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-   -   Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression ***UPDATE with pics*** (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/trail-cameras/280910-reconyx-rc60-initial-impression-update-pics.html)

Buck Magnet 01-01-2009 07:24 PM

Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression ***UPDATE with pics***
 
Well today was the big day, I finally purchased a new Reconyx RC60 covert infra-red game camera.

First thing I noticed upon pulling the unit out of the package was this unit feels and looks as though it is very well built, this was to be expected though with the price of these units. The front cover that allows access to the batteries, controls, and compact flash card is very easy to access and has a very tight seal, much better than the Moultries, Cuddebacks, Stealth Cams, and Trail Macs that I am used to. I was suprised just how tight it locks down and it is nice to see a company building a unit with moisture in mind. I have had the nice suprise of opening my Trail Mac digital in the past and pouring out a few cups of water from the case, I believe that would be impossible with this unit.

The batteries are very easy to load into this unit, and they are very easily accessed. A very nice feature is the placement of the memory card slot. There is no need to carry tweezers (Moultrie I40 and Moultire I60) or have a special tool to help remove the card (Cuddeback C3000). It is as easy as pulling it out with your fingers, a very small feature that makes using the unit much more pleasent.

After getting my batteries and Compact Flash card installed it was now time to set-up the unit and much to my suprise, it was pretty simple to set-up. I fumbled through it without reading the directions and had no problems at all. If some are worried about this, the unit comes with a very nice 26 page color manual that has detailed instructions step by step on how to opperate the camera.

With all the settings ready to go, my best-friend showed up and wanted to see the unit. He is currently running a Swamp Ghost digital and a Trail Mac digital, and he was excited to see the Reconyx. He was very pleased as I was with the unit and the quality/ease of use. As we walked out the door and headed into the woods to find a spot to set the unit up my budde Matt grabbed his new Pentax K200 D digital SLR camera to get some photos of the woods and the camera set-up.

My game face was on as we looked for a good area to set the unit up.



It was a beautiful cold start to 2009 with a bright blue partly cloudy sky.



Not long after entering the woods we found some fresh deer sign and found a good spot for the camera.



I got the unit set-up in funnel between a open section of woods and a thicket of crab apples. The funnel was a swampy section of open ground that lead from the west (picked corn field) to the east (2 year old timbered section of woods the deer bed in). I got my unit attached to the tree and decided to test it out. I had it set at one picture per trigger with no delay. I don't plan on the deer standing around in this area so I set the unit accordingly. I decided to test it and I walked through the cameras detection zone and back as a deer would and checked the unit to find that it had snapped 6 photos, 3 each way.



I am so excited about this unit and how it peformed in testing. This company is definetly for real and if they could lower their price by around $150-$200 they would take over the market. Being that the unit is pricey it is a must to buy a good lock for the unit, I purchased a Python cable lock for it and it works well as it also prevents anybody from opening the unit as well. I do have to get new memory cards for the unit as the only Compact Flash cards that I have are 256 MB. I will be picking up my new cards next week and will be setting the unit up on a different property for two weeks to see how it performs. I will be sure to add photos and any updates on the unit.

The only complaint that I really have for the unit is that it takes Compact Flash cards instead of Secure Digital cards. The CF are a little out dated and harder to find. I am not sure why Reconyx would use CF cards, they may be better suited for the unit, I'm not sure, but to me a SD card would make more sense. The good thing is that the prices of memory cards have come down so much and I have found 2 Gig CF cards for $10.50 each.


***UPDATE***

Well guys, today I got out and decided to check the camera. It is set-up in a low traffic area that I really didn't have much faith in having alot of activity in. I figured that in the two days the camera was out I would be happy with 20 pictures as I know my other cameras probablly wouldn't have produced more than 6 or 7 photos. I take the cover off and check the status to find that my memory card was 21% full and I had 197 photos with the battery life still at 99%. I was pumped to see what was on the card so I put my other memory card in and headed home. I found out just how fast this camera is and it is truly amazing. I am using memory cards with a very slow write time and yet was still getting some awsome sequences of deer walking around. I can't wait for my new cards to come in as they should allow the camera to take photos even more rapidly. Another thing that I was happy about was there wasn't a single blank photo or false trigger. I managed to get photos of three seperate bucks and a doe with two of last years fawns. I did notice that the night photos were a little darker than the other IR cameras I have used but they had much better contrast and quality. Well, here are several of the photos I captured.












