Stealth Cam Test Project, by Ryan & Robby, sponsored by Black Ovis

[robby denning]

Scouting cameras have been a real game changer. Love or hate 'em, they're here to stay and if you're not using them, you might be missing some good intel.

Wireless cameras are the new kid on the block and might prove to be essential in scouting country a long ways or a long hike from home. However, the reviews are mixed on the technology. Some hunters are reporting success while others haven't got a usable photo or video yet, despite hundreds of dollars spent on cameras and data plans. This sounds like a project for Rokslide, so Ryan and I are working with Kendall at Black Ovis and Stealth Cam to test some of these latest generation of scouting cameras.

We'll each be running one GXW Stealth Cam: Stealth Cam GXW | Wireless Trail Camera | BlackOvis.com

We'll also test the G34PRO infared non-wireless Stealth Cam: Stealth Cam Trail Cameras | Wild Game Trail Cameras

Both these cameras are 12 MP capable of photo and video. All the other specs are on the link.

Ryan and I live on the opposite ends of Idaho. He'll be putting his in some remote country that is a 3,000 foot climb from the truck. I'll put mine in some country located about 120 miles from my house, and about a mile from a road. We chose these places based on several factors:

1) The GXW requires a cellular GSM network (AT&T or T-Mobile) and three bars of coverage to transmit. Both areas are very close to that level. We won't know for sure until we get the cameras up if they will work, though.

2) Because of the logistics of each area, they are a perfect fit for the test. If the cameras work, they'll pay for themselves in saved mileage and/or time off work vs. standard cameras. If they don't, we all got egg on our face in a very public way. We'll try other places if they don't work, but scouting season is short, so can't waste too much time.

Ryan's already got his GXW working and transmitting photos to his phone. I'll be buying my Sim card in the next few days and running some test photos this weekend to make sure everything is working before I get the cams in the field. Ryan can chime in on his experience so far.

We'll post updates as we learn more and answer questions on here. If you have either of these cameras, feel free to post on this thread.

Kendall sent us the whole nine yards: (2) 16 GB memory cards, (2) Master Lock 6' cables, and a bear box for the GXW.

Black Ovis has a neat volume discount program that scouting camera users will like:

GWX: First cam is $319, then

• Buy 2 for $309.99 each and save 4%
• Buy 3 for $299.99 each and save 7%
• Buy 4 for $294.99 each and save 8%

G34: First cam is $119, then

• Buy 2 for $114.99 each and save 5%
• Buy 3 for $109.99 each and save 9%
• Buy 4 for $104.99 each and save 13%
• Buy 5 for $99.99 each and save 17%

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[robby denning]

Lots of features, many I don't understand (yet)

But I'm happy to finally be able to set camera record times. Sick of a thousand mid-day bird photos and I can't think of one big buck over the years that I've recorded between about 8am and 8pm.

 

[robby denning]

Setting up the GXW...

these scouting cams need a data plan to transmit. There is a SIM card included that allows the camera to connect with GSM network. you have to use AT&T or T-mobile, (rumor has it Verizon is in the works).

First thing I learned is DON'T GOT TO THE AT&T STORE. They are clueless about how these programs work. Just follow the instructions on the included whitepaper in the box.

It clearly explains all of it (for the most part). This is what you do in this order:

1) Upload the app on your smartphone (iPhone 6 or above, and Android but I'm not sure which version, will clarify later)

I was in good wifi and got the app in less than a minute. app is free.

2) For a single camera, go to buyasession.att.com and select the plan that fits you. For a single cam under normal ops, (medium Megpixel photos) the 2GB 3-month plan at $25 total should work and is what Ryan and I chose (if you're going multiple cams, Stealth is saying you probably need to contact the provider for a shared data plan.)

3) For connecting your cam to the network, now make sure you have the yellow instruction booklet (the quick guide) handy along with your whitepaper. I won't go over the steps as they are spelled out, but make sure you have a free undistracted hour to do this. My sweet little wife was in a chatty mood so with all the "Yes honey, I'm listening" interruptions, it took me almost two hours. Tech savy, uninterrupted could knock this out in 20 minutes. Just be patient, it will work. The instructions says it can take some time for the camera to find the network. This is very true. Took me over 10 minutes and it gave me no indication it was making any progress until, bam, it was done.

Tip, the GXW drains a lot of battery during this set up (12 AAs required) and per Stealth recs, I gathered up all the used batteries that I had for this set up. I had 20% when I started and sure enough, was at zero by the time I was done. Stealth says use fresh lithium once set up/initial testing is done before placing in the field. This is for the GXW, the G34 supposedly is more forgiving on battery- more on that when I test that camera.

If all this worked, now you're ready to try out your camera, which I haven't done yet, so I'll post later after I've got the steps down. If it didn't work, feel free to post questions on here or there is a customer service # provided clearly on the box. I haven't had to call it yet.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Stealth Cam Test Project, by Ryan & Robby, sponsored by Black Ovis

Robby pretty much covered it all. I will add that mine would not work until I updated its location in the camera's menu options. From start to finish I had it working in 30 minutes. I set it up in my house to make sure it was working. It did suck through some standard batteries, in three days I was at 59% battery life.

I can't get to the location I want to use this camera yet because of the snow. So on Friday, I went to a lower spot to get this review going. I wanted to get some animals to the camera as fast as possible so I also used some Critter Lick to speed up the process. No, I am not hunting this location!!

I was kind of shocked how fast the Critter Lick pulled this cow elk in! We had only been gone about an hour and this is not a spot that I have ever been to before.

