Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

By the sounds of it, everyone is falling in love with this camera. I've been reading review after review on this little charm. Tiny(3.25''X5.25''), sharp pics (5 MP), good battery life (5000 pics), fast triggering (around 1 sec). Blueking4 just bought one and i was checking it out today. Hopefully these little thing stand up to they're spec's and storys.

What do you guys think??

http://www.chasingame.com/reviews_scoutguard.htm

http://www.huntingcamonline.com/scoutguard550530.html

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

What is the going price???
I'm not up for expensive, seeing they will probably get stolen in my area!
Lokks good though.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

people have been getting them from $190-$200. not to bad..

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Those things look sweet! Where can you order one?

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Looks like they're well made and cheap enough to boot. I bet they will give cuddy a run with those features and price.
BBO

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Guys, these are great little cameras. I liked them enough I became a dealer. here's some of my recent pics. The size, the speed, the battery life, ease of use, all great. Also has a great warranty. HCO has been standing behind the cams and taking care of any problems. I'm getting $199.99 for the green with free shipping and $209.99 for the camo with free shipping.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

here's a short video clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt_rNINM5a4

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

I already have the solid green model & I just ordered the camo. These cams, especially in video mode are great. You can program up to 1 minute day or night video length.

http://<img src="http://i20.photobuc...000006.jpg" />

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

I really like my SG. I have the solid green model &amp; I just ordered the camo.
The video feature is key winner here. You can program a clip up to 1 minute, day or night.

http://http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/outdoorsfellar/?action=view¤t=IM000006.flv

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

I have the solid green model &amp; just ordered the camo. This cam has a great video feature which you can program individual clips up to a minute long if you desire, day or night. The delay between pics or videos is minimal as well !

http://<img src="http://i20.photobuc...000006.jpg" />

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

I have the green model &amp; just ordered the camo. These cams are at their best in the video mode... pics are pretty good too ! You can set your videos for up to a mintue long and the dely between pics or videos can be set to a minimal amount of time.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

I looked and was impressed, right up until it said, NOT WEATHERPROOF!!! How asinine is that.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

No one I've talked to has had any problems with these cameras in some real extreme weather. I think it's a case of the manufacturer over reacting and over stating.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

definately has to be weatherproof with our daily afternoon thunderstorms

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Well it sure got my attention, but if people are putting them through it with no problems, you are probably right.

Judging from some of these threads, they may have to started stating, "not ant-proof".

Sure seems like an awesome little cam.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Nice pics.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Hi Guys, I'm the new guy here:) Nice site by the way. As far as the term weatherproof on the SG550, I have had my units in down pours and also the wife hosing it down not knowing its in her garden with no water getting inside the unit or condensation. All my customers have had no issues with water getting in the unit. Not being waterproof means it is not meant to be submerged in water.

Joe

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

thanks for the clarification. keep us informed if they develope any "issues".

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

The camo's last batch had some minor problems but that batch is no more and the last and now new batch will be in today or tomorrow. QC with the manufacturer has been addressed and HCO now runs 48 hr tests on the units as they come in to weed out any defective units. What impresses me most besides this incredible little cam is the customer service and technical support from HCO. Best i've seen so far. One of the main problems has been SD card compatibility. The recommended SD card which is used by myself and HCO is the Kingston 2gb SD card and second on the list is PNY.

Joe

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Are not all sd cards made the same way? Never had any problems switching different brands back and forth.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

by the way welcome to the forum, I've read a few of your posts on chasingame's forum before.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Technically you are right, however this is just playing it safe. Some customers had issues with different cards for reasons I can't explain however, the SD cards I mentioned before has had NO issues so I tend to stick with those. Still gotta test other brands for consistency..............

Thanks for the welcome

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Here is another interesting note. On tests performed, this unit tends to work better with duracells instead of energizers. Conclusion, duracells are recommended.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

I had a sg 550 for 5 days now and it takes great pics during the day but after dark shots are not good at all. I have it set on 3 pics per shoot and one out of 3 are great but the other 2 are as if the flash is not going off. I have a white water bucket about 5 ft from the cam and most pics the bucket is not viewable. I contacted my seller and he told me to raise the cam higher. I will try tonight but will see. First night a had it I put it on the dresser. Apparntly I like to kick my feet and throuw the blankets off alot during the night. The last pic s was about 2 hours after it was setup and it too was black as if the flash didn't go off. In the morning I got up and walked by it several times and no pics were taken. As soon as the unit was moved to the kitchen the cam started to work welll again.

