Looking to get a trail cam. What cam do you all like best for the money. Thanks,Jim
The only ones I have used are cheapies. Wildview Extreme 2 Meg pixel. They are relatively inxpensive as trail cams go ($50 each) and can be attached to a home made 12V solar charger and 12V lead acid.....that setup will last for months taking pics.
I use these over water sources b/c they have a somewhat slow shutter speed and need the animal to be in the shutter zone for a few secs to get a good pic. If just setting it up on a trail dunno if the camera will take the pic fast enough. Right now I am not using any cameras...just too lazy to put them back out.
I did have one break and I sent it back to Wildview under warranty and they sent me an upgraded model. Thus far I've been happy w/ their cust svc.
Scout Guard - no flash - 8 D-cell last for a year. Don't buy them from Mannion Outdoors.
Bowmania
moultrie d-40 under $100
Here is a great cam from a sponsor.
http://www.graywolfwoolens.com/store/home.php?cat=39
Chris gives very good advise, the ScoutGuard/Covert trail cams are very hard to beat.
ditto the scoutguards - like mine.
I sure like the covert.
I like the scoutguards as well, unbelievable battery life and great pics.
I brought a cuddy IR last year, and have had good service so far.
I use the wildgame IR4 so far I have had great results.
The Scoutguards, Coverts, and one of the Bushnells all have about the same guts in them. They are all good. A few days ago I got two of the Bushnells for a friend of mine. You will have a little problem finding the Scoutguards now as they are back ordered most places. I highly recommend Trail Cam Pro out of Springfield,MO as a place to buy them.
One of the best things about Scoutguards or Coverts is that they are very small and irregular in shape, not rectangular. The human eye picks out rectangular shapes easily, but my camo Scoutguard is so hard to see that I have to be careful to remember exactly where I put it! After having an expensive rectangular one stolen, that's very important to me. I've gotten several pictures of people who might have taken the camera if they had noticed it. Two weeks ago I found a cigarette butt about 15 feet from it, from a trespasser who didn't see the camera. The camera saw him, but he was walking away from it so I couldn't identify him.
I can put my little Scoutguard in my pocket and walk around with it until I find the spot I want to set it up. I've had several other brands, that I had to carry around in a sack.
I like one that doesn't come with a manual! LOL
Bought 2 Cuddy IR's and they are really user friendly.
I, too have a Cuddeback IR and what I like most about it beside the great pictures is the battery life. Mine has taken hundreds of pictures and is still on 75% battery life. It is also smaller and thinner than some of the others so it dont stick out as bad. I like what I am reading about the Scoutguards also.
Covert/Scoutgaurds for me. www.dlccovert.com (http://www.dlccovert.com)
Scoutgaurds with the security box are pretty tough to beat for the money.
The Scoutguards, Coverts, and the Bushnell Trophy cam consistently get good reviews. As Bill mentioned they all have the same guts.
The two best websites for unbiased scientific reviews that I have found are:
http://www.trailcampro.com/
http://www.chasingame.com/
I'm biased toward trailcampro just because they are located about 7 miles from me.