Trail cam reccomendations

[iMac therefore iAm]

Hi all - long time DPReview member, but first time posting in several years.

We recently moved to a new house with numerous wildlife opportunities. In just the few months since we moved in, either my wife or myself have seen in our yard: Deer, raccoons, turkeys and even a bobcat. While we have outdoor security cameras, they either don't alert us to small animal motion or even if we know where to look in the timeline, its indistinguishable - ie in the case of the bobcat you just see a faint blob and then two glowing eyes as it looks toward the security camera. (I was working at 3am in a basement room with a ground-eye level window and just happened to see it walk past the window not more than 5 feet from me).

I would like to set up some motion triggered day/night vision cameras to capture some of the wildlife (bears are also in the area, but they have been in hibernation since we moved in). We would focus on high traffic areas - case in point, based on paw prints the bobcat has a specific route it takes.

I literally don't know where to begin so I'd like some pointers/suggestions.

 

[Mikel10]

On our back deck, I have been using a Meidase SL122 Pro mounted on an inexpensive tripod. Comes with a strap for mounting on trees. A place to start?

 

[iMac therefore iAm]

That definitely gave me a good place to start and so far that one is in the running. I like that it has 32MP when many others are only 16-20.

 

[Cariboo]

DO NOT BELIEVE THE SPECS OR HYPE OF ANY TRAIL CAMERA CHEAP OR EXPENSIVE!!!!!!

You don't mention your budget, which is extremely important and IME, spending a bit more does provide better quality on several fronts.

IME, after trying a few low budget weird named cameras from Amazon (like ApeMan, CamPark), I now avoid them like the plague. The quality of the image sensors is usually poor, especially at night and the PIR motion detection is also quite poor to downright horrible, especially for smaller subjects and they often have frustrating controls.

EVERY brand that I've researched has pros and cons, from low to mid to high priced.

EVERY BRAND AND CAMERA WILL MISS CAPTURES AS OFTEN OR MORE THAN IT WILL CAPTURE THEM.

Also, you need to learn whether red IR will bother your subjects or not, vs. non visible Dark IR, how fast you want multiple images taken and if the camera has customizable options for this and how narrow is the range.

I have 2 SpyPoints that often have poor to great reviews and they have been overall very good in all seasons and the image quality is noticeably far better than my 2 StealthCams, which otherwise are pretty good. It's astounding how StealthCam exaggerates the number of MegaPixels and resolution vs. the reality of very pixelated and noisy images. Also, the hype is always about high mega pixels which are interpolated from low mega pixel sensors, often admitted to in the manual but not in the advertising. Trigger speed is also pretty good with both, but my 2 StealthCams are poor for customizable settings. The range on both brands have exceeded my expectations and are far superior to the no name knock offs.

There is also a learning curve and again, understand that you will always miss more activity than you will capture and your cards will get corrupted now and then and your batteries will die at the worst time and there will be random software glitches. I had one camera that would hit a snag for some bizarre reason and decide to suddenly make thousands of exposures. Fortunately, the Mfg replaced it but it was still a PITA process.

Also important, are your expectations. Security cameras are not always any better and often much worse for motion detection. DO NOT ACCEPT THE SPECS OR HYPE unless you can get evidence ..... as with everything.

Browning and Moultrie also have some good reviews. And there are a couple of really expensive brands that are probably the most reliable, but again they are not fool proof and still have their pros and cons.

Ultimately, depending on your budget and expectations and subjects, it's difficult to recommend what will work for you and like most of us, you will have to suffer through buying and then trial and error?

Sadly, many Mfgs are also pushing expensive cellular trail cameras more and more but they are targets for theft and can eat batteries far more quickly.

I just wish there was ONE that was reliable and dependable and didn't miss activity as much as the 5 brands that I've tried do. It's frustrating as ....

 

[iMac therefore iAm]

Excellent feedback - thank you!

I didn't mention a budget because I don't really know what's realistic. Ideally I'd like to get 2 or 3, but will probably start with one.

 

[Cariboo]

That definitely gave me a good place to start and so far that one is in the running. I like that it has 32MP when many others are only 16-20.

I cry BS on 32 MP's!!!! It ain't going to happen, no way. It will be interpolated from probably a 2-4 MP sensor. YOU MUST REALIZE THAT TRAIL CAMERA MFGS LIE!!!! THEY ALL EXAGERRATE THE CRAP OUT OF THEIR SPECS.

