Okay guys, I want everyone to post a couple sample pictures (day and night) that they've taken with their various trailcams. Tell us what kind of trail cam it is, the price of the camera, the type/cost of memory cards, what kind of battery life you're getting, and how many batteries it eats. We can use this thread as a comprehensive database to see what kind of pictures these cameras are really taking, and at what price points. Don't be a homer. Be honest and tell everyone why your camera works, and/or why it sometimes makes you want to smash it into a million pieces. I'll start: We run about 14 cameras spread over two states, and exclusively use two different models, both are bargain basement Wildviews. I've recently started upgrading to the Wildview 3 MP IR cameras, so I'll post their pics first. We have 6 of these, and no failures yet. They eat 4 C batteries per serving, and they generally last around a month, unless temperatures get down into the teens or single digits. They take standard SD cards. They do video, but I've never bothered to try it. We buy the two-packs from Cabela's everytime they go on sale for $119.99. It works out to $60.00 per camera, which is reasonable. The two-pack comes with 2 free 2GB SD cards, so that helps. Cabelas' inventory varies on these, and they seem to only have them available in stores (not online). We just watch the sale ads. We get a reasonable amount of pictures of "nothing" - presumably the wind or sun glare triggering the camera. I compound it by setting the trigger to bursts of six pictures. Maybe 10 percent are false-triggers. I just click through them and delete them. I'd rather have a false trigger than a non-trigger. I use Rayovac C Batteries - 12 packs are $11.00 at Walmart. Running 10 cameras at any time will cost us about $40/month in batteries (4 batteries x 10 cams). It sucks, but I like to canvass hell's half-acre to find shooter bucks. The other 8 cameras are the first-generation Wildviews (1.3 MP, I believe) - and they don't even sell them anymore. They do sell something that's very similar in a 2.0 MP for around $55.00 per camera. Battery usage is similar to the 3.0 MP IR's listed above - maybe a month or so. 4 C batteries & standard SD cards. We did have a flash burn out on one last year, but most of these cameras are probably getting close to the 10,000 photo mark. We've really put some mileage on these. Occasionally, a camera will go haywire and snap a large series of false triggers, but it's rare. A new load of batteries reboots the system, and they're always good to go. Well worth the price. When you take that many pictures, you're bound to have a couple duds.
I run 4 StealthCam 140ir cams. They take 6 C batteries, and the battery life is good (good enough for me, as I have nothing to really compare them to). They store pictures on a standard SD card. They hold up great in cold-extreme cold weather, a must in MN. They run around 150$ So I can run my 4 and get good enough results to justify not buying a $600 camera. All I need to know is Where, and when the pic was taken..I'll take a REALLY good pic after I kill him don't need a REALLY good trail camera pic. Another thing I'm really impressed with is the range this camera has (as seen in pic with the 3 does)
I run 4 Cuddebacks on my property. One is an Expert, flash camera and the other 3 are No Flash, IR cameras. These cams are roughly $350 ea. I have run them from 12/6/10 through present. They are on their third set of batteries (just changed them last weekend). They take 4 D cells each and I use Duracell's. The cold can really kill a set of batteries. With multiple days where the temps drop to -15 to -25 or worse, they last about a month. Sometimes, when it gets this cold, the cameras take weak pics or shut down until it warms up a bit. The cameras use a compact flash card and I use a Cuddeback card reader to transfer the images from the cameras. The card reader uses a 2 gig SD card. Over all, I think that these cameras take very nice pics. Flash cam pics. Daytime pics are good also. No Flash pics. Daytime pic from the No Flash.
I'm only running one camera right now, and that's an S40 homebrew I built last winter. I told myself I would get around to building more, buy other projects got in the way. It doesn't have the strongest flash in the world, but it's doing well. I run 2AA Eneloop NiMH's in the camera, and two standard alkaline AA as externals. In cold weather (teens and single digits), it will only last about two weeks. During the summer, and warmer weather it will go about 5-6 weeks. The great thing is each time I replace the batteries, it's only the two AA's for externals. Here's a few pictures:
These pictures here are from a High Output RC60 Reconyx. Battery life Is awesome. I use 6 C-cell rechargable's and will easily get 6 months of use out of them. I usually switch battery's at 50% so 7 to 8 months Isn't out of the question per set of battery's. On a set of battery's I'll get at least 25,000 thousand pictures. Like I said, It could be much more but I change my battery's out when they get to 50%. Price Is the kicker here, $550.00. The size of the camera Is a tad big but other then that this trail cam rocks. The best part of this camera Is, no red IR lights to spook the deer. There's zero lights on this camera. The IR pics below for this camera were taken at about 15 yards (45 feet). Never has this camera not worked, even In -30 below temps. I'd bet lots of money saying this camera has never missed a picture ever. Confidence In a trail camera Is huge, at least for me It Is. This camera uses a compact flash card. The new Reconyx's now went to SD cards and AA battery's. I've had this camera for 2 years, not one single problem In the 50,000+ pictures It's taken. This here camera Is a RC60 Reconyx. The night pictures aren't as good as my High Output RC60 Reconyx but their still fairly decent. No red IR lights on this camera either to spook the deer. Battery life Is the same as my High Output Reconyx. Price Is a tad cheaper then the High Output. My review of this camera Is about the same as the one above (High Output RC60 Reconyx). The only difference to me Is that the day and night picture quality Is better on the High Output then this camera. I've had this camera for 3 years, not one problem In the 75,000+ pictures It's taken. No Flash Cuddeback. This camera to me takes some of the best day time pictures out there of any camera. Night time pics are good If the battery's are good. When It gets cold (below zero), these camera's will shut down. I hate that! Battery life pretty much sucks. A month If I'm lucky. 4 D-cell battery's and It uses a compact Flash memory card. I know for a fact this camera misses deer. Drives me nuts!! I've had my share of problems with these No Flash Cuddebacks. Never will I buy another of these.
I used to have a stealth cam (not sure of model #) but it took 4 C batteries and in the bitter cold with cheap batteries I was lucky to get 5 days out of it. Here is a sample pic from it. I since have switched to the bushel trophy cams. The ones I have are the 5mp versions and i paid 200$ each for them but now can be found or around $130. I usually only use 4 AA batteries although it can take up to 8 and have gotten close to 1800 pictures in 4 month on them. I usually use just the standard duracell batteries. The trigger speed on these cameras are excellent and are very easy to adjust. I has issues with my stealth cam taking pictures of the sun all the time.
Here are some from my P32 Homebrew I built in the laast couple of weeks. Cant tell you a whole lot about it, except I am very happy with the pics. I used a kit from Yei for the rest of the build I am using 2 lithium AA batteries in the camera, and a lithium 9 volt to run the board. This one cost me about $180 to build.
