Trail Cams
10-06-2006, 10:48 AM
#2
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: WC FL
Posts: 26,323
RE: Trail Cams
Well, as soon as mine is set up I'll let everyone know how good or badit is. I just bought a4.0 mgp Leafriver and a Leafriver Viewer. Cabellas has them on sale for $249.99 and the Viewerfor $149.99.
I called Leafriver to ask which Compact Flash Card they recommand and they told me to use a Lexar 256MB card. Will be setting it up next week!
I called Leafriver to ask which Compact Flash Card they recommand and they told me to use a Lexar 256MB card. Will be setting it up next week!
10-08-2006, 12:04 PM
#3
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 8
RE: Trail Cams
I researched everything on the market last dear season and what you are looking for is the fastest trigger time and the most mega pixels for the money. Stay away from 35mm cameras, pay the money for digital it will pay off in film and processing must faster than you think. Cuddeback has the best trigger times and the new one with IR looks awesome but it is expensive. The digital 3.0 is what I have and I love it! Check out ebay to, it's where I bought mine.
10-09-2006, 05:10 PM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Arlington TX USA
Posts: 2,214
RE: Trail Cams
I have several trail cams and they all have weaknesses and strengths.
Moultrie 100 & 200 - Good camera for the price. I especialy like the temp and moon phase feature of the 200. Also the ability to use rechargeable 6 volt batteries and solar panels is a big plus. Weakness is the slow trigger time. It has to be positioned properly to use for trail monitoring. Be prepared to get creative figuring out how to make a decent attachment system for it.
Stealth WD2-IR -I am slowly but surely converting all of my cameras to IR. Does the flash sppok deer? I dunno but why take the chance if you don't have to? This camera runs about $250 retail. It is a 2MP unit and takes decent pics but not great. All pictures are in black & white. The biggest pluses are battery life on (6) C cell batteries is awesome. Mine has been out since the 2nd week of August and still shows full charge. You can also hook this camera to a rechargeable battery and solar panel, but I really see no reason for this so far. It also has the ability to take day and night time 10 second video clips since it's IR. Negatives I guess would be the IMO low reolution pictures and lack of a good secure way to attach it to the tree.
Leaf River IR - Right now, this is my favorite camera. It has good battery life, good secure attachment system and takes darn good pictures (daytime at least). The night time pictures are grainy but good enough to tell what you are looking at. The newer models have an expansion port that you can add up to (4) additional IR light arrays that are independently powered so you should be able to throw plenty of IR light out there. If you can get over the reddish/pink daytime pictures you will be pleased with this camera. This camera can aso take day/night videos up to 90 seconds each. Only negatives that come to mind are the the grainy night time pictures and possibly the amount of batteries it takes to run the camera. It takes (4) D cells and (3) C cells. But battery life seems to be very good.
Cuddeback No Flash - I bought one of these cams with very high hopes since I have one of the 3MP C3000 flash models. Let me just sya first of al that they really screwed up with this new case design. It is absolutely horrible. I hate attaching this camera to the tree because the batteries usually fal out the bottom when you screw it to the tree. Then you have to fiddle with it and get it set just right to keep this from happening. Also they did away with one of the security features. On previous models you coud screw the camera to the tree with a supplied Torx lag screw AND attach i with a cable as well. On the new model you have to choose either/or and they do not include the cable anymore. Also they no longer include the USB cable needed in case you need to download pictures directly from the camera. But you can bet that the camera is not any cheaper. There are also many other issues with the new case in regards to weatherproofness (if thats a word) of it. Seems there are several issues with water and insects getting inside the case. As far as pictures are concerned, they use 2 different cameras for the daytime and IR night time pics. I will say right now that the picture quality is outstanding on either one. The night time camera is only rated at 1.3MP but they are clearer and sharper than either the Stealth IR or the Leaf River. Trigger time is much slower than the old Cuddebacks so don't expect to see instant trigger times, it seems to average about 2 seconds for me. Battery life seems to be good, I've had this one out since July and have only had to change the batteries once in about 1800 pictures. he menu is a real PITA to navigate as well. If your used to programming a Cuddeback then you will probably be ok, if not, be prepared to take the anual with you for the 1st few times that you attempt to program it.
