Took 61 years but just bought a small place surrounded by a National Forest. Would like to put cameras out to see what I have on it. Never had a camera before so how about some advice.
www.dlccovert.com (http://www.dlccovert.com)
We've had about 6 different brands where we hunt. Pretty hard to figure out which one to buy and we made mistakes. Now, we have 9 Scout Guards. Size wise they're very small. Battery life is incredable, like maybe a year. We replace them each season and they're still good. Trigger time is OK especially for a camera under 200. We do have one of the small Bushnells and the jury is still out. The SG may take better video and pics.
Bowmania
I have tried quite a few and I feel that Bushnell trophy cam is the best. It takes videos as well as stills, it is super easy to set-up, the battery life is amazing (as long as you use lithium), and Bushnell customer service is excellent.
Stealthcam also makes a great camera but I still stand behind Bushnell as the best 1.
Try and avoid any camera tha uses batteries other than AA. The ones that use C's or D cell batteries don't seem to last more than a couple of weeks. TRW
Been using two, DLC coverts for two seasons and have been satisfied. Easy to set up and the batteries last all season.
I have a Moultrie I65 that works great. Gonna try the DLC covert this year. Have seen some nice pics taken with them on here. My cousin has a couple Cuddebacks that do a good job. Saw that they totally revamped their cameras for this year.
I like my WILDGAME INNOVATIONS iR4 the trigger speed is kinda slow but the pics are top notch.
I have two of the Bushnells,8MP and they are my favorites.I also have the Scoutguard 550 and it is a great camera but I like the Bushnells better.
1.You don't have the extra "remote" to program the Bushnell.You do it in camera.
2.The Bushnell has a gasket sealing the case.The Scoutguard is not sealed.
3.Both have the same great battery life and trigger speed.
4.The Bushnell is the same price.
5.The Bushnell is as compact and is 8MP.
I second the Bushnell Trophy Cam,Although I have heard they had problems with 2010 model.Maybe they got the bugs worked out of them.Hope so.I really like my 09 models
I had trouble with everything I bought, including Bushnells, until I got a Scoutguard. Batteries last forever and it works very well. It's also easy to hide, making thievery more difficult. Hiding a game camera is VERY important, if you want it to be there when you go back!
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l376/don-stokes/006.jpg)
I like the Wildgame Innovations X6C. Good quality pics and small in size.
for good prices check out Nachez.com
I have had good luck with the little bushnell trophy cams. I see you are close to me. If you are near the Homochitto national forest, and likely most others, theft is a major problem. Hiding your camera well and getting an infrared flash is important. Security boxes have not worked for me as the thieves destroyed the cameras in the box.
Man those DLC Covert cameras take NICE pics. Way better than my current fairly expensive Moultrie.
ive had 2 or 3 of the cheaper ones they seamed to always give me problems then i went an bought a covert camera should have done it sooner
Love my Uway NT50B with black flash. When I used white or IR flash cams, I'd get one or two pics of a nice buck and then not seem him again for months. With the black flash, I get the same big bucks week after week. I'm convinced they do not see the black flash at all, and that the regular IR flash and white flash makes them avoid the cameras.
Also on the white flash cams, they would usually only stick around over corn for about 3-5 mins, but they stay about 30-45 min with the black flash so I get lots more pics from different angles. I get about 3 months from 4 C batteries with the Uway in picture mode. I've never bothered with the video mode.
Toppredator that is a false statement, We have been running 9 Moultrie camera's for many years and they all take D cell batteries and the will run for many months on one set of batt and many thousands of pictures.
Half of them we paid 99$ for and the other half on sale for 69$. My pictures on the trail cam threads for many years here show the great picks they take too.
Tracy
I love my Bushnells.
So far I have had good luck with a Bushnell Trophy Cam. I would stay away from Stealthcam. I have had nothing but trouble from them. You might want to check out chasingame.com they have a lot of good info on trail cameras.
Bushnell trophy cams work the best for me and small easy to cary and set up, and easy on batts. Under 150 now at wallywrld.!
I have 2 of the older Cuddebacks IR.They work fine but eat batteries up.I have heard the newer Cuddebacks are not so good.
I have only had 2 companies, Moultrie i40 and Cuddeback capture ir. PROs and CONs of each.
Moultrie
PROs
Excellent battery life 2 to 3 months even in cold MI winters
Great quality photos
CONs
Slower trigger speed fair amount of back ends and sometimes nothings
Cuddeback
PROs
Quick trigger speed
Great Quality Pictures
CONS
Battery life is ridiculously short!!
Camofire.com has a well-reviewed one today for ~$90.
Well I'm new to the market myself. I did alot of researching and what I found out is there are two basic cameras. One if you want to use it over a bait pile (99.9% of cameras being used) and two if you want a true trail camera! If your putting a camera over a bait pile basically they all work. Now if your wanting one to monitor a trail your gona need a quick response camera. Again you can break it down to two cameras again. Good ones and Bad ones and it doesn't matter the brand! Kinda like cars and trucks doesn't matter what the hood emblem says it's either a good one or a bad one!
With all that said I never hunt over bait so have no intention of putting a camera over my bait pile. I bought a Bushnell Trophy camera. Uses AA batteries last for ever,small in size and has a quick response time. However the first one I bought didn't work for crap out of the box. Took it back and replaced it with another one! It works GREAT! I've had mine out all winter in some single digit temps with the original regular alkaline batteries and it's been very reliable! Takes great pics when positioned on a trail at a angle to the trail rather than at a 90 degree angle to a trail. I love it! Your mileage may vary.
I have a Bushnell and 2 coverts. If I had it to do again I would have 3 coverts.
I bought one of those $99 dollar moultires this year and have had now problems with it. Another "trick" for new trail cam users- scratch up the ground in front of the cam- or hang a scent wick - it can make the deer hold up for an extra second. just my 2cents
I bought a Bushnell trophy cam for work this summer. It worked well so I bought another for hunting. EZ to setup, lithium batteries are still