Moultrie A-5 (Pic Heavy)
 

Well, I thought I'd try out a different brand of trail camera this year, so I picked up a Moultrie A-5. I've had bad experiences with buying cheap gear, so I've always followed the saying "buy right or buy twice." I was skeptical about the A-5, but the online reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

My overall impression: for the price, its a solid camera. Yes, it lacks a lot of features that the higher end models have, but that's to be expected at this price point. The IR flash was a little weak - I am a little disappointed in that but, in all fairness, I don't find night pics to be all that useful for scouting. The sensor seems to be decent - of course it's impossible to say how many pics were missed. Trigger speed is pretty average. If the subject of the photo is moving much faster than a moderate walk, you can expect some motion blur. Durability seems to be good, so far. This particular camera was out from September till yesterday. I didn't see any moisture in the case, and it went that long on one set of batteries. The A5 is definitely worth considering, if you're in the market for a new trail cam. At $60, you can put several out on a piece of property for the cost of one high end model. It also doesn't break the bank, if one is stolen or destroyed out in the field. I think I'll be picking up a few more, myself. Here are some of the highlights:









Here's a pic it snapped of me, walking to my stand. I included this as a reference pic. It gives you an idea of the pic quality on a moving target, since most of the deer this camera caught were fairly stationary.





Some local racoons:


My favorite pic of all:

Good quality pictures. I really like the ones with the snow on the ground.

I was pretty impressed with how well they turned out. The snow shots are my favorites, and I think I was pretty lucky to get them, too. Here in central Illinois, we've had snow on the ground for one whole day, so far this year.

Good price, but the image quality is poor.

That is what I use. Picture quality is poor but I'm using them to scout deer not print pictures so it works great for me.

One problem Ive had is ants getting in.

I agree. The picture quality isn't the greatest, but you have to sacrifice something to make a budget friendly product. I would much rather lose a few megapixels than have the manufacturer skimp on the sensor or trigger mechanism. I use trail cams as a scouting tool, anyway. If I wanted to make art prints, I'd go out with a DSLR.

I haven't seen any ants in mine yet, but they've only been out one season so far, and the gasket still looks to be in excellent shape. I'll keep posting pics and notes on performance as soon as I put them back out this summer.

been using various Moultrie products for quite some time--I don't need fancy I just need it to work, and last awhile and be affordable-----with moultries I am getting all served well P>S> I did have one stop working called Moultrie they sent a new one in a couple of days was satisfied H H