Bushnell Trophy Problems
 

Just a heads up for those looking for a Trophy--or who may be having troubles. It took me a few days, a set of batteries, and a visit to Cabelas customer comments to figure it out.

The SD card that comes with the camo camera is crap..and doesn't work. I could take video, but not pictures for some reason.. I am glad I used a home trial instead of testing in the field. I slapped in a 2gig SD brand SD card and she appears to be working fine. One more night of testing then I will put it in the field tomorrow.
Just thought I would give you guys the heads up..if it has not been brought up before.

is that the new bushnell that is only like 5in. tall??? They seem like a smart way to go if the battery life is true!!

Battery life is true! And, it is not the cameras fault the card was crap. I have no problems with mine!

Desertloper: You could have saved yourself a lot trouble by posting your problem here when you first noticed a problem.

One month ago chasinggame.com announced a problem with SD cards in Trophy cams, Scoutguards and DLC covert II. I've also read where other cams have been affected as well.

As much as I love Cabelas, I would not buy ANY cam from them or anybody else when trailcampro has got a 90 day guarantee on every camera they sell, and superior customer service.

A week and a half ago, one of my buddies went to purchase a Trophy cam from trailcampro but they was sold out. They did however have a Trophy cam that was returned due to a locked SD card. They knocked $10 off the price and still offered the 90 day guarantee.

Everything seems to be operating 100% now that I put in a Scan Disc 2 gig card. Took pictures all night long last night while I was sleeping..I am a restless sleeper!

I am going to put it out today, after I replace batteries. I took approx 250 pictures at 5 megpixel and 80 videos on high resolution and my 8 standard AA batteries are down to one bar--33% life left? I ran it pretty hard testing it around the house lately so the rapid battery depletion doesn't really surprise me.

I bought it from Cabelas--because they had the camo one on sale for $199--and through the fault of their own success...you can pretty much take it back WHENEVER. I wanted the points too!

desertloper - what size card did your camera come with. I just bought one yesterday and on the package it said it had a 512 MB card but when I got it home there was a 1 GB card in it. I'm hoping I got a different card than you did.

I bought the Bushnell Trophy camo camera, it came with a knock off SD 512MB card. Be safe and test it 48hrs or so around your house...or go to wally world and fork out the $17 for the 2 gig card.

My camera has been in the field for 7 days...and I am going to go swap cards on it tomorrow.

Good luck with yours!

yea i got the camo one also at Cabelas, not sure why but it had the 1GB card not the 512 MB. I tested it here at the house for the last 2 days taking pics and movies of the kids and wife, they hate it...... and I love it! Tomorrow it goes to the woods, I think this camera thing could be addicting.......

sd problem
 

I had the same problem with my 3 bushnell trail scout camera's. I finally called bushnell amd he told me to try and format the sd cards before using. the only ones that worked for me was the old kingston 1gb card.I bought a 2bg sandisk and it did not work either. I sent one of my camera's in to have bushnell check it out. I finally bought a sandisk 1gb and it seems to work just fine. chasing game.com said they seem to have a problem with sd cards from china and they changed something but won't admit it. I was racking my brain wondering why all 3 of my camera's stopped working all at once with new battery's and new cards.
I hope you get your problem solved and if you do let everyone know. thanks.

You should do this no matter what and with every cam you get. That way you're not on here complaining that your cam dont work because of operator error or the fact that you were in too big of a hurry to get it in the woods.

I had problems with mind also. From the time I got it it never took what I would call good pics. Sometimes it would lock up in setup mode. Last week when I checked it would not go into setup without a card. Put a card in and it did fine with the exceptions of a few lockups. I sent it back and replaced it with a Spypoint IR-A.
I think there are a lot of problems starting to show up with the Bushnells.

I just got a Trophy Cam the other day. I set it up in my backyard over a mineral block I have that I suspect coons are getting into. The block is on a 5 gallon bucket and the block has broken into 2 pieces. Every time I stand it up, the next day it's knocked over and the pieces have been rolled around.

