Trail Camera.

Bill Douglas · 03-30-2021, 03:48 PM

My Moutrie Trail camera has been very unreliable. Doesn't work when I really want it to Today is the final straw - it goes out with the trash.

Do you guys know of a good (reliable!) brand and model of trail camera to replace it. I only use it for security purposes such as on building/renovation sites so I can see who is poking around at night. I usually just get a whole lot of pictures of cats at about 3:00am but it's also good to know that no one is checking out the site. OR my garage door locks!

The only thing I liked about the moultrie camera was it had a very fast response time. Something like 1/3 of a second from standby to taking a high resolution pic. So I'd like another fast camera.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

I have some Bushnells I'll be selling soon. They've been really good for me but I "upgraded" to spypoint cell enabled cameras. They take 8 AA batteries and do video with sound or still pics. I think the biggest card they'll take is 32gb which has always been more than enough. I actually have two of my Bushnells connected to spypoint cell link which make them cell enabled as well. But that's 16 batteries rather than 8.

WPOZZZ · 03-30-2021, 05:00 PM

I will get some in the near future. A my town house, someone walks their dog and doesn't clean up the poop they leave on my lawn.

Erakad · Erakad's Garage

I take it the warranty expired. I have 2 Moutrie Trail cams, one randomly stopped taking night pictures but was (fortunately) replaced under warranty...customer service was excellent! With that said, after the prior experience I still have trust issues with Moutrie...also interested in recommendations.

Bill Douglas · 03-30-2021, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erakad

I take it the warranty expired.

Yes, I've had it for more than 2 years. I should have sent it back during the warranty period but I didn't get around to it.

A lot of the time it wouldn't switch on. Sometimes a few taps wit the plastic handle of a screw driver and it would switch on. Then it would just quit working after a few days. I couldn't trust it to work when I wanted it to.

I should buy your Bushnells Nick. But posting to us foreign guys is a PITA

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

I haven't needed warranty repair on any of my Bushnell cameras. We have a $50 bushnell that is going on 5 years old that we leave out year around. Still working great. I think Moultrie is overrated. From my own experience, I'd avoid Wild Game Innovations and Stealthcam. I owned both and had issues with both. The only "problem" I've experienced with my Bushnell cams is over exposure sometimes and occasionally all black pics but the all black pics typically happen when I let the batteries get too low.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Yes, I've had it for more than 2 years. I should have sent it back during the warranty period but I didn't get around to it.

A lot of the time it wouldn't switch on. Sometimes a few taps wit the plastic handle of a screw driver and it would switch on. Then it would just quit working after a few days. I couldn't trust it to work when I wanted it to.

I should buy your Bushnells Nick. But posting to us foreign guys is a PITA

I'll let you know what model I'm using. I used to buy the more expensive Trophycam but found a deal on some cameras on Ebay and bought them.

Here's the one I have been using. This one is GROSSLY overpriced.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bushnell-14MP-Bandit-Trail-Camera-Brown/353393883953?hash=item5247eabb31:g:lw0AAOSwQjNgMLR D

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Here's a pic from my Bushnell with the cell link on it. Keep in mind that the cell link reduces image quality. The pics on the card are much better than what the cell link sends.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

should have posted this with my other pic but it just hit me that a nighttime pic would be handy too! Sorry for so many posts.

Skytrooper · Skytrooper's Garage

I can vouch for the Spypoint !

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skytrooper

I can vouch for the Spypoint !

We have 9 spypoint link micro or link wm's out in my woods along with two cell links on the bushnell cams. I bought the WM's my friend bought the Micros. Only reason I went with the WM is they cost less than the micro and we've found they work just as well.
Only problem is their customer service isn't fun if you have issues. We had some issues with our cameras linking up to cell service. The cameras themselves seem pretty solid but the software/firmware can be a bit glitchy. I have most of mine running the latest firmware updates. It seemed like they were coming out with new firmware on a monthly basis for a while there.

Our spypoint cameras are all less than 1 year old so I can't say yet that they're as reliable as my Bushnell cameras have been. I can say they're WAY more convenient.

masraum · 03-31-2021, 05:59 AM

I'd like to get a couple (2-3) for our property. We definitely have deer that wander through. I've seen tracks and scat and one night I saw the eyes of 2 deer wandering through a few hundred feet away.

But I don't want/need to spend a ton of money on them either. This would mostly just be for fun to see what wanders through our yard.

Bill Douglas · 03-31-2021, 10:23 AM

Thanks for your feedback guys and your great help Nick. After my bad experience with the Moultrie I'll buy a camera locally so I can return it easily without a whole lot of overseas postage and phone calls drama.

There is this a Bushnell Trophy Cam HD E3 Low-Glow Trail Camera sold from a place a few kilometers from home so I might move on it today.

Erakad · Erakad's Garage

Having grown tired of going through brush and snow, I really wish I'd bought the ones with a cell link. When these 2 go paws up, I'll be looking for something like that.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erakad

Having grown tired of going through brush and snow, I really wish I'd bought the ones with a cell link. When these 2 go paws up, I'll be looking for something like that.

Read what my posted pics say up top. Those are standard cameras with a spypoint cell link attached to them. It converts a standard camera into a cell enabled camera. Only problem is, it's 8 more batteries. You can buy them for around $60. I started buying the spypoint Link WMs when I was finding them for $89. WalMart kept popping up deals on them and I kept buying them! At some point I'm going to sell my cell links probably as a package with the cameras.