come out right.
GregH, I think it is mainly the Captures you will see most people complaining about. I had a Capture flash for about six monts and sold it for the reasons leadoperator mentioned in his post. I usually research alot before I buy any cam. But this one, the Cudde, was a gift from my wife so I didn't have much say in it. Really, it wouldn't take many changes on their part to have a really great camera. I would be all for them if they would fix their sensor issues and change the 30sec. delay. What really gets me is the sensor issue with it's field of view. Instead of fixing it they put a name of; "centerd subject technology" on it and use it as a marketing tool. But I believe their sensor issues go beyond a narrow field of view. Last year I put the Cudde over a mineral lick that I have had going for several years along with a cheap Stealthcam. The Stealthcam had over 900 pics while the Cudde had somewhere around 300. I never had opportunity to use their customer service but I have not read many positives about it from others. But really I'm not here to bash anyone's choice of equipment. if it's working for you, great. I'm just noting the issues I had with mine. Blessings.....Pastorjim
Not me, I've never owned a Capture. I own the No Flash Cudde's like Greg has. They all started off great but went to **** In no time. I take very good care of my camera's. It's very frustrating paying $300.00 plus for a camera that last's a little over a year and then goes to hell. I've owned 4 of these camera's, everyone has gave me trouble. The 2 I have now work when they want to. It's so frustrating because I know I'm missing some quality pictures of bucks and bear. I could send these back and get a refurbished one for $150.00 a piece but I've already done that on prior Cudde's and when the warranty Is up the cams usually act up shortly after. Their customer service absolutely sucks and until they can start treating their customers better their not going to hear any good things out of me.
I purchased two Capture Flash models from Cabelas Bargain Cave this year for $110 each and had pretty good success with them......until I brought them in for the season. One is okay and the other I think I'm going to have to send in. It said I had 18 pics on it and took the card out and had nothing. I then did some trouble shooting to get the images back on the card and nothing. The green light never comes on. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come.
Whats funny is that cell phones can steam movies and the web at the touch of a finger for pennys of a top of the line trail cam. Whats so hard to make a cam that works? I am not knocking cuddyback but the hole market is so far behind and the failure rate is stunning no matter who makes it. sorry rant..........
Where to begin with this company? Lets see had to send 3 of there replacement cameras back in 1 month because they couldn't send me one that worked right. They then told me that I had to pay for them to fix the 3rd replacement camera because the part that broke, wasn't the original part that broke when it was under warranty. I asked for a brand new camera and they told me that's not how it works and I basically burned my bridge with them. With my cousin trying to get me to buy another one and give them a second chance, I listened to him and put a brand new capture. Took it out of the packaging and put it in a dark room and guess what, the flash didn't work. Returned it and got my money back. Now my cousin who bought a new Capture from them in September(because he's other Capture was out of warranty and didn't work) has to send his Capture back in because the flash doesn't work. He sent them pictures of black photos and they told him to send the camera in with the batteries and memory card he used!!! There is no reason why he needs to send the batteries and memory card in. Cuddeback is losing business left and right!
I have owned a 2005 3.0 model since Xmas of that year. I have sent it in twice within the first 2 years. They replaced the board if I remember correctly both times. Been running good ever since. This year I bought a used 1.3 model which was made prior to 2005. It looked brand new and was hardly used. Its running great and so far have had zero issues with it. I think the Cuddeback takes some of the best photos of the commercial cams. I get pretty good battery life out of mine. Like Jim stated I wish it would write the pic to the card quicker. I had a Cudde on the same tree as a Homebrew and it was taking a pic when I would get about 5-6 pics from the Homebrew. I called them last week to inquire about a rubber seal for the 3.0 model (dry rotting) and someone answered right away. I was somewhat shocked at this as the last times I tried their number a few years ago it was hard for me to reach an actual person.
I had a Cuddeback Excite. Like most have said it took great pictures at first but the batterylife was terrible. I can understand with the cold WI winter temperatures getting a few less picture on a set of batteries when compared to fall. The batterylife was terrible no matter what time of year it was......1000 to 1500 pictures per set if batteries in the summer and 500 at most in the winter. I sent the camera in because of Cuddeback promoting longer batterylife and they updated the camera but the batterylife did not improve. The next fall I went to use it and it would not save the pictures to the card. The counter worked but no pictures. Once again I sent the camera in and Cuddeback's reply was that the camera could not be fixed and requested that $150 to upgrade to a capture camera. I then informed them they could send the camera back and I put it on Ebay and sold it "as is for parts" because there are parts on these camera that can be reused. Two years later I gave Cuddeback a 2nd chance when I purchased a Capture IR. I discovered all the promotions for Cuddeback were again a joke. The same batterylife issues persisted and the pictures were okay but not what Cuddeback had promoted. I used the camera over the late season and sold it over the summer as I figured if I sent it in they would eventually cost me more frusteration dealing with Cuddeback's customer service. My feeling is there is a lot of negative feed back about Cuddeback's customer service floating around the internet. In the future Cuddeback will be changing there customer service process to compete with other manufacturers. The problems are showing as Cuddeback's prices have decreased over the last few months which to me means their cameras are not selling. It should also be interesting, with the new Cuddeback models being introduced later this year, if any thing changes as far as reliability. Since selling the Excite I have purchased 3 Reconyx cameras, an RM 45 and two HC 500s. I have had no issues and whenever I have a question it is very easy to get in contact with a customer service representative. I also have a Moultrie camera which I have had good luck with. Both these camera with stand the elements they are placed in and their batterylife is awesome. With the Moultrie I receive 4000 to 5000 pictures on a set of alkaline batteries and with the Reconyx RM 45 I received 13800 pictures on a set of lithium batteries and the HC 500s I receive about 10000 pictures on alkaline batteries. The Reconyx cameras are more expensive but for less hassle I will pay the money.
Here is a link to a chart that shows the field of view and detection zones from the various cameras. IMO a must read for anyone considering a trailcam purchase. http://www.trailcampro.com/2010detectionzonetest.aspx Blessings.....Pastorjim