As of now, I couldn't be more happy with this unit as it has made using trail cameras fun again. Its nice to finally have a digital unit that I can put out and KNOW that it is going to perform beyond my standards all the time. It is definetly pricey, but so are the bows, treestands, camo, blinds, arrows, broadheads, rifles, scopes, binoculars, ect... that we use.

AR Bowhunter 01-01-2009 07:55 PM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 
I have been using Reconyx for a year now. They have been flawless.

WIbuckchaser 01-01-2009 08:51 PM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 
Can't wait to see the pics.

Schultzy 01-01-2009 09:26 PM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 
Whats your settings set at?

Buck Magnet 01-01-2009 09:34 PM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 
Hey Steve,

I have the sensitivity set at high, I remember that you had mentioned that yours was very sensitive so I didn't want to take it as high as it could go. The "Pics per trigger" is set at 1, it is on RapidFire Mode and no quiet period. I know that this means that I could have alot of pictures of the same animal, but right now it is pretty much set-up for testing. I only have a 256 MB memory card in it until my 2GB cards come in. Then I am going to set it up a little differently and put it out on a different property to sit for two weeks.

Schultzy 01-01-2009 11:36 PM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 

The "Pics per trigger" is set at 1, it is on Rapid Fire Mode and no quiet period.
Let me know the difference In seconds between pics when It's on Rapid fire mode. I just noticed on mine the other day that when I had It on Rapid fire mode It wasn't taking pics every 1/5th of a second like It's suppose to. It was doing It every second to 2 seconds. Maybe I didn't have something set right but I don't think It can be set wrong when It's on rapid fire. Mine Is also set on no quiet period but my pics per trigger Is set at 5. ****, Never mind, I guess If your pics per trigger Is set at one then It will only take one.

AR Bowhunter 01-02-2009 05:29 AM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 

ORIGINAL: Schultzy


The "Pics per trigger" is set at 1, it is on Rapid Fire Mode and no quiet period.
Let me know the difference In seconds between pics when It's on Rapid fire mode. I just noticed on mine the other day that when I had It on Rapid fire mode It wasn't taking pics every 1/5th of a second like It's suppose to. It was doing It every second to 2 seconds. Maybe I didn't have something set right but I don't think It can be set wrong when It's on rapid fire. Mine Is also set on no quiet period but my pics per trigger Is set at 5. ****, Never mind, I guess If your pics per trigger Is set at one then It will only take one.
Hey Schultzy,

If you drop yourquality down to the 1.3 megapixel setting it will take around one pic per second. It also depends on how much background there is in the picture. Your pictures per second will be faster at night time. My RC55 will take two per second sometimes.The RM 45 is a constant one pic per second about 95% ot the time.

Buck Magnet 01-02-2009 07:35 AM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 
Hey Steve,

If I read everything right, I believe that on RapidFire mode it will usually take a pic every 1 second or so. I believe that is about as fast as the camera can write the picture onto the memory card, charge the flash, and trigger. I know that your memory card comes into play also, a slower CF card will take longer to write the picture so it will take longer to trigger another photo. When I ordered my CF cards yesterday I noticed the write times on some of the cheaper ones were 1.8 megabytes per second, so a 3 megabyte photo would take almost 2 seconds before it was done writing to the card and the camera could take another photo. I ordered 2 cards, both 2 GB, that are rated at a write speed of 18 MB per second. I am looking forward to them coming in so I can see if the fast writing cards make any differance, I will definetly keep this post updated on how they work.

Schultzy 01-02-2009 07:57 AM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 
Thanks guys for the Info.

Germ 01-02-2009 11:08 AM

RE: Reconyx RC60 Initial Impression
 
Buck what did that baby cost?


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