I can't believe SpyPoint has no votes. If I was living in Canada I know these would likely be my go to camera...I have the 2 IR5s that have been going strong for almost 4 years now and are just starting to have some screwy pic issues when the batteries get a little low. The only cam I have had as long as them and still working is the Covert CA3.0. They always have worked well in extreme cold where the other cams would eat batteries and often just not take any pics once the temps dropped into single digits and below. They have great customer service as does Covert, but the shipping cost and time is what would make me chose Covert first being here in the states for when something does go wrong. There is one thing that will be sort of ignored in this poll, and that is the fact that every company has issues with one or two of their new models every year while other models seem to perform flawlessly. There are so many factors that can should be considered when trying to determine the 'best' trailcam, gamecam, or camera-trap camera. I personally would not even consider any of the commercial cameras for my camera trapping since there is really no comparison in the quality(especially daytime or well illuminated with slave flashes) of photos you get from the high-end point and shoots and even more so the DSLR or Micro4/3 mirrorless cameras. The 'best' camera for each will differ due to the different criteria and demands of the user...for strictly scouting on a trail the fastest cams with minimal photo quality(though little motion blur is needed) are likely what one needs...for food plots the higher megapixels and flash range are more important than speed...on scrapes or lures etc you might want quiet and blackflash with moderate flash ranges acceptable...There hasn't been a camera(commercial or H.B.) that does it all yet. BTW - The one camera(and I haven't built one yet myself) that I think would shine(with speed, clarity of pics, and quiet) is the Samsung A503(IR with day/night exchanger) if it only had 12(or more) megapixels instead of 2 mp. I forgot to mention about Reconyx...if for consitant performance and customer satisfaction, I would agree that yes it would be the best camera -For Scouting. But I wouldn't say the picture quality is close to the Covert Red40 from what I have seen...and not even in the ballpark compared to the Sony S600 homebrews...and there are many homebrews/cameratrap cams that are even better quality.
Does anyone think this poll is an accurate unbiased sample? And that these results would be reflective of the trail camera users in a broader sample group? I am not sure this poll reflects all that much.
I think it is a fair example of what forum members use and/or consider superior and in future threads it will be talked about and considered.
Not that your obligated answer two questions...but you really ducked them. Are the poll members on this forum an unbiased sample and would these results extend out to a broader sample group? Just your opinion of course...
Ownership creates bias, however ownership is needed for an opinion. If you are referring to the prostaff they are apart of all forums not just this one. I will always vote republican no matter what, however they will count my vote.
Like others have said it is hard to say what is best if you haven't used them all. I have used most and my favorite is Covert hands down. Chasingame is FAR from unbiased and I wouldnt use their opinion to buy anything but toilet paper.
So they are not unbiased but everyone who responded here is just a model of objectivity. Talk about needing toilet paper.
Like French said bias comes always from ownership. I personally have found no other camera in the price range I can justify+clarity of pictures I expect+customer service we all desire than the one I always point guys to. Covert is my choice, by all means though try out others...and it's true for the right amount of money there are "better" ones out there for sure, which is why I refused to vote on this because "better" depends on parameters for sure. I'm assuming you don't like Covert? Personal experience or someone you know have a bad experience?
Your assuming incorrectly, I have nothing against the cameras or the company. They seem to be one of the better brands available. But what is tedious is the constant hype and insertion of them by some members on here, to the point that objectivity clearly isn't present. So something like this poll (taken from a forum dominated by promoters, staff their fan clubs) then becomes an eye opener, as it shows there are more then one way to skin a skin and cat...and more then one camera to take picture of it.
I got ya...but this site has nothing to do with the outcome of the member's in it...if it did Stealth Cams would get a lot more love than they do. Honestly, I don't get the idea that Covert guys push there stuff hard on anyone. Sure a lot of them post pictures and if asked state Covert is what they use and back but that is just honesty. I agree true unbiasness cannot be achieved unless we were to grab non-hunters who have never used trail cameras before and had each camera company send them a few cameras and after a year they state which is "better".
I understand that some of the members don't like it when someone asks what is the best camera or start a pole like this one. If you look it isn't started by someone who likes Coverts we just give our opinion. Should we keep quiet because some people don't agree with it? I also don't understand how any one could find a problem and say it isn't fair because someone who doesn't work for another company doesn't post here. Pat comes on here on his own time shares pictures and answers questions to help the members if anything he should be thanked for doing this not complaining it isn't fair.
Lol. Can say I blame you there...if you need a letter of recommendation for the interview let me know and send you one.
Your stretching so far that you must have just come from a yoga class. No one flamed Pat or anyone else for posting pictures or helping members. The discussion was based not only what on the poll results are but how they were are derived, and what criteria our voting was based on. Some people stated ownership, others stated experiences and other based it on testing. All of them have there own flaws in reasoning and they were pointed out and taken at face value. So yes I can take issue when someone states a websites testing biases makes it irrelevant but their own biases and interests are not.
