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Cameras and the cold.

erussell

By erussell,
in Trail Camera Reviews and Info

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erussell Newbie

erussell

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Anyone have a problem with your cams not working in the cold unless you are standing a foot away from it? I went to check my cam I had out for the last three weeks and was super excited when the huge deer tracks I was following lead right by my cam. I thought for sure by all the tracks around the cam I had a ton of pics on the cam. But as I got closer I saw it read zippo untill I got about a foot from it then it started taking pics.

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nyslowhand Enthusiast

nyslowhand

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Not so sure about the circuitry in the cams, aren't most rated to -10deg or something like that??

Batteries are more subject to failure in the cold temps!

If they don't get the voltage signal from the batteries, cam probably will be slow or not trigger.

Have a Moultrie that behaves much like your's. Other Bushnell & Cuddeback, not so much.

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Paula Mentor

Paula

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I have mine set up out back. The only issue i had was when we had the wind last week camera got covered with snow. Still took pictures and the were of the snow. My camera is Bushnell I have had the same batteries in since last Dec. and it has been on since last April.

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Geno C Newbie

Geno C

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my wildgame did that... my bushnel worked fine to about 0° and started doing weird stuff. the newer version is good for neg 5. also, try to find some cold tolerant batteries as well. Batter life will strip and the cam will not function to full potential.

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phade Mentor

phade

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All three components, the card, cam, and batteries determine how well the cam takes pics in cold weather.

Lithium batteries will work best overall in cold weather. Honestly, newer cams, that's the only time I use them. Utilitech alkaline packs of 30 from Lowes can be had for $4 on Black Friday. I usually buy $20 worth and feed all my cams for the year. If I need to run a cam in the dead of winter, it's going be with lithiums.

Cams will stop working, or worse, malfunction, in colder temps. I have had several Spypoints, and they do OK. I do know that I miss pics when the temps start to dip into the teens and below with alkalines. Lithiums will power the cam in those lower temps better and will have longer life. Cams with alkalines will "come to life" as the temps rise to the point the alkalines can power the process.

My Covert Code Black has been out for 2-3 weeks straight on alkalines and I have only gotten pics sent when the cam reads 26 degrees or higher. Covert does not suggest use of lithiums in it because it can prevent the MMS feature from working. I'm really hoping to see pics sent below that - I cannot confirm if there have been deer there at times when the night temps are in the high teens, etc. We'll find out.

People either seem to cheap out or go brand name only on cards. In winter, I like cards that write faster and of a brand name. Class 4-6 are a minimum of write speed to use in newer cams. Faster the write speed, the less power taken in the process. A good friend uses only class 10 and he does well.

I'm not a Reconyx fan because of price vs. risk. I cannot strap $500 to a tree and hope it doesn't walk away or get damaged. BUT, it's also a champ in cold weather. They have a new dual lense setup for 2013, and that may be one of the bigger innovations (with proven performance behind it unlike Stealth tried). That may be the feature that could get me to pay the coin...legitimately getting rid of IR blur. In any case, that cam, powered with lithiums and a good card, will get you through our winters. Not for the faint of heart though.

Edited by phade
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cwhite Newbie

cwhite

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I run lithium batteries from mid November until they die, which I've found in most cases to be mid to end of January. I don't run cameras again until mid April when fawns are getting ready to drop, antler growth is just around the corner and turkeys are out looking for love. I don't find the cost of a replacement set of lithium batteries to be worth the pics that i get of fuzzy antler-less deer. But the biggest reason I don't run the cameras through the dead of winter is because of the frustration of having runways pounded through the snow back to the dirt with no pictures because the camera is froze up or batteries had died.

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2012_taco Rising Star

2012_taco

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I just pulled the card from my wildgame camera, its been out for 3 weeks, standard alkaline batteries are doing fine. I had it set for video, I like to see the deer reactions. 1 nice buck, bunch of does. The trigger speed is my only complaint. It is slow to react when the camera is in sleep mode. But that is how it saves battery life.

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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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i use the tractor supply brand (jobsmart) batteries they work gr8

Tractor Supply has had their batteries on sale for the past month .

If you need any 9 volt batteries for the smoke detector , etc , they were put on clearance --- 4 for $2.50 .... can't beat that .

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chiefbkt Newbie

chiefbkt

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I have the complete opposite problem, my WGI cameras perform great in the winter (rechargeable batteries, fast card) and not so good in the hot summer temps. I get good clean crisp photos in the cold and a lot of blurry "white out" pics in the summer. My WGI cams are the only ones with this problem. My other moultrie cams do well all year, except the older one that uses D batteries...they last about 2-3 weeks in winter.

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Five Seasons Grand Master

Five Seasons

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What kind of cam is it?

Sensitivity shouldn't be that bad as the sensor signaling should be pretty clear in cold weather. The cam was on in the house but not working? Swap and format card first?

yeah take some test photos. put it in on a tree in the yard. then walk by it at different distances. pull the card and see what you have.

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erussell Newbie

erussell

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Its a cheaper stealth cam prowler. It worked great up to about 3 months ago. Started taking less and less pics. One place I watched deer out my window milling around infront of it about 10 to 15 yrds from it. I went down and checked it and there was nothing on it. And it has just gotten worse from there. Thats what warranties are for. I think its time to upgrade anyhow to something a little higher priced anyhow.

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phade Mentor

phade

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Its a cheaper stealth cam prowler. It worked great up to about 3 months ago. Started taking less and less pics. One place I watched deer out my window milling around infront of it about 10 to 15 yrds from it. I went down and checked it and there was nothing on it. And it has just gotten worse from there. Thats what warranties are for. I think its time to upgrade anyhow to something a little higher priced anyhow.

That's your problem...ha. I'm not a brand basher, but of all cam lines I have owned, that brand as a whole has performed the worst, by far.

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