2014 Cams to Consider and 2013s to Scoop

[phade]

ATA brought out quite a few of the cameras that will be new to the market this year. Size has become one of the most aggressive characteristics this year. Small is in. I'm seeing a few major performance changes, but not as many as in years past. It seems like refinement is the name of the game.

 

Cuddeback and Browning seem to have some very small cases this year. Cuddeback doesn't have a great rep in my opinion after years of a fall from grace when they were the cat's meow. If there was ever a year to "retry" them, the 2014 models might be it.

 

Browning seems to be putting out decent product. While the photos/videos are not going to be among the best in the industry, the performance specs, if they fall in line with the same level of success as last year, will be nice. They are also tiny. Very tiny.

 

Covert has a few new cams out. They have a wide angle cam perfect for field use. It's a different look from the norm for the company, but it appears to offer a perfect cam for food plotters and those who want to cover a larger area of detection and photo capture. The Code Black is also going to be 3G for improved service connectivity and likely faster transmission/performance. A white LED cam is out. Some people fap fap fap at white flash for color nighttime video/photo, but I'm not one of them. It's a great cam for those who do.

 

Reconyx is still touting its potential two-lens system. Problem is they touted it last year and it never came out. Great cam if it performs like their reputation is built on, and two lens offer a lot of benefits.

 

Moultrie doesn't seem to have a ton of great additions, other than just cranking out more models than you can shake a stick at, with refinements being the name of the game. The big one to look at for me is the 150i, which is the black flash panoramic cam. I think it will make a solid food plot cam. One thing I just don't seem to be sure of yet is the amount of moving parts. Noise and reliability are a long-term concern. Still, it's a real neat cam for those who can use it.

 

2013 models to consider if on sale. I actually prefer people buy cams that are a model year behind because the cams are proven in large, or not...or are caught somewhere in the middle. While runs of the same cams from the manufacturer can vary, in large, if a cam is good, it tends to be good.

 

Moultrie P150, 990, 900, 800, and 880. Steer away from the other series of cams, including the 555.

 

Covert MP6, MP6 Black, Red 40, Black 60, Code Black - Black 60 is one of the best all-around cams

 

Browning - all three models, recon force and spec ops especially

 

Bushnell - X8...a very little known cam. Daytime pics are washed out a bit, but that's typical of Bushnell. The cam is a bit hard to set-up and navigate, but the cam is a trooper. It is no longer made, but plenty of places are selling it on sale because it didn't sell as well as the Trophy cam. Not a lot of complaints on repairs or issues with it.

 

Spypoint - G4 or the black flash variant from Cabelas or Dick's (2 N 1 or Eclypse). Cam really hasn't evolved much in the past two years other than the black flash. But, it's a good, reliable cam.

 

Still not convinced Primos or WGI has anything to offer.

 

 

 

[brandon_h]

Thanks for the informative post. im still running my Scoutguards from 4-5 years ago, but have been looking to add to my arsenal.