The tree the cam is on is about 15' from the bucket.

The first night, no pics, but the bucket was knocked over and such. Something was there obviously.

I brought the camera in the house and used it in manual mode in the light in shut myself in the closet and used it in the dark too and it worked fine. Then I switched it to the automatic mode and did the same test and it worked fine again (both in the light and in the dark).

So I thought maybe I had the cam set too high on the tree, so last evening I put it up but made sure it was only about 3' up the tree and was clearly pointed at the bucket. After dark I went out to do some "tests" and it picked me up as soon as I got into range coming straight it, picked me up again way off to the side, and again right at the bucket. I figured I was good to go this time. Checked it again this morning (bucket knocked over, etc), no pics except for the ones of me testing it!

I'm using 4 new Duracell AA batteries (plain jane, not lithium or anything), sensitivity is set to high, the timer is off, and it's set to take 3 pics with a 1 minute interval between bursts. I'm also using a SD 1 GB card. I formatted it using the cam when I first put it in 2 nites ago but used my Canon digital to check the pics, which I have since found out is a no-no. I talked to tech support and he said that was what the problem was and that I needed to format the card using my computer and NOT the cam (which doesn't make any sense to me, but whatever).

I've noticed a couple things. If I walk through the sensors range, it doesn't seem to capture me if I just pass through it, even at close range. When I took the camera off the tree this morning, it didn't snap a pic either. To me, if the sensor is picking up something it should trigger a pic regardless of whether or not whatever triggered it is still in the frame and I DEFINITELY should've triggered it both by walking through and when I took it off.

Also, I noticed last night that sometimes the IR bulbs would completely light up and other times it was just a quick flash that was rather dim. That seems kind of odd as well. Did anyone else notice anything like that?

I'm going to re-format the card when I get home and set it up around the house or something to get more opportunities to test it tonight.

Just wondering if anyone had any input?

Thanks!

Try it with 8 batteries and sensitivity on high. What brand card are you using? I prefer SanDisk 2GB.

Using a 1 GB Sandisk formatted by my PC as the tech suggested. Camera is set up in my house in a dark room, I periodically walk in there and I see the bulbs light up so it's apparently working.

Initially I would format it in the cam. Just once. If you have a second card, try that as well...............

I have two Trophy cams and I am experiencing a different problem in each of them.

The first time I put one of the cameras out it operated properly for five days. Then it just started continuously taking pictures. It took a gig and a half of pictures over the course of a couple days before I took it down to look at the images. I brought it home and can't get it to work properly. The CD card is a 2 gig ScanDisk I got from Best Buy.

The second camera has blown out images. I takes a couple great shots but the next couple shots it takes a few minutes later are so blown out they are almost white. Although you can see something in the picture. The camera is in the middle of the woods with no direct sunlight.

Has anyone experienced these problems??

No....it won't work properly without the SD card inserted before you turn it on and it definately will not go into setup mode.

It sounds like you might have the 2010 Bushnell TC ? if so, join the crowd. I had the continuous picture taking issue with my first '10 model, as well as several members on this site. It is a known problem now and your camera will need to be returned.

I've see at least one other issue of the "white out" issue posted here and have seen others as well, seemed to be a problem mainly with the first cameras to hit the shelves, but maybe not. That camera should also be returned.

Good news is, quality seems to be improving. The replacement camera that I received has worked great for 3 months so far and the picture quality is better than the '09's IMO.

Your right it won't work and I later discovered the tech was wrong.

Thanks haystack. I can stop wondering if its a danged setting. When I called Bushnell, the service rep I talked to acting as if that was the first time he had ever heard of the problem.

i had the same problem with the 2010 trophy cam. would fill the card with nothing in a few hours as said before id just return it. nothing i did made mine any better. never had a problem with the 09 cam.
can find some good prices on the 09 on the internet.
good luck.

I sent an 09 BTC back because it was jumping date/time stamp and we are on day 36 and counting....they even said they were going to send me a Bone Collector to replace it...that was 15 days ago and not even a UPS tracking # on their website.:rant::rant::rant:

KY BOB......love the avatar!

