I have 2 of the Moultrie D-40's and one of the older of the same models. The older model took a 6 volt lantern battery and it would not operate if below freezing. The d-40's take 6 D-cell batteries and so far hve not failed. I have not checked them since the cold weather moved in, but I did just replace the batteries in both and should be ok. I will check this weekend though. Average since April has been about 9 weeks on battery life. That is with taking about 1300 pictures a month. Picture quality is excellent for a $100 camera. As far as flash goes, I think my deer will pose for the camera after about a week of seeing it. I have several very close ups of the nosey ones. Trigger speed is ok. I had them set on a feeder for most of the time.

There is an external port for the $80 solar cell charger option. I do not use that yet. I think I can come up with a cheaper option on a DIY sollar cell build. If you want battery life, you will need to move up to an IR flash. As long as these last a few more years, I plan on saving for a reconx though.

Good luck on finding a good deal. BP usually has these on sale about every 2 months. I picked both of mine up for $80 on 2 different sales.