I have been using trail cameras for the last 15 years and have used all the major manufacturers. So far I am very impressed with the Stealth Cams. My camera is set on 8MP and takes great photos with little blur. In three days I have 148 pictures of deer and elk. My rookie mistake is putting the Critter Lick to close to the camera.

I have just started messing with the app. I will see how well it controls the camera over the next few weeks, before I move it. I have it set up on a 3 minute delay and it sends me pictures in a batch, once a day at 15:00.

 

[realunlucky]

Subscribed been thinking of getting one of these. I'll be looking forward reviews as the test progresses

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[Ryan Avery]

I had a 129 photos sent to me today. It's always funny to me to see whitetails and mule deer in the same area.

Whitetail buck

 

[robby denning]

Cool! Looks like that whitetail buck wintered pretty hard--needs some fat on those ribs.

Ryan's ahead of me. I just got my camera loaded in the bear box last night

This is a good idea not just for bears, but to stop tampering too (at least by the honest people). The GXW can be password protected, too, to keep someone from checking your cams if you don't have the bear box. The 6' Master cable lock threads through the box and prevents opening while also securing it to the tree.

per the instructions, test your camera before leaving it in the woods. I'm testing mine on the horse watering trough out back. First night, I'm setting it to Quick Set 1 (8MP, 30 seconds between photos-I set it for a 3-photo burst). There are two other Quick Set modes and a custom mode. I'll bet I end up using the quick sets as it seems like you can waste a lot of time fiddling with settings when in the woods, but I'll see how the quick sets work.

I set the Activity (time photos are taken) on my camera to start at 7 pm and stop at 8 am (no need for 300 bird photos).

I did not find any settings to change distance camera is triggered from, but there might be one.

I set the cam to transmit on the hour (this would be overkill in the woods and suck a lot of battery, probably go twice daily or once daily then).

Went to bed without any notifications sent to my phone.

Woke up (honestly with same feeling as Christmas morning!) and checked my phone at 6:30 AM. nothing, but I'd had my phone on airplane mode thinking everything would update when I reconnected to the network.

Then at 7:18 am, saw a notice hit the phone and all forward motion ceased! Bam, 78 photos were uploaded to my phone, starting with the first taken just after 7:00 pm (not sure why I didn't get an transmit update last night as I had my phone on until 10:00 PM?) and the last around 6:15 am.

Cam took my first photo 7:17 pm and last at 5:20 am,

Then at 8:15 am or so, I got another transmit update and received 34 more photos. Should quit receiving them now that camera is off.

So far, not too bad. I have about 2.5 hours in reading, set-up, and testing. I'll play with burst mode, high vs. low quality photos, and video over next few days, while keeping an eye on battery and data usage.

I'll start setting up the G34 in next few days, too.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Stealth Cam Test Project, by Ryan & Robby, sponsored by Black Ovis

130 pics today.... I think I need to change my delay to 5 minutes.

 

[colersu22]

Would you guys be able to let us know how much data is used for a month? Seems like it would be quite a bit with 130+ pictures a day.

 

[robby denning]

Would you guys be able to let us know how much data is used for a month? Seems like it would be quite a bit with 130+ pictures a day.

Yes. talking to the Stealth Cam crew, they said the 2GB/month plan we bought would give us 600+ pics (low-res) per day. We'll see.


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[robby denning]

Stealth Cam Test Project, by Ryan & Robby, sponsored by Black Ovis

So my GXW has been up 24 hours set to 8MP/Hi qual. upload/3-photo burst/30 sec. delay/ upload every hour/ camera active 6pm-6:30am

521 photos (expected for horses)
Used 47% battery (read on cam, phone shows 25%)
149MB data used

That's all pretty high so...

I changed (on cam) to quick set 2 (1-photo burst) so that should cut pics to a third/active camera 8:00pm-6:30am

Then just to test phone app, used it to change to upload twice daily @6am & 6pm

Day photos are very clear, night OK

The only problem I found was I kept getting photos sent to my phone all day long even though the camera was only supposed to be active until 6:30 AM. Not sure if I did something wrong? I reset it and will watch it tomorrow.


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[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

It would make it very difficult to get any work done with constant trail cam updates all day.

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[robby denning]

It would make it very difficult to get any work done with constant trail cam updates all day.

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It is! Hahahahaha


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[sneaky]

I used one of the Covert wireless cams over a couple of years on our leases in Missouri. They were productivity killers the closer it got to the rut lol.

 

[Ryan Avery]

One thing I like about stealth cams is even their cheaper cams rarely trigger on brush or shadows like other cameras I have used.

Bear bait

 

[SLDMTN]

Man I want to know if that GXW will work up here in AK. It would save me a ton on gas money and time checking on my stand. I'd be happy to do some AK field testing haha



In all seriousness, I would be money ahead this year if I would have bought that one even at $350.

 

[robby denning]

Stealth Cam Test Project, by Ryan & Robby, sponsored by Black Ovis

Man I want to know if that GXW will work up here in AK. It would save me a ton on gas money and time checking on my stand. I'd be happy to do some AK field testing haha



In all seriousness, I would be money ahead this year if I would have bought that one even at $350.

You can check cell coverage in that area by looking at the AT&T coverage map. It's probably online somewhere, but I went to their store, had a guy pull it up so we could really get down to the exact place I was going to set the camera. It showed I have 2-3 bars in the area.

The instructions say you got to have three bars of service but talking to Stealth Cam guys, they've got areas were they work with two bars. You can check the camera once you're in the area to make sure it will transmit. I guess if it won't, you need to find out what their return policy is, I have not checked into that. Let us know if you find anything out.


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[Ryan Avery]

Tanya crushed that bear last night. Thanks stealth cam

 

[robby denning]

We got our first kill!


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[Justin Crossley]

Way to go Tanya!