Okay guys,

Tonight I am going to order a digital scouting camera, and my dilema is which one to get.

There are 4 possible models that I am looking at....

Non-Typical Cuddeback

Stealth DIGRC-XTR

Interactive Outdoors Digital Trail Spy

Leaf River Digital Trail Scan


Okay, now for a little about each..

The Cuddeback has a 1.3 Megapixel camera, which is the lowest megapixel camera of them all. It states that you can get 3 months of battery life (a major plus) but that just seems hard to believe! This camera also seems to have the most options! The company I would order it from is on back order for these cameras (they will be recieving them sometime this week) and they are on back-order because they got rid of all their stock and are bringing in the newly updated Cuddeback which supposidly has its kinks worked out (the only complaint I have heard is blue lines during night shots)

The Stealth DIGRC-XTR has the biggest megapixel camera at 3.1 megapixels. It has a 1.8" color LCD screen so you can view and delete your photos in the field. I can't find any battery life info, but a solar panel can be added to charge your batteries in the field.

The Trail Spy has a 2.1 megapixel camera and has some unique features. It can be used for taking videos (like the two mentioned above) but it has a unique feature in the fact that it has a light which allows for videos to be taken at night!

The Leaf River Digital Trail Scan looks nice, as it has a 2.0 megapixel camera and has a over-sized flash! The only thing that bothers me is this quote from Cabelas web-site...... "Takes scouting pictures with a high-resolution 2-megapixel digital camera and records date and time of up to 300 events" Does this mean that if your camera is out for along time, and you have a large memory card, that it will stop taking pictures after the 300 pic mark?


Right now, I am leaning towards the Stealth DIGRC-XTR as it appears to have the best blend of features and the biggest megapixel camera, but I am worried about securiy and what can be done to deter thiefs. The "lock plate" that came with both of my Stealth MC2-G's was cheap and could be broke with your bare hands!

If anybody has any info or helpful info on these cameras, please let me know a.s.a.p.

Thanks guys!!

Buck Magnet - I have the Cuddeback. The pictures are decent and overall I am happy with it. I am currently getting materials to build my own for my next one. I do not know much about the other 3 but I will tell you this about the cuddeback. It has 2 security codes you can set. Without these codes the camera is useless. You set one 5 digit code of accessing the pictures and the other 5 digit code is the master code. With the master code you can set owners name which appears on all pictures. That was a big factor in my decision to get this camera. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with whatever you get. I'm sure they all will do a decent job.

I've heard mixed reviews on the Cuddeback. I've heard that the Stealth EATS batteries, like your lucky if you get a week out of a set. This is all of course hearsay, but I've heard it more than once.

Of the ones you mentioned I'd probably go with the Cuddeback.

Buck Mag,

I have a stealth 1.3 digital and have been very impressed. I got 3 weeks aout of a set of (6aa) rayovac batteries so at least the 1.3 dosen't eat batteries like I had heard they do. I'm not sure if the higher resolution camera will be any worse or not but if you plan to get the solar panel it won't matter. The only issue I can see with the solar panel is it makes the unit bigger and more likely to be noticed. For the price of the solar panel you'd almost be better of with longlife lithium rechargeable batteries.

As for security features. If some JA wants to steal your camera very little will stop them. If they can't steal it they will likely damage it beyond repair in the process so IMO they are all equal in that aspect.

I guess it all comes down to personal preferance and which features you like best.

Either way let us know what you decide.

just glad to see someone else building their own camera. My vote is on the home brew. I have been bashed a lot about homebrews but I will give you the same advice, build one. Takes about a day to build your first one. Possibly quicker if you're mechanically inclined which I am not. Total materials including camera will run you about 250-300.00 depending on the price of your camera. right now, you can build a minolta x20 unit that will almost fit in your shirt pocket. pretty incredible if you ask me. The guys at hagshouse have gotten contracts to have cases dipped now which will eliminate the need to 3d effect the units and will make the unit look store bought if that is what you desire. be glad to help out in anyway just send me an email and we can chat. this is just my opinion but you can do a search on my name and see some of my picts I have posted.