There seems to be alot of good reviews on the Moultrie M80. I know I will be picking one up in the next couple of weeks.
If you look on amazon i think you can find the Bushnell trophy cam for 160 or less. I have the 5 megapixel and it works great and takes high quality pics but they have a new 8 mega and i think im going to get me one of those if i can find it for 160.
Definitely should take a look at chasingame.com reviews...sample photos,triggertimes, flash and sensor ranges etc. Also check the forums there with lots of talk about issues and comparisons with the various cams in the field...especially the moultrie, bushnell, lil acorn, reconyx, and wgi cams -also some talk on spypoint, covert, stealthcam...lots of posts of pics and vids. *quick summary of what you'll find there* Spypoint and Covert good cams with good C.S. and not too many issues; Moultrie, Bushnell, WGI -various models doing well, some not so well and various issues; stealthcams -slowtrigger and poor C.S.; Lil Acorn and Reconyx - good cams=^price^
I ran 3 moultrie m80 cams all summer and fall, and still running 2 now (1 was stolen). They have performed flawlessly. I bought 2 stealthcams, returned 1 within a month of purchasing it. When I checked it the first time, the inside was full of water. The other one takes pretty crummy pics. Not real happy with spypoint, but very happy with my M80s. I intend on buying 3-4 more.
How's the Moultrie-M80 on battery life? I so tried of buying D-Ceel batteries and they lasting for two weeks....shorter in cold weather. I'd like something that uses smaller batteries and lasts at least a month.
I used the same set of lithium AA batteries in my moultries the biggest part of the year. You won't have any issues with battery life. I've even used cheap batteries from the dollar store when I was in a bind and they still lasted a good while. M80 also has plotwatcher mode.
About a month ago I found these on Ebay for 139$ (BUSHNELL 8MP TROPHY CAM BONE COLLECTOR CAMO 119446C.) I had bought(179$)the same model last sept, except it was not the Bone Collector edition...no real diffidence. I ran it though the last hunting season with no problems. So when I found them on Ebay for 139 shipped I grabed three more. The guy selling them had like 50 of them and sold out in about 4 days. You can find Bushnell 8mp Trophy Cams of about 150 shipped with out much hassle. They are a decent camera for the money. As is the M80 Moutrie also about on par with the Bushnels. One piece of advice, use them and send in the warranty right away, generally speaking if the camera has issues you will find out soon enough, hopefully while they are still under the warranty period. I have couple of flash model Stealth Cam Snipers, I had decent luck with although I only use them in limited settings. None of these are a good as my two Reconyx Hc500, and Hc 600, however the m80 and Bushnells are about a 1/4 price, and do have some value. Good luck.
Check out Hunten outdoors trailcams. They have some of the best reviews of any trail cams under $150.
My wife bought me an M80 for Christmas and so far it's been very solid. It has alot of features for the price and the size is great. I have two downsides to it. The IR flash is so bright that if you get it to close to the subject, it kinda of washes things out. Secondly, the night videos are a little grainy. But that's just me, I go for a top quality photo. If all you are looking to do is inventory animals, then it's a great buy IMO. Blessings.......Pastorjim
I've had good luck with stealth cam "unit". Its 8 m-pix, uses AA batteries, and the the video plus audio is excellent. I returned the moultrie m-80 because of blurry pics and got another stealth cam.
If you look at a few game cam review sites it will come clear that the spypoint and dlc cams are head and shoulders above anything that moultrie has ever made.compare the trigger times and the blurr factor alone not to mention the ir flash issues of the m80 try a dlc or a spypoint and see what your missing.I own all three brands
I had 2 spypoints and 3 m80s. The spypoints sucked for me. Actually 1 I had to return because the whole camera was filled with water. I owned the camera for a month, had it in the woods for 2 weeks. Front cover had water in it as well as the battery compartment. All the pics looked like they were taken under water!! The other spypoint is not very good either. Daytime pics are fine, but it's like the IR is "dying". The night time pics keep getting darker and darker. Like I said above, my 3 m80s performed flawlessly. 150 E, Brocton, IL 61917, USA