Try to go to Mfg websites or review websites and download actual and known image files with metadata that you can look at before you spend much money.

 

[iMac therefore iAm]

So based on your recommendations I looked up Moultrie on Amazon with a price range of $50-$500. It looks like all their cams in the $100 or less range, with some two-packs in the $180 range. Is $100 the upper range for a good trail cam? If so pretty much anything is on the table.

 

[Cariboo]

Video is also a different set of specs. They don't all capture video well if you want video.

Again do not accept the hype of specs but try to get actual video and still files from THE camera that you want and understand that the quality settings are interpolated and that the real base resolution of trail camera image sensors is usually very low but improve with cost but not always.

Trail cameras are very frustrating and it is beyond belief how much the Mfgs LIE about their products. It is criminal IMO.

 

[iMac therefore iAm]

Thanks - again, good to know. Video is fine, but I'm more into still images.

 

[Cariboo]

$100-150+ IMO is less frustrating and will provide better image and video quality and motion detection. +$200 is even safer and less frustrating. But as I am poor, I had to start with under $100 cameras which now collect dust. I bought a 2 pack of StealthCams from Costco, which despite the lies and hype on the packaging and website, are overall okay other than the noisy image quality and poor detail and the bizarre and incredible over sharpening. Between the StealthCams and my SpyPoints, the image quality difference is dramatic, despite the BS of the StealthCam specs being 2x+ supposedly better than the older SpyPoints. The SpyPoint image quality is far superior but I cannot afford more of them.

My favorite so far, is my SpyPoint Force Dark but I also use it for human trespass security as I don't want humans to see the night time IR "flash" trigger which is red from my SpyPoint F10 (now out of production but mine still works well).

Some wolves and coyotes at night, also avoided my SpyPoint F10 which had a red IR "flash" at night. I got quite a few captures of them reacting harshly to the red IR light and then they would not go through that trail. The "Dark" IR is IMO superior but has less range. Though either way, the night "flash" exposures are usually poor anyway, as the subject is overexposed if too close or out of range. There is no night flash auto exposure that I know of.

A wolf research group I contacted uses Browning Spec Ops Edge cameras and the newer model they use is the Browning HP4 Elite. But while the wolf research group buys these vs getting them free, they also get thousands of $$$$ in donations and so far I have not been able to afford either of these models, though I wish I could. More expensive, but less frustrations in the field.

 

[Alan Clifford]

I've started to look a buying a trail camera and have read that "highest quality 22 MP image resolution" on the browning website is not quite true.
wildlifeservices.co.uk say "20 MP still pictures (interpolated)" whilst shop.naturespy.org has "CMOS Sensor: 4MP"

This is for the Browning Spec Ops Elite HP4.

4 MP are OK but I would like to what I would actually be buying.

 

[357mm]

Hi all - long time DPReview member, but first time posting in several years.

We recently moved to a new house with numerous wildlife opportunities. In just the few months since we moved in, either my wife or myself have seen in our yard: Deer, raccoons, turkeys and even a bobcat. While we have outdoor security cameras, they either don't alert us to small animal motion or even if we know where to look in the timeline, its indistinguishable - ie in the case of the bobcat you just see a faint blob and then two glowing eyes as it looks toward the security camera. (I was working at 3am in a basement room with a ground-eye level window and just happened to see it walk past the window not more than 5 feet from me).

I would like to set up some motion triggered day/night vision cameras to capture some of the wildlife (bears are also in the area, but they have been in hibernation since we moved in). We would focus on high traffic areas - case in point, based on paw prints the bobcat has a specific route it takes.

I literally don't know where to begin so I'd like some pointers/suggestions.

The best reviews I've seen are done by trailpro.

Game & Trail Camera Reviews - Trail Cam Buying Guides (trailcampro.com)

I have 8 cams out now. Spypoint, Browning, Tasco, Wildgame, Amazon Chinese stuff.

It's hit & miss. I normally dial down the image quality to the lowest megapixel, rarely above 4 due to interpolation.

You'll have to spend $$$ to get good IQ.

 

[Red Barchetta]

Don't put the camera at a level that they can pee on it.

 

[357mm]

Don't put the camera at a level that they can pee on it.

That right there is hilarious.

I've had woodpeckers peck out the sensoring area & ruin a couple of cams!