charlie brown

Well, this spring I would like to get a new trail camera if I can afford it after getting a new camp stove, a couple more collars for my dogs and some odds and ends for camping.

My idea is to place a trail camera on a spring in some remote wilderness that receives little precipitaion during the summer months. The animals up there are pretty scattered, but rely on year-round water sources during the drier months. I am going to apply for this unit for the September ML season. Mule Deer that is.

I also have hounds that I use for chasing lions, and thought it would a good opportunity to catch them on camera.

I would be travelling to this area at least once every 2 weeks from April until October, when the snow starts flying. It is about 125 miles from the house, and gets very few people visiting the area, and I am sure even fewer hiking into the wilderness, so theft and vandalism is not a major concern.

I am still unsure of this whole trail camera thing.Not from an ethics standpoint, but from what to look for in one.

I have no clue.

I do know one thing. I have a limit of about $150 to spend.

I have seen the Moultrie 2.1 MP camera online.

I am wondering what kind of battery life these things get.

Also, what about the 6v batteries w/ solar panels? I think this would be very good in the area I plan to place them as there is plenty of sunshine down there.

What would I be looking at cost wise for the battery and charger?

I would take my labtop along with me, along with a card reader, and two cards, and an AC adapter so I can run it off my Jeep and look through any pictures.

Any thoughts? I think this may work, with the cost of the camera, two cards, and card reader, I could stay about the $150 mark. I also figured with the two cards, I can check the card, and hike back in and move the camera if neccessary.

Thanks,

Marcial

Hoytteen

yea..i know what your sayin...since you live so far away, i would get 2 batteries so you can leave one out there and then come back and exchange it instead of waiting around 6 hours to charge. for the memory card, i take my digital camera out there to check and have a spare to put back in and keep switching. The moultrie 2.1 is also a nice camera but if you have a tight budget, i would get the game watcher/game spyone for around $100. i say this because the battery charger and batteries will cost you around 50

Just my 2 cents

Hope this works for ya!

GrumpyTom

From what I know, in your price range I do not think you would be happy with what you can purchase from the store for what you want it to do.

It sounds that you want to catch (get pictures) of the lions when they are getting chased, so you will need an extreemly fast trigger time, even if the camera has a wide angle detection cone. Most of your comercial trail cameras, even the expensive units will not react in enough time to catch the animal before it passes range when they are moving quickly. Some will not even catch the whole animal when they are walking before they walk trhrough the camera area.

I personally would save my money to get a better unit, or get a custom made unit for the purpose you want (home made are usually cheaper in costs and better in quality).

Hope this helps you.

charlie brown

Oh, no, not pictures of them being chased!!! That would be darn near impossible, especially with my muts, lol. I am meaning simply to get pictures of them coming into water so I know what is in the area, same with the deer, sheep, etc that would come into the water.

Basically, like someone would set up for on a feeder, tree stand spot, etc. But this will be public land.

I don't have a digital camera, so that is out of the question for just putting the card in the camera to view.

I just get 35 mm disposables for carrying with me while hunting. A lot cheaper to replace (I have broken my mom's digital), and I get the hard copies of the pictures so don't have to worry about the computer going nuts on me and loosing everything. So the thought of even a 35mm trail camera had crossed my mind.

Thanks,

Marcial

GrumpyTom

No problem then, I miss read your post.

Still, if you have to possibility of getting animals walking, you will need a camerra that will trigger before 4 seconds. Anything after that, and the animal will most likely walk through your detection window before the picture is taken.

Since you put a limited budget on youurself, I am surmizing that cost is a major factor in your needs. A 35 mm trail cam will probually give you the faster trigger time out there and best flash, but it will have large limitations. Usually, unless you use a 36 pic roll, you are limited to 24 pics befroe it is full. The cost of developing can become expensive, as well as you will have to pay for false pictures (pictures with no animals, triggered by nature). With the digitals, you can have setups that take more then 200-300 pictures in one setup or even set up for movies. You can also view the pictures right in the field (with trail cm, another cam, or with a digital viewer). Then transfer the pics to a Disk or even print the ones you want for a hard copy version.

Hope this helps.

charlie brown

Thanks for the help, I am just not sure of how this all works!!

This is clearing it up some!!

takedownfreak123

I got a wildview 2 about 100.00 and there was a rebate when i bought it may be cheaper.It works good you can put sd cards in it that hold alot of pictures. The flash is all right its good for puting over a food plot or bait. Real easy to hook up to a lab top. Im not to sure on battery life. I will try to post some pictures. hope i helped

takedownfreak123

The day time pictures have real good quality. Night time is ok for the price.

Snoogsdad

I know what you are going through trying to choose a game camera.

In my opinion your $150 limit is going to make it difficult to get everything you want. I also agree that digital is the way to go. 35mm cams are quicker but have many drawbacks.

Setting up the camera at a water hole will help but some cameras are much more reliable than others and flash quality varies considerably. You are looking for a good quality reliable camera with good battery life and these game cameras are available but will cost more money. Another slightly cheaper option is to build one yourself.

You can take a look at our digital game camera reviews at our website listed below. We've tested 19 to date and put out our latest homebrew this weekend.

charlie brown

Thanks for the info. Any destructions on how to make these home-made trail cams?

Later,

Marcial