As it stands right now IMO the camera to have is the Leaf River. When/if Cuddeback steps up and takes care of the case design issues and possibly the slower trigger time problems then if you have the money it will be the top dog again. Until then my choice is the Leaf River.
Moultrie 100 & 200 - Good camera for the price. I especialy like the temp and moon phase feature of the 200. Also the ability to use rechargeable 6 volt batteries and solar panels is a big plus. Weakness is the slow trigger time. It has to be positioned properly to use for trail monitoring. Be prepared to get creative figuring out how to make a decent attachment system for it.
Stealth WD2-IR -I am slowly but surely converting all of my cameras to IR. Does the flash sppok deer? I dunno but why take the chance if you don't have to? This camera runs about $250 retail. It is a 2MP unit and takes decent pics but not great. All pictures are in black & white. The biggest pluses are battery life on (6) C cell batteries is awesome. Mine has been out since the 2nd week of August and still shows full charge. You can also hook this camera to a rechargeable battery and solar panel, but I really see no reason for this so far. It also has the ability to take day and night time 10 second video clips since it's IR. Negatives I guess would be the IMO low reolution pictures and lack of a good secure way to attach it to the tree.
Leaf River IR - Right now, this is my favorite camera. It has good battery life, good secure attachment system and takes darn good pictures (daytime at least). The night time pictures are grainy but good enough to tell what you are looking at. The newer models have an expansion port that you can add up to (4) additional IR light arrays that are independently powered so you should be able to throw plenty of IR light out there. If you can get over the reddish/pink daytime pictures you will be pleased with this camera. This camera can aso take day/night videos up to 90 seconds each. Only negatives that come to mind are the the grainy night time pictures and possibly the amount of batteries it takes to run the camera. It takes (4) D cells and (3) C cells. But battery life seems to be very good.
Cuddeback No Flash - I bought one of these cams with very high hopes since I have one of the 3MP C3000 flash models. Let me just sya first of al that they really screwed up with this new case design. It is absolutely horrible. I hate attaching this camera to the tree because the batteries usually fal out the bottom when you screw it to the tree. Then you have to fiddle with it and get it set just right to keep this from happening. Also they did away with one of the security features. On previous models you coud screw the camera to the tree with a supplied Torx lag screw AND attach i with a cable as well. On the new model you have to choose either/or and they do not include the cable anymore. Also they no longer include the USB cable needed in case you need to download pictures directly from the camera. But you can bet that the camera is not any cheaper. There are also many other issues with the new case in regards to weatherproofness (if thats a word) of it. Seems there are several issues with water and insects getting inside the case. As far as pictures are concerned, they use 2 different cameras for the daytime and IR night time pics. I will say right now that the picture quality is outstanding on either one. The night time camera is only rated at 1.3MP but they are clearer and sharper than either the Stealth IR or the Leaf River. Trigger time is much slower than the old Cuddebacks so don't expect to see instant trigger times, it seems to average about 2 seconds for me. Battery life seems to be good, I've had this one out since July and have only had to change the batteries once in about 1800 pictures. he menu is a real PITA to navigate as well. If your used to programming a Cuddeback then you will probably be ok, if not, be prepared to take the anual with you for the 1st few times that you attempt to program it.
As it stands right now IMO the camera to have is the Leaf River. When/if Cuddeback steps up and takes care of the case design issues and possibly the slower trigger time problems then if you have the money it will be the top dog again. Until then my choice is the Leaf River.
10-09-2006, 09:03 PM
#5
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: God\'s Country, Louisiana
Posts: 279
RE: Trail Cams
The following 4 pictures were taken with a Leaf River Digital camera with Infra red. Note I have lightened up the pictures with Photoshop but no other editing other than that.
This is the same deer in june of this year taken with a Moultrie Game Spy 100 1.something Mega pixle. This was taken with a flash and no editing.
I have the Moultrie and a friend has the Leaf River. I have a 35 mm Leaf river and it was ok but there were a lot of mis takes or slow trigger response. the 35 mm is expensive when you are talking slow trigger response because you still have to pay for the pictures. I will only have a digital camera from now on. The Moultrie's EAT batteries and if you don't have the rechargeable your talking $5-10 a piece and I avg 1 battery for every 7-10 days. I have mine set to take 2 pictures everytime and the flash set as optional. I have gotten up to 250 pictures on 1 battery but, when my memory will hold right at 600 that is not very good. I like the Moultrie but wish that it had better battery life. I would either get the Leaf River or Cudde Back.
