Starter Trail Cam Recommendations?

[UpStateRedNeck]

What do I need to get a start on doing a Trail Cam?  I'd like to get into it more heavily next year, with this year as a trial run.

Does anybody have a recommendation as to what model & various accessories I'll need to get pictures off of it without removing the camera, and load it onto my computer.  I'm very tech savvy so, I'd like to keep the price in the area of 100 to 120 bucks......

[ELMER J. FUDD]

I'm testing my remington Ghost DGX5.0 right now. It's ok in daylight, but last night I had white pix with standard flash (not LED). I'll keep you posted. When this cam first came out there were numerous problems. Chasingame.com has a wealth of reviews.

[Cabin Fever]

Yeah, I'd recommend checking out cam reviews on chasinggame.com also.

One thing to consider when buying a cheap trailcam is battery life. If it goes through batteries fast, you may as well invest a little more upfront and get a more expensive cam for ~$200. My cams take 3000-4000 pics on 8 AA batteries.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Heres the actual link

http://www.chasingame.com/

and its a great place to read up. If you want to get started for the lowest cost, the Wildgame Innovations cams, particularly the IR4, are great, low cost cams. The biggest issue is they dont offer the features that some others do. I started with a Moultrie D40 flash camera, then got the WGI IR4 and now I have a Moultrie I60 too. I think the next one I am going to buy will be a Bushnell Trophycam. It gets addictive lol.

[HectorBuckBuster]

I have a few Moultie 40 which work ok, I also have a couple Stealth Cams I430IR which is a very nice cam they are around $200 each (got them on a deal at Bass Pro one day for $99 each) only thing I do not like is trigger speed on any of them so far.I have not found a trail cam that has a Instant trigger, all have a 3-5 sec delay or more.The Stealth cam list the time, moon phase and temp on the picture.

[sampotter]

Bushnell Trophy Cams are what I'm using. Decent trigger speed, amazing battery life, and good video capability.

[UpStateRedNeck]

I bought a bushnell trophy cam at wally-mart for real cheap.  Evidently the SD card  I bought is too much for it at 4gb, so I gotta go exchange it. PITA.

[Cabin Fever]

I bought a bushnell trophy cam at wally-mart for real cheap.  Evidently the SD card  I bought is too much for it at 4gb, so I gotta go exchange it. PITA.

Are you sure it was the Trophy Cam that you bought? I didn't know they carried that one. I just checked the Walmart site and they have a couple of Bushnell cams, but they're not the Trophy Cam. How much did you get it for?

[nyslowhand]

It's all about what you expect to see in the photos, the camera's overall rating and the trade-offs.

Few different web-sites review trail cams, take those with a grain of salt.

Couple of years ago I bought one that was in my $$ range and rated pretty good, I hate it!!

If it doesn't have good trigger speed, expect a lot of photos of landscapes w/o wildlife in them.

If the batteries drain fast, you'll need to be changing them more frequently.

If all the performance features are great, but the photos stink - you've wasted your $$.

Look at the photos guys post on this forum.

If it's a decent photo there generally is a follow-up question posted; What trail cam do you use?

LIke all other electronic "Toys", every year there is a new latest & greatest model?

Very addictive hobby!!!

Get 1st one, neat pics, gotta have a 2nd, more frequent trips to retrive memory cards, slideshows, burning DVDs, posting & sharing, ....

[UpStateRedNeck]

Well if they're anything like hunting stands, I'll wind up in double digits.

Also, I took that one back to wally on my way to work this morning.  It was 5 mp sentry, and got a pretty bad review from chasing game.  That was the only reason I bought the first one I saw at wally, was because I knew I could take it back with no hassle whatsoever.  I'll see if they have anything decent at Dick's, if not I'll use my Cabelas' card.  Do most cams not accept anything larger than a 1gb sd card?

[WNYBuckHunter]

I run 2Gb cards in all of mine, most of the new ones will support larger than that. On my 6mp cam, I leave it out for a week or two at a time and come nowhere near filling the card with 600+ pics. When I pick up new cards, they will be 4gb only because 2gb cards are getting tougher to find new.

[Cabin Fever]

Mine uses up to 2GB also. Bushnell Trophy Cam '10 model takes up to a 16GB card! HOLY CRAP!! Why you would need something that large is beyond me!

