I just got mine Friday and went right to work getting it setup and shot outside on my range with it. Here is what I've noticed right away. The 5X zoom only films at 2.7K res. But, if you reduce to 1080p, the zoom is 3X. Both settings work perfectly fine at normal bow ranges of 20-40 yards. However, at the shot, the recoil of the bow is enough at 5X zoom that its tough to track the arrow. On 1080p (3X) it becomes much better. I'd like to know more about how different bows work with this camera. My bow, a Prime Rize, doesn't move much at all at the shot so I can see the arrow in flight and impact pretty well. Its even better when I replay the footage at 5% of the normal playback speed. Overall I really think this thing will work well for my needs. Again, keep your expectations in check. I have no grand elusions that this will be the quality of a high end external camera. I don't even expect to get great impact footage unless I get lucky.. But so far, it looks like I will get good enough impact footage to use as a reference in the case of a "not great shot" for example. One thing I'm not in love with... the blinking lights and such when the camera is recording. Yes, there is a black out mode, but you have to remember to hit the mode button after hitting the power on/record button. I'll probably take a bit of tape and cover most of the lights up enough so its not so obnoxious.
If anyone is thinking about buying a booster, I have one for sale at half price ($20 tyd). It has never left my basement. Was only mounted to my bow for a short period of time. Was gonna buy a Tactacam but decided against so now I have no use for it. If interested, You can text for a faster response. (724)664-3336
My wife gave me a Tactacam 4.0 bow kit for Christmas this year. I put it on the bow and took three shots at a target just to test it out. While the shock and noise is definitely there, isn't nearly as bad on mine as what I've seen from some other Tactacam videos. That might be because I've dropped to 60# and I'm still shooting a 530 grain arrow. That results in a lot less wasted energy rattling the bow around at the shot. Also, I can tell that it's going to take some practice and a little attention to detail at the shot to keep the camera pointed at the deer after the arrow is released. On the blinking lights, I don't see that as a problem at all. They give off so little light that if it's legal shooting light there is no way they can see them unless you actually point the top of your bow at them and give them a full-on view of the lights.
I used a Tactacam 2.0 on my Manitoba bear hunt in 2016. We tracked for awhile and were having trouble picking up blood. Went back to the lodge to review the footage, and saw that I had hit low and forward through the brisket. The shot felt great and I thought it was a dead bear, but that was not the case. Very survivable wound. Without the Tactacam to review, I would still be wondering why he wasn't piled up somewhere close. Using lighted nocks helps a whole bunch with the footage. I traded the 2.0 in this winter because it started turning itself off on the shot. Tactacam was running a special. If you traded in a 2.0, you got the 4.0 for something like $180. Seems like some major upgrades over the model I had and it has been working flawlessly. I've been losing sleep over the 2016 hunt and can't wait to get another shot at it in June this year at Grey Owl Outfitters.
