Trail camera recommendations

gerry · Dec 12, 2024

I'm looking to get some trail cameras and was wondering which ones I should look for and which ones to avoid. I'll be in areas with no cell coverage mostly so those that use WiFi likely won't work. Thanks in advance.

JD338 · Dec 12, 2024

Gerry,
I am running Cuddeback cameras. I use they as my eyes in the woods overlooking food plots and property lines for security. Several are 7+ years old and they run all year. I also have 15 Cuddeback cell cameras. They all take great pictures.

JD338

jimbires · Dec 13, 2024

I have 3 moultree cameras , 3 BOG cameras , 4 stealth cameras , 1 browning camera , and I was just recently gifted a primos camera . all are black flash except the primos , it's a low glow but I can't see it . one moultree has an issue with the night flash . one side of the flash doesn't always work , causing half the pic to be black if taken in the night . the stealth cams does not allow you to name the camera . naming the camera is handy for knowing where it's at when viewing the pics . I just number my cams and have a cheat sheet with the number locations . the stealth cams do not have a viewing screen . the moultree cams have a very small viewing screen to be able to view the pics on location . they can also be named . the browning can be named , but no viewing screen . I think the browning takes the best quality pic , out of my cameras . the BOG cams can be named , and also have a nice size viewing screen . I think these are the most handy cameras I use . the primos cam I haven't had any field time with it yet . I don't think it can be named , it doesn't have a view screen . it's a very basic camera .. my home computer has a SD slot . I take the SD cards out of the cams and plug them into my home computer and it opens my photo program and I view my pics . the primos cam doesn't do this . I need to load the primos SD card to a folder and then view my pics in this folder . these cameras are all at least 2 seasons old with the moultree's being probably 6 or 8 years old . I had a simons camera that lasted less than one season and died .

jimbires · Dec 13, 2024

I forgot to mention , the quickest ,easiest way I've found to tend my cameras . I have two sets of SD cards . I have them numbered to match the cameras , two of each number . I have one set in the cams , and an empty set in my pocket . I pull the used card and replace it with a blank card . I have two pill bottles labeled used , empty . I view the cards at home , then I format the cards in my camera with the bad night flash . they are ready to go again .
I run my cameras off AA batteries . duracell copper top so far is the longest lasting , that I've tried . they are about $1.00 each . last year I bought a pack of Delco batteries off of ebay . 100 batteries $30 shipped . they don't quite last as long , but at the price they seem like a deal . I get a year out of the delco batteries , on my less active cameras . on my busy cameras I'll guess 6 or 8 months . the duracell batteries all lasted the year .

JD338 · Dec 13, 2024

We also have extra cards but haven't dedicated cards with cameras.
Battery cost have soared. We have solar panels on all the cell cameras. They have paid for themselves.

JD338

gerry · Dec 13, 2024

Thanks gentlemen that is a lot of great info and will help immensely. Really helps when you don't have any experience with them. I'll keep this up to date. We pick our own Christmas presents and this is what I would like.

Lots of great people on this site, it's honestly the best hunting forum in my opinion by far.

RL338 · Dec 13, 2024

Over the years I’ve used many cameras. Muddy , Moultrie , Stealth Cam , Wildview , Wildgame In. and Bog. By far the best one is the Bog Clandestine with amazing pictures or videos. Too bad you can’t buy them anymore. The worst I used was one from Stealth Cam , once triggered it took pictures every minute until the batteries die. I returned it for a new one and it made it 1 year before it did the same thing. The others do their job.

jimbires · Dec 14, 2024

JD338 said:
We also have extra cards but haven't dedicated cards with cameras.
Battery cost have soared. We have solar panels on all the cell cameras. They have paid for themselves.

JD338

the reason I numbered my SD cards , is so I could keep track of what camera the pics came from . if I could name all of my cameras , I wouldn't need to dedicate the SD cards to a specific camera . an example would be ; when I get home I can view card #5 . I look at my cheat sheet and see I have camera #5 on the heavy trail that skirts the beaver swamp .

I move my cameras around a fair amount . when I move one all I need to do is change the camera location on my cheat sheet .

jimbires · Dec 14, 2024

RL338 said:
Over the years I’ve used many cameras. Muddy , Moultrie , Stealth Cam , Wildview , Wildgame In. and Bog. By far the best one is the Bog Clandestine with amazing pictures or videos. Too bad you can’t buy them anymore. The worst I used was one from Stealth Cam , once triggered it took pictures every minute until the batteries die. I returned it for a new one and it made it 1 year before it did the same thing. The others do their job.

that is the BOG cameras I have too . they are the best for use in the field . easy to set up , and I can quickly view the pics in the field , if I want too . I didn't realize they stopped making them , I've been looking for a few more .

jimbires · Dec 14, 2024

I just remembered my stealth cams are called , brow tine . they are low end , econo priced cameras , I think 4 for $100 . so far they are working well . no viewer , and can't name them . I have 1 bog camera that will forget it's time , date , and name , that camera is #9 . I wrote on the bottom of all my cameras the camera number .

look at the info strip across the bottom of the pic . this is camera #2