[HectorBuckBuster]

The 16 MB card would be awesome if all you do is take video and no pictures

[UpStateRedNeck]

Dick's has a WGI X6C for 150, and IR3C for 80, I'm a little torn right now.  X6C got really good reviews, looks like a high quality peice of equipment.

[LTC24]

Spend some time looking at others trail cam pictures.  they often display the camera make & model.  Pretty soon you will get a sense of which cameras take good pictures.  All technical stuff is great, but want you want in the end is good pictures.

[UpStateRedNeck]

Got a WGI D8 for 170$ with metal security bracket, 2gb SD card, and 4 D cell batteries.  Also it has a 20$ mail in rebate, so it'll only cost me 150 with all that stuff, and chasingame gave it a solid review.  Pumped, time to put this girl on my food plot!

[nyslowhand]

My suggestion would be to read the instructions.

I know, that's not the manly thing to do. lol

Set it up in you back yard and walk in front of it a few times.

Pull the card and see how the pictures look.

Some models don't have the default settings exactally where you'd like them to be.

Go to chassinggame or nativeoutdoors web sites and read their tips.

May save you some aggrevation and wasted time with worthless photos.

When you bring that 1st memory card home and see the photos on your PC, you'll be officially addicted!!!

[UpStateRedNeck]

Couple of pairs of eyes so far, camera appeared to be being triggered by a sapling right in front of it which has since been removed with extreme prejuidice, so I had 250+ pictures of empty field.  But that was only 2 nights worth, I'll pull the card again this saturday and see how it worked.

[nyslowhand]

When I think I'm going to move a trail camera to a new location, I carry a pair of prunning clippers.

Anything that can blow or move in the mind will raise havoc with empty photos. Guess you found this out!

One other thing I learned the hard way was to have cam facing north. So it's not influenced too much by sun glare.

[UpStateRedNeck]

There was some glare on the camera, it is facing south, but it didn't ruin the pictures at all.  This is on my foodplot that I planted last year, it's a bit overgrown now but theres a real thick bed of white clover in it yet, and I can see where the animals have been munching on it.

[hrymanback]

I was the same way looking at at the cams my best friend picked one up for me for a b day gift its the primos truth cam 46 IR it has 46 IR lights for night shots and the shutter speed is pretty good to. Right now I have it set on a 5 pic burst and use a 4g card witch they say is good for 3 to 4 thousand pics LOL. Dont need that many but nice to have I guess. The big thing for me was shutter speed and video option and I have no complaints about it. The setting are easy and it has nice options like you can change the number of IR lights that go off and megapixel.  The price I think was 150 to 200 I guess it depends on were you get it. Good luck....... 

[UpStateRedNeck]

Going up to the farm to shoot my bow and pull my trail cam when I get out of here in an hour, and scout around a bit before football!  I'm pumped, hope I have something to show!

[Jimbo]

I have been using trail cams for 15+ years, starting out with the Camtraker @ $400.00.  I still use this film camera near the house.  When my film supply runs out it will be retired.  Great camera. 4+ months on the batterys.

I have tried some other brands and I now use 4 digital cuddeback captures.  I feel that these are the best for the money.  Yes, I use flash cameras.  I put them anywhere from 10-15 feet up and angle them down.  Deer never seem to run from the flash or even look up at the camera. I have several sequences where a deer will come in on a scrape and I will get as many as 9 flash pics in 10-15 minutes. This position almost always gives a full view of the rack, no people seem to notice the camera and even if they did, I remove the 4 tree steps I used to put them up there. I get about 2 months on 4 D cell batterys

Cost is $200.00 list price.  I have been buying them on E-Bay for around $160 -170.00  Keep the camera as simple as possible.

One thing I have found though, you will more than likely have to send it back to the manufaturer at least once in it's lifetime for repair.  Do not waste your $$$ on cheap cameras.

I am a measurer for Boone & Crocket and Pope & Young so remember, if you take a record book class deer with the aid of one of the cameras that sends pics to your cell phone, it will not qualify for the record books.  Again, keep it simple!

[Frank]

Go to Gander Mountain web site Wild Game cameras are on sale 69 dollars 4.0 mp infra red. great deal im getting four of them.

[Frank]

Set your camera on a trail so you are looking done the trail. This will give you a better oppertunity to get a good shot. or find an apple tree and set it up so you are looking under it.