Any ideas.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

do you have the camo version or the green? Something with the chemical in the camo dip might have been released in the packageing and fried a few things on the cuircuts. Call HCO and tell them and they will probly have you send it in and send you a new one or fix yours. Its worth a try.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

You probably will not have to send the unit in. A firmware is coming out sometime during the week which should correct about 90% of the issues and video.:)
By the way, I have these at 199.00 for the solid greens and 209.95 all with free shipping ;)

Stay tuned for that firmware.............

Joe

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Ok, the new firmware is in!:) It is version 2.0 and will fix glitches previously noticed in these units. You can download it here:

http://www.huntingcamonline.com/services

Orders placed for this will have this version in it so it should be trouble free. This will be the cam to beat!

Joe
BBO

And the award goes too......................[8D]

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

My manual talks about a low power blue LED light . Where is it located and when does it come on at what level. . The fireware upgrdae ?? What is supposed to fix?? My printer has a SD card reader. Can I program the upgrade to that loaction??

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

You beat me to it! That is the only thing that I don't really care for. The guys over at chasingame did a test and ran a water-hose over the cam and didn't have any problems, but the fact that they state the camera isn't weatherproof makes me shy away.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

R33h go to cahsing game site check out the reviews for this cam . The update shows a cam with a garden hose running water over unit.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

I have been looking at buying a 550. They seem to have many of the same featuresof the more expensive cameras. The first batch of 550's camo units did have some problems. I have been waiting to see if HCO will fix the problems. Bee Busy does the new batch of camo units have any problems? How loud is the filter clunk when changing from daytime to nighttime mode? Hope you guy'swill keep us updated on the new 2.0 upgrade.
Thanks
Mike

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Does any one know what the new firmware repaired??

and what about the HCO in the bottom left corner.

I know a few guys that are not impressed with the smaller viewing screen because of the HCO logo.


But it is great that the time stamp is well out of view.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Guys, this should answer some of your questions
The firmware v2.0 is designed to:

1. Fix the potential problems:

a. Battery draining
b. Pre-shut down resulting in few pictures
c. Inconsistent performance over time (the late stage) such as longer trigger time and lower sensitivity.

2. Improve the image and video processing

a. Speed up the image processing and shorten the picture interval time in the multiple shot mode (e.g. 5M pictures, the picture interval time drops from 6-7s to 3-4s)
b. Decrease the number of bad pictures (such as red or black tinted ones)
c. Add video stabilization, decrease the number of bad videos.


I haven't noticed any noises when the cam goes from daylight to night, but not certain I've been around when it happens. I'll try to do some testing to see. Give me a couple days and I'll try to report back on it.

If you can write to an sd card in the reader on your printer then you can use it. It's a simple image that is written to the sd card then the camera downloads the image. It's really simple to do.

As for the blue light, I don't know. Mine hasn't gotten that low even after over 2000 pics and 180 videos.

If you guys have any more questions, let me know and I'll do what I can to answer them. The cameras are working great for me and so far I've only had 2 minor complaints from about 30 sold. 1 was battery drain and the new download has fixed it, the other just popped up friand I'll be contacting HCO about it monday. The guy is having problems with a sandisc card, but other cards work fine. I think it might be a bad card but not sure.

I think these are the best cameras on the market especially for the money. I'm still hearing problems from the new cudde's as well as the new moultrie's. I just think they are hard to beat right now and the manufacturer is steadily making them better.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

Since the new batch of camos, I have had no returns or complaints except for just 1 which was a system lock up when my customer attempted to load the new firmware. This is the first and only problem. Old camera to new firmware. The filter clunk is very quiet. You need to literally put your ear to it. I have been running my new and old cams continuously without a glitch. I must say that I am very impressed with this unit. I recently used it as a security cam and caught a neighbor in the act of dumping his furniture illegally into the roofing companies dumpster. The funny thing is that he tossed it from his 2nd story balcony. When he came down to get rid of it, the sg550 busted him :D See for yourself................




If that doesnt work, try this:

http://s308.photobucket.com/albums/k...t=IM000011.flv



Joe
BBO

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

The blue LED lite . Has anyone seem the blue low power LED lite . My unit stopped taking pics at night then the day pics didn't work either. The controll indicated 1 bar left but would not function at all and I seen no blue LED as per manual.

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

The blue light is located in the center IR. If you just look at all your IRs directly you will notice that they are all white except for the center IR which is slightly darker. The blue light will light up when the batteries are very low in power. As for the programming, follow the instructions at the HCO site here:
http://www.huntingcamonline.com/services

Hope this helps

Joe
BBO

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

As far as the logo, I made a suggestion to hco to try to remove the solid rectangular background and just leave the letters as thin solid or transparent. That should help. We will see if the factory will implement this in time..........

Stay tuned..............:)

Joe
BBO

RE: Scout Guard SG 550. Next Best Camera?
 

So does the blue LED stay on to indicate low power or is it seen only when the IR flash comes on.