Game/Wildlife Camera

NSB Photog · November 2016

So, my youngest son mailed off his Santa letter, and on it was a wildlife camera.

He basically wants to set it up by the lake or in the yard, trees, etc. and see what is wandering around at night. Don't need anything fancy, but looking for something that would take a decent photo, and maybe a short video.

Any recommendations? Any brands I should stay away from? Would like to keep it around $100.

Thanks!

SAENole · November 2016

I've had better luck with the Moultrie cameras over the years.

Except when the bears eat them. Then the brand doesn't really matter.

BallaCoiPersici · November 2016

No suggestions but you should be (and probably you are) happy the son asked for something so interesting and educative instead than for some stupid videogame or other modern idiocies.

james 14 · November 2016

You'll have better luck posting this in the General Hunting section of the Hunt Camp.

Primos has many good options and many can be had for less than $100. If you want to add the option of taking video you may have to spend $100 for sure but I don't think you'll need anything that costs more. Amazon has several for sale as do your typical big box stores.

If you're quick they have a Cyber Monday deal for one (non-video I think) that is half price less than $30.

treemanjohn · November 2016

He will be amazed at what sneaksneak around at night. Make sure you get one that takes video. They're mUchiha more helpful to identify animals. Look for cyber Monday deals.

Menzies · November 2016

I was looking this morning for an engine room camera, some nice ones out there for decent prices. If you have good wireless around the house you can get him one with an app for his phone. All you need is a nearby power source to plug it is. Others record to SD cards or to a DVR.

Just go check where he has it pointed on a regular basis! :wink

SAENole · November 2016

Avoid the Stealth Cam brand.

Jiviwhopper · November 2016

Been very pleased with my Moultrie...

tk's joy · November 2016

Do you know which model Moultrie you have ? That looks better than the Bushnell I bought a couple of years ago and don't like.

tk

Turner River Terror · November 2016

many good ones out there..just be carefull how you aim it.
I put one on my garbage can for a bear raider , got 5 pictures of him and 1,300 of a waving palm frond.

Heatwave · November 2016

Turner River Terror wrote: »

many good ones out there..just be carefull how you aim it.
I put one on my garbage can for a bear raider , got 5 pictures of him and 1,300 of a waving palm frond.

LOL....

hooknline · November 2016

Academy has some Browning's that are decent for about 100$.

camojoe · November 2016

Nice deal on a Browning refurb https://www.natchezss.com/browning-recon-force-camera-8mp-refurbished.html

pottydoc · November 2016

We have about 25 out on our lease. WE tried a bunch over the years, including some high end Cuddybacks, and Moultrie has worked best for us. Not sure which model they are, but their about $100.00.

NSB Photog · November 2016

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Looked at the Moultrie cameras and found this cyber deal at Sam's Club for $80 with free shipping.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/moultrie-m-1100i-12mp-ir-trail-camera/prod20620322.ip?xid=plp:product:1:2

My son will definitely be excited. We've had some otters visiting the dock lately, and he's hoping he will be able to get video footage of them but we also have coyotes, bears, raccoons, foxes, etc. that visit the yard from time to time. Should give him plenty of opportunities to try it out.

HomerSimpson · November 2016

I was about to say I haven't had a lot of luck with the cameras under $100 other than to tell something is out there (image quality not great). But that one you posted does look nice. Especially having the screen. It can be a pain sometimes to have to go get the card and bring it back home to look.

Jiviwhopper · November 2016

I'll check this weekend, I can't remember the model number.

Fletch · November 2016

I've had wildgame innovations 8MP in the past. They worked well for a few years but the LEDs eventually went out on them rendering them more or less useless at night. Have several Browning strike force 10MPs now. Loving them so far. Pics and video are very, very nice.

Griz · November 2016

How long do they last on batteries? Would love one at the farm but only visit every few months.

Fletch · November 2016

It depends on how you set them up and how much activity they "see". With my old Wildgame Innovations, I had them set for a minimum delay between photos of 1 minute. I would average 20-30 photos per 24 hour period. Batteries would last several months. With the new Brownings, we have them set for a minimum delay of 10 seconds and sometimes I'll have over 100 photos in a 24 hour period. They've lasted at least a month now.

Night time photos are more taxing on the batteries as is video mode. As others have indicated above, poor placement can result in a lot of worthless photos of tree limbs, etc. You want to mount them on a good, steady tree without a lot of flexible branches and bushes in the immediate field of view.

james 14 · November 2016

Griz wrote: »

How long do they last on batteries? Would love one at the farm but only visit every few months.

The newer ones that take AA batteries seem to last several months. If you wanted to be sure you could get Lithium AA's and they could very well last a year depending on how many pics it takes.

bullhead · November 2016

I have a Stealth that was expensive, and some Moultrie units I bought cheap (<$50) on Amazon. My Stealth is an older model, and was several hundred dollars at the time, if I remember right. Picture quality is about the same during the day, but the Stealth takes better pics at night. The range seems to be short on the Moultrie, and it took me a while to get consistent triggering. On the Stealth, my biggest complaint was the delay in triggering; seems like I would always get the butt end with the head out of the field of view. Both have great battery life. If I am going to buy more, it would be the cheaper Moultrie cams. I can get more cams, and set up multiple cams for better coverage. I don't need picture quality suitable for framing, just need to know what is there.

lbud · December 2016

I bought this six weeks ago,It's taken about 4k pics (blowing vegetation) and batts are at 87%

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NSB Photog · December 2016

That's a good point about the blowing vegetation, I hadn't thought about that. So basically, if anything moves, it's going to fire? Sounds like we will definitely have to play around with placement.

I'm started to get as excited about it as he is now though. It's going to be tough to wait until Christmas Day.

Fletch · December 2016

He will love it. I find checking my game cams almost as fun as hunting.

Almost...

Griz · December 2016

Looks like I'll add to my list.

Fletch · December 2016

I would recommend a 32GB SD Card as well (or bigger if the camera will support it). I picked some up at Best Buy recently for $19.95 which is about as cheap as you can find a decent one for.

Didn't want to post this as I was actively hunting this guy and didn't want to tip anyone off about his general location. I have been watching him develop over a few years and was secretly hoping he'd make it one more year. Sadly, he didn't respect the property lines and a hunter on a neighboring farm bagged him within the last few days. This will give you an idea of the video capabilities of the Browning Strike Force though. Youtube compresses the video which lowers the quality a little bit.

Game/Wildlife Camera

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