Inexpensive Game Cam?
 

Seeking rec for an inexpensive game camera.

Someone set fire to a lawn sign in my yard. I awoke at 2 am to the smell of smoke, went outside, found the remains of the plastic lawn sign smoldering. I have reason to think this was targeted at me specifically and that if I put the sign back up, there is chance they'll do it again. The sign is in a planter in front of some large bushes and facing the sidewalk. I am thinking of concealing the camera in the bushes.

The camera needs to be able to be on a schedule, to only be active from midnight to wee hours. Otherwise it will be triggered by passing pedestrians and cars all day.

sorry to hear that - mine doesn't work real well due to lag times & low res.

so be sure to check on those factors

a home security cam might be better?

I have the Blink wireless camera system. BUT the wireless range won't quite reach that corner of the yard and their outdoor/nightvision camera is "out of stock" (they introduced a new version, it had some problems, they've halted sale pending fixes). And its night vision image resolution is just okay. I would like a facial image good enough to identify the person.

When those cameras are back in stock I'll likely buy a couple more to try out. Not sure when that might be, though.

I have a few cheapos ($40) that are probably not going to suffice. The Moultrie that I've had for several years now (Infra-red, totally flashless), etc is awesome. I set it on video mode a lot (90 sec), great audio too, with lots of programmimg options (that I don't use)...but I'm watching critters. You might not need their "best", but check out the Moultrie stuff.

Mine was about $170 as I recall....probably much better & cheaper now.

I have a Moultrie. When it works, it works very well.

Good luck. THe police will thank you for the pic's as this is arson as far as they are concerned.

My brother has a Browning and gets good results. Glowless so it doesn't spook your subjects, silent, HD quality. I don't know if you can program it for a specific time though.

I've had a Moultrie gam cam for several years. I imagine they've improved since I bought mine. The only thing I'm unhappy about is the image always seems a long way away. It doesn't have an option for times of day. You'll have to do some researching on them.

Agree Moultrie is great.......Don't worry about the extra photo's of passing traffic. Just turn in on when you go to bed and off in the morning.......Easy to delete wanted photo's.......I get a pic of my neighbor mowing his lawn on every pass.....

MrsWD got me a BestGuarder game camera three or four years ago. I got great reviews, has all the features of a Bushnell - but it has a major flaw. It will only work one night on a set of 8 AA batteries, then no more night images. It will continue to take daylight photos for days, but if the batteries aren't near 100% it won't work at night.
Based on what I read here (and the fact that I was at Tractor Supply and they had one on the shelf) I got a Bushnell. Gonna try it out tonight, hopefully catch some raccoons in action. I'm putting an electric fence around the corn patch and I want to see if it is effective.

my el cheapo Browning has a long lag time from detection of moving animal to taking the snap - it is often missing the target on side movement; fine on things coming at the cam

John, I hope whatever you got is working well for you and you have resolved issues with the perps, either by legal process or extreme prejudice...

^^^^ Yep....one reason I do videos on the Moultrie...greater chance of a good view, etc.
The cheapo $40 ones I use for stills...pretty decent...mebbe 1 sec delay.

get a camera like from NEST that records.
its not a bad thing to have

you can set the NEST system up to alert you if it picks up motion.

I just bought 2 Bushnell Trophy cam HD bandits for $94 plus $12 shipping on ebay. We put the cameras out last week and pulled cards on Saturday. VERY impressed with night and day pics. I'll be buying two more if I can win another auction.
This camera is programmable for operating hours and has sound for video mode. Trigger speed is excellent. You can buy a single on Amazon for $78. The only issue is, the LED's are visible while recording.

Below is s link to one on ebay for $69 B.I.N. Same seller I got the pair from.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Bushnell-14MP-Trophy-Cam-HD-Bandit-Trail-Scouting-Camera-119637C/401742543951?epid=2162026101&hash=item5d89b8bc4f:g :RfAAAOSwJ-xcpLbI

That looks like the same camera I bought at Tractor Supply for $119. How can they sell it for $69? Mine came with a card and batteries and of course no shipping, but still....

Nope - I looked at the pics of the inside. Different model.
Never mind.

Yeah, Bushnell has several models that look similar. My friend sent me a link to one thinking it was the one I bought and saying I got a smokin deal (which I still did at $53 per camera for my auction win) but I pointed out the one he sent had more megapixels and a few more options. The ones I bought are two year old models. I don't know how the guy is selling them for what he is in pairs. I'm bidding on two that will be ending shortly.

Alright! Which one of you clowns outbid me!? :D