Update:::
 

I emailed Bushnell this morning stating my discontent and then phoned the Tech Supervisor three times in the early afternoon (not getting an answer). Jacob called me back within 15 minutes of my calls apologizing for not getting the Bone Collector out to me sooner and within 10 minutes of our conversation I had a UPS tracking # sitting in my email. He said I could expect it by Tuesday of this coming week. My only concern at this time is that if the '10 model is going to have any "issues" in it. Hopefully not. I will keep everyone posted.

I hope there are no "issues" with the 2010 Bone Collector BTC because I bought 4 yesterday and they are on the way. I looked at several reviews over a month and half period and decided this was the best camera to replace all my "flash" moultries. I got a really good deal on walnutcreekarchery.com for 169.00 a piece.....I have six flash cameras so I aint going to be so eager to sell them just yet after reading this post!!! thanks

Has anyone had their Bushnell out in the field for a while? How are they holding up?

Here is an account of my experience so far:

I do not have the new Bone collector model, but I bought the older Black 5 MP model on sale at Cabela's in early March and loaded it with a 2 GB SD card and 8 Energizer AA batteries. I screwed around with it a little around the house, and then I set it up in mid-April in the woods near my camp and checked it in May. It took some really nice pictures in both the day and night, but I noticed that the buttons were not always responding and would sometimes get stuck. I checked it again in early June, once again great pictures, and it seemed to be working fine the buttons were also working fine, it had two battery bars left. Checked it again this weekend, once again there were some nice pictures, but the batteries were dead. The last picture was on June 18. So I took it back to camp and replaced the batteries, turned it on, and I began hearing a hissing noise and started to smell that burning plastic smell. I turned it off and started removing the batteries, but it started smoking before I could get all of them out.

So it looks like I will be calling Cabela's tomorrow, and then Bushnell if needed. I am hoping that I will be able to get a replacement camera, as it had a one year warranty.

Up until now I enjoyed this camera for its small size, good picture quality, good sensitivity, and the fact that it took AA batteries. Hopefully I'll have some luck with customer service.:confused0024:

i have the bushnell trophy cam bone collector..the problem i am having is all the day pics are completly white.no matter where i face it they all turn out white..the night pics are fine..im thinking the IR is staying on all the time maybe i have recieved a bad cam out of the bunch..but if there is any info on how to fix this problem please let me know..i am using a 8g SD card if that has anything to do with it..please let me know .. [email protected]

I have had my 2010 BTC out since july 5th. It took great day pictures the first month but only about 10 night pictures and they were pretty much all of nothing. So i was a little worried. I set it up in my backyard on video and did some test walking. It looked great outside during the daylight. Then I put it in a dark room and walked around the room like a dork with my hands on my head to be sure I could count fingers. It looked good as well. So I set it out in the field on video August 6th. I will get it around the 25th of August and will post my results. I too have been searching all over the internet to see if anyone is having any cameras with no problems but not many people are posting anything on the 2010 Tc. Look for my update around the 25th.
Mitch

I have had my 2010 BTC out since july 5th. It took great day pictures the first month but only about 10 night pictures and they were pretty much all of nothing. So i was a little worried. I set it up in my backyard on video and did some test walking. It looked great outside during the daylight. Then I put it in a dark room and walked around the room like a dork with my hands on my head to be sure I could count fingers. It looked good as well. So I set it out in the field on video August 6th. I will get it around the 25th of August and will post my results. I too have been searching all over the internet to see if anyone is having any cameras with no problems but not many people are posting anything on the 2010 Tc. Look for my update around the 25th.
Mitch

I do not trust anything at Chasingame anymore:

He claims no affiliation with any of the companies but look what I have found:

Registrant: Anthony Jowers Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com) Domain Name: XTENDIR.COM