My next one will be the LR or CB. I like the CB better but will have to do more research before I buy either. hope this helps
This is the same deer in june of this year taken with a Moultrie Game Spy 100 1.something Mega pixle. This was taken with a flash and no editing.
I have the Moultrie and a friend has the Leaf River. I have a 35 mm Leaf river and it was ok but there were a lot of mis takes or slow trigger response. the 35 mm is expensive when you are talking slow trigger response because you still have to pay for the pictures. I will only have a digital camera from now on. The Moultrie's EAT batteries and if you don't have the rechargeable your talking $5-10 a piece and I avg 1 battery for every 7-10 days. I have mine set to take 2 pictures everytime and the flash set as optional. I have gotten up to 250 pictures on 1 battery but, when my memory will hold right at 600 that is not very good. I like the Moultrie but wish that it had better battery life. I would either get the Leaf River or Cudde Back.
My next one will be the LR or CB. I like the CB better but will have to do more research before I buy either. hope this helps
10-09-2006, 09:04 PM
#6
Spike
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Monroe county, P.A.
Posts: 48
RE: Trail Cams
Digitial is the only wayt to go, I had the stealth cam, 35mm they were junk, and would not trust there digital cameras because of bad warranty experience, I have 4 of the moultrie, 3- 1.3P and 1 - 2.3Pcan't beat them for the money, $100.00. I wish they would make the 1.3P again with some improvements. the higher the pixel camera the more battery life they suck up. I don't think its worth paying $200 to $300 + for higher Pixels and faster triger times.. the buck in my avatar is from the Moultrie 1.3P. I can live with that kind of quality.
10-10-2006, 03:04 PM
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: west central WI
Posts: 227
RE: Trail Cams
IMO the best camera to have right now is the wildview xtreme 3. I've tested the wildview 2 against my 03 cuddeback and 06 cudde excite and it is very good for $90. Trigger is a little slower and pictures aren't quite as sharp, but the case is much better and much easier to use.
The Xtreme 3 is faster than the 2 and has 3MP. For $140 you can buy more than 2 for what you pay for the junk designed case of Cuddeback 2006.
www.chasingame.com
The Xtreme 3 is faster than the 2 and has 3MP. For $140 you can buy more than 2 for what you pay for the junk designed case of Cuddeback 2006.
www.chasingame.com
10-11-2006, 10:16 AM
#9
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 3
RE: Trail Cams
I just purchased a Bushnell Trail Sentry 2.1. After it was in the field for 2 weeks, i went to switch out the flash cards, which requires entering of a password. The camera would not accept the password that I programmed 2 weeks earlier and I was forced to take the camera home with me. Upon calling Bushnell, they said that I had to send it back to Bushnell for reprogramming. Bad news...turnaround time is 3-4 weeks and I have to send a check for $10 so they can ship it back to me. WHAT??????? I haven't had this thing in the field for 2 weeks, it's not working and I have to pay $10 for return shipping on top of the postage to get it there. That is very poor customer service. Customer service is just as important as the quality of the product and so far I'm impressed with neither.
That being said, had the camera not failed - I wouldn't know how poor their customer service is. The camera took pretty good pictures during it's 2 weeks in the field. I'd have been satisfied with it's performance if it were still working. I will say that I have a cuddy digital 3.0(the older style) and it takes more vibrant pictures and has a stronger flash than the bushnell. It should though, it cost well over 2x as much.
That being said, had the camera not failed - I wouldn't know how poor their customer service is. The camera took pretty good pictures during it's 2 weeks in the field. I'd have been satisfied with it's performance if it were still working. I will say that I have a cuddy digital 3.0(the older style) and it takes more vibrant pictures and has a stronger flash than the bushnell. It should though, it cost well over 2x as much.
10-11-2006, 01:07 PM
#10
Typical Buck
Join Date: May 2003
Location:
Posts: 920
RE: Trail Cams
I sure do like my Cabela's 4.1's (moulrie) Not the best out there but takes good pictures and with the rehargable battery and solar charger they take 1000's of pictures without worrying about dead batteries.
Here is one taken a few days ago.
Here is one taken a few days ago.