Where to start with trail cams?

[sndmn11]

My wife has asked for a bank of trail cameras for her birthday/holiday gifts. Neither of us know anything about them, and I am a little overwhelmed with the dozen or so options out there for manufacturers, and then the dozen or so model for each manufacturer.

These would be in the Colorado mountains, public land, no cell service, looking for bear and elk. Video would be neat, but I would prioritize durability, ease of use, and reliability over other attributes that I can think of.

So, what are some brands to stay away from, and more importantly, what brands would be great choices? Are their any particular models that are are considered the standard of trail cams? Are there any cool features that I need to be on the look out for?

 

[wind gypsy]

I would start at browning. https://www.trailcampro.com/ has some great reviews and explanations of the various features and specs.

For whitetails in the midwest i lean towards no-glow cameras (supposed to not have visible infrared lights/flash at night) to avoid spooking wary whitetails. The problem is they are usually a little more expensive and the night pictures aren't as good. I'd look at low glow infrared. I just saw browning Strike force HD pro X cams on sale for $100 at my local fleet farm last night. At that price, I'd buy a handful of those if I were you.

Look at Trigger speed if you want to catch animals moving through that don't stop for pics. My stealth cams miss a whole bunch of stuff that would get caught by my browning or spypoint cams.

Mega pixel rating doesn't really matter. In most cases you aren't going to get anything out of the higher rated MP, I never even run them above 8 MP anyway.

 

[Ross]

My favorite has been some spy points that are a decade old and still going this one does well also.....the cabelas one is nice as it has built in cable system and takes good pics....many options and for a $100 bucks you get solid cams ......stealth cams have done ok for me but are behind


spypoint from my experience.....I look for simple ones that do basic stuff

 

[sndmn11]

I would start at browning. https://www.trailcampro.com/ has some great reviews and explanations of the various features and specs.

Awesome, just what I was looking for.

 

[sndmn11]

@wind gypsy @Ross is this a good unit? https://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Cam-...hild=1&keywords=ds4kmax&qid=1605591745&sr=8-1

 

[JohnnyB]

I have two StealthCams in my posse. They are my least favorite cams.

Trigger speed trumps everything the way I use my cams.

Someone bought me some really cheap Simmons cameras off Camofire that are surprisingly solid for thirty something dollars each.

Quantity of cameras over quality if I have to choose. I am always amazed at the animals I get in somewhat random spots.

I use a Stealthcam card reader while I swap out so cards. It won’t read Stealthcam files ironically.

The energizer lithium will power my cams for whole season.
32 gb sd cards will hold lots of video files (thousands).

Trail cameras are less a part of my hunting than a separate hobby!

 

[wind gypsy]

@wind gypsy @Ross is this a good unit? https://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Cam-...hild=1&keywords=ds4kmax&qid=1605591745&sr=8-1

If picture and video quality is your top priority those DS4Ks are as good as anything. Looks like the detection range and recovery time aren’t great.

Don’t be fooled by the “discount” on Amazon though, I see those on the shelf for $150 all the time.

 

[180splitg3]

I have tried many different brands and I would recommend the browning cameras. I would stay away from stealth cam and run away from spypoint!

 

[Ross]

Like others stealth cams not my favs won’t buy anymore of them had better luck with other brands

 

[sndmn11]

That's a bummer about the stealth cams, I really liked the sample pictures and videos on the trail cam pro website. Have you guys had issues with this model, or just the brand in general? What kind of issues?

 

[wind gypsy]

That's a bummer about the stealth cams, I really liked the sample pictures and videos on the trail cam pro website. Have you guys had issues with this model, or just the brand in general? What kind of issues?

I don’t have that model, only various no glow models that I believe were factory refurbished from Camofire for $50-$80. Trigger speed, reliability, and basic interface/settings control have been my dislikes. They take good pics and vid.

I know that DS4K is a pretty well liked cam and is supposed to be one of the top dogs for pic/vid quality. I’m not sure about reliability but it might be better than some of their lower end models. A spypoint or browning should still have a better detection circuit

 

[JasonWi]

I've used Bushnell, Moultrie and currently own 5 Browning cameras and really like the photo and video quality. I bought mine from Trailcampro. I only use lithium batteries and 16GB cards if you aren't checking them frequently.

With trail cameras don't set them up 90 degrees to a trail, I try to have them at a 45 if possible to give the sensor more time to catch the motion. If you start getting more expensive cameras I use a metal bear box( lag bolt it to the tree) cable and pad lock. In the past 8 years I've never had one go missing...its a bit overkill but people simply can't be trusted.

 

[JohnnyB]

My issues with StealthCam are not quality of pictures but trigger speed. At one point I had an opening covered by a Stealthcam from one angle and a Bushnell from another. The Stealthcam was full of empty frames while the Bushnell had solid pics. They both had the same published trigger speed.

The range of the night vision seems to be lacking in Stealthcam too, but in fairness my Stealthcam models are not high end.

 

[sndmn11]

As far as the detection circuit, what order are you guys valuing speed, recovery time, angle, range, etc.?

According to that review site, the browning's are quite a bit better in most of those realms, I just get dissuaded from seeing a sample pictures or two that are blurry mixed in with a lot of good ones.

 

[go4thegusto]

I have been a broken record about this but just buy Browning StrikeForce models and never look back. Usually on sale for $99 if you wait and look. I started out with the first 35mm film CamTrakker many years ago and have bought and sold virtually every flavor over the years until landing on these. No quirks...fast response, super long battery life, clear night pictures etc. rock solid
Do not buy the black flash emitters. stick with the standard red led's.

 

[cobbc03]

I've had really bad luck with stealth cam cell cams, moultrie cams, and bushnell cell cams. My favorite cams are browning, bushnell regular cams, and mossy oak game keeper, which is made my covert. Moultrie customer service has been good, but I've used them too many times, stealth cams customer service is non existent, like no phone calls or emails returned. There's also a lot of issues with spypoint cams.

 

[wind gypsy]

As far as the detection circuit, what order are you guys valuing speed, recovery time, angle, range, etc.?

According to that review site, the browning's are quite a bit better in most of those realms, I just get dissuaded from seeing a sample pictures or two that are blurry mixed in with a lot of good ones.

Personally my order of importance is Speed, angle (being matched to picture angle), range, recovery.

They all get blurry pics when there’s motion.

 

[sndmn11]

Personally my order of importance is Speed, angle (being matched to picture angle), range, recovery.

They all get blurry pics when there’s motion.

Thank you.

 

[Cahunter805]

Browning or moultrie cameras are what I’d recommend and currently use. You can make your own camera boxes pretty easily. If there’s lots of bears in your area I’d highly recommend a box.

 

[sndmn11]

Browning or moultrie cameras are what I’d recommend and currently use. You can make your own camera boxes pretty easily. If there’s lots of bears in your area I’d highly recommend a box.

Are the cameras themselves not very durable? Or are the boxes that much tougher they can put up with a bear?