Registrant: Anthony Jowers 5022 Red Bud Drive Grovetown, Georgia 30813 United States Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com) Domain Name: MONARCHSCOUTINGCAMS.COM Created on: 03-Dec-09 Expires on: 24-Apr-11 Last Updated on: 12-Feb-10

Registrant: Anthony Jowers 5022 Red Bud Drive Grovetown, Georgia 30813 United States Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com) Domain Name: MONARCHTRAILCAMS.COM Created on: 03-Dec-09 Expires on: 24-Apr-11 Last Updated on: 12-Feb-10 Administrative Contact: Jowers, Anthony [email protected] 5022 Red Bud Drive Grovetown, Georgia 30813 United States (706) 869-9993 Fax --

Registrant: Anthony Jowers 5022 Red Bud Drive Grovetown, Georgia 30813 United States Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com) Domain Name: NIGHTTRAKKER.COM Created on: 29-Oct-09 Expires on: 24-Apr-11 Last Updated on: 12-Feb-10 Administrative Contact: Jowers, Anthony [email protected] 5022 Red Bud Drive Grovetown, Georgia 30813 United States (706) 869-9993 Fax --

He shut them down after him and I got into it but it is plain to see that his UNBIASED reviews cannot be since he not only is the inventor of the XTENDIR but he sells them through his association with Wei Shi, the individual listed as the domain owner of www.uwayoutdoors.com.

Everything is not as it seems over there.

Update
 

I did have some luck, although Cabelas does not take returns on electronics after 60 days, they were very helpful in getting me a duplicate receipt so I could send the camera back to Bushnell.

I mailed my camera back to Bushnell at the end of July, with a description of my problems and a $10 check for return shipping. Bushnell gave a pretty quick turn around, because this week I received a replacement camera. I was glad to see that they came through on the warranty. Also it looks like they sent me a new or perhaps refurbished like new '09 color view model. (the model that failed on me was just the basic) so this was like a $50 upgrade. They also sent me a promotional code good for 40% discount on any product. Overall I was very satisfied with Bushnell's customer service, now hopefully this camera will last longer than my last one. :)

Big10Hunter: Good luck with your new camera. If the camera is in the original, manufactures package, the model and year of manufacture should be on the back lower right hand side. I have the 2009 model Bushnell Trophy Trail camera with the viewer. This is where I found that information.

Bushnell Trophy Cam Problems
 

I just purchased two Bushnell Trophy Cams from Cabela's. Neither one works. Pictures are totally overexposed or underexposed. In a few that were underexposed, they are blurry... I have upgraded the software as recommended on the Bushnell website. I verified the update and took more pictures. Same results. I have tried 2gb PNY, SandDisk and Kingston cards... I currently own some Moultrie, WG Innovations, and Cuddyback cameras. I did my review of game camera comparisons at the end of the last deer season. As this year's season approached, I caught the 5.0mp camo models on sale and bought two. My expectations were high, but the the results have been devastatingly bad... Cabela's will take them back under their 90 day warranty. The season is here, should I exchange or go to another camera???

Btc
 

My boxes have model 119425C
The copyright is 2009
Lit# 98-1573/02-10

The only other camera I would recommend would be the Scoutguard 550 or 560. Check out the reviews at www.chasingame.com

Throphy cam dead
 

Read the posts about bad SD cards, my camera had worked fine now can not get the menu to come up or anything on the screen to work. The lights seam to come on the front of the camera, but is not taking pics but u can view the old pics on a computer with cable. Any thoughts. I have Changed Batteries and tried a diff card.

busnell trophy cam.
 

I have a busnell trophy cam. My wife bought it for me last year for my birthday. I used it all last year and it worked like a charm. However this year it is not quite as lovely. I put it out over the summer on my minerals and it worked for about 2 weeks. This is all in the exact same location. After those 2 weeks in the summer I quit getting pictures. I called busnell and they told me to reformat my SD card. I did that, still didn't work. I brought to my house and tried a new SD card and it worked perfectly while in my house. I figure I had it fixed. I bring it back to the same location in the woods, and it still does not work. I pay my data every single week and I am very frustrated.