Trail cameras ?
07-23-2007, 09:21 AM
#2
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 21,043
RE: Trail cameras ?
I absolutely HATED my cuddeback. I know a lot of people who love them.....but mine went through batteries like nobody's business. I have a moultrie 2.0 that I love. $160 or so.....and I have 1K+ photos from it.....and the 6V battery life is great.
07-23-2007, 09:24 AM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Stony Point/Albany, NY
Posts: 1,479
RE: Trail cameras ?
I can't see spending that much $ for something that can get stolen so easily. I went w/ the StealthCam I230, it does exactly what I want it to, takes pictures of deer. It was half the price of the Cuddeback, but amazingly enough, I still manage to get pictures of deer... wow imagine that[8D].
07-23-2007, 09:26 AM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: North Lima Ohio & Clarion Pa
Posts: 6,453
RE: Trail cameras ?
I have the Moultrie now for 2 yearsand wish I had the disposable income to buy a Cuddeback. The Moultrie sucks in my opinion. Just walk by it and it misses you. Maybe on a bait pile it's better?? Will find out this week, when I go retrieve it off a mineral lick site!
I have the 6V rechargable also.
I have the 6V rechargable also.
07-23-2007, 09:37 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Northern Illinoise
Posts: 2,464
RE: Trail cameras ?
Trail cameras are like anything in life - you get what you pay for.
There's plenty of cheap ones that will work and get you photos, but the amount of photos, quality of photos, and other factors such as battery life, trigger speed, etc are going to suffer. If you can live with that and be happy with any photos at all, go for it.
If you want something more that's going to trigger fast, give you good high-quality photos, and have good battery life amongst other features you're going to pay for it.
Right now I have a CamTrakker Digital Ranger, a Cuddeback Excite, a Stealth I450, and a Moultra 1.3 MP. They range in price from $450 to $100. The CamTrakker is the most expensive of the 4 units, but it takes the best quality photos and has the 2nd best trigger speed next to the Cuddeback. The Moultrie is a piece of junk, the batteries don't last more than 7 days, and it triggers very slow. However, for $100 it works great over a food source like an apple tree/mineral lick, or over a scrape.
In the end, it all comes down to personal preference in what you're looking for and what you're willing to pay.
Good luck with your decision, and post photos when you get them.
There's plenty of cheap ones that will work and get you photos, but the amount of photos, quality of photos, and other factors such as battery life, trigger speed, etc are going to suffer. If you can live with that and be happy with any photos at all, go for it.
If you want something more that's going to trigger fast, give you good high-quality photos, and have good battery life amongst other features you're going to pay for it.
Right now I have a CamTrakker Digital Ranger, a Cuddeback Excite, a Stealth I450, and a Moultra 1.3 MP. They range in price from $450 to $100. The CamTrakker is the most expensive of the 4 units, but it takes the best quality photos and has the 2nd best trigger speed next to the Cuddeback. The Moultrie is a piece of junk, the batteries don't last more than 7 days, and it triggers very slow. However, for $100 it works great over a food source like an apple tree/mineral lick, or over a scrape.
In the end, it all comes down to personal preference in what you're looking for and what you're willing to pay.
Good luck with your decision, and post photos when you get them.
07-23-2007, 09:38 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern Idaho's Panhandle
Posts: 4,436
RE: Trail cameras ?
The Cuddesare expensive that's for sure. I think if you have a bait pile or mineral lick where yournot going to worry about trigger speed, then there are many options outside of the Cudde. Even more if you dont care about the flash going off. You have a ton of options. Last if you dont have to worry about public land or heavily hunted private land and someone stealing your camera then your options are huge. (that flash going off is going to draw another hunters or passer-by attention imo)
Personally, I paid the extra money for the cuddeback because:
1. Most of my spots are public; or moderately to heavilyhunted private;loggers andother hunters etc will and do walk through the areas. The cuddeback IR I bought is dead silent and makes NOFLASH...it very difficult to detect by a passer by. I also reallycamo mine up in brush when setting it up. My #1 concern was getting a camera stolen.
2. 2nd, the trigger speed is amazing with my cuddeback. Most of my set ups are on trails, not at bait or mineral licks. I have to get a picture right now when the critter walks by. Most likely he/she won't be standing still. So far this camera gets those up close quick photos. The night time IR images have been more than satisfactory.
3. After using mine, I am very happy. It was a hard pill for me to swallow in regards to $when I bought them but I am very happy now with the results for my situation.
I'd way out your options and consider the different scenarios you have to deal with and go from there. Good luck.
Personally, I paid the extra money for the cuddeback because:
1. Most of my spots are public; or moderately to heavilyhunted private;loggers andother hunters etc will and do walk through the areas. The cuddeback IR I bought is dead silent and makes NOFLASH...it very difficult to detect by a passer by. I also reallycamo mine up in brush when setting it up. My #1 concern was getting a camera stolen.
2. 2nd, the trigger speed is amazing with my cuddeback. Most of my set ups are on trails, not at bait or mineral licks. I have to get a picture right now when the critter walks by. Most likely he/she won't be standing still. So far this camera gets those up close quick photos. The night time IR images have been more than satisfactory.
3. After using mine, I am very happy. It was a hard pill for me to swallow in regards to $when I bought them but I am very happy now with the results for my situation.
I'd way out your options and consider the different scenarios you have to deal with and go from there. Good luck.
07-23-2007, 10:54 AM
#10
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 21,043
RE: Trail cameras ?
Forgot to add....
My moultrie 2.0 battery life is about 4 weeks. So I spend $5 every month on a battery. Out of 141 "triggers" last week.....I had 3 photos with nothing in them. Granted....again....I'm set up on a mineral site......so trigger speed isn't a factor.
My moultrie 2.0 battery life is about 4 weeks. So I spend $5 every month on a battery. Out of 141 "triggers" last week.....I had 3 photos with nothing in them. Granted....again....I'm set up on a mineral site......so trigger speed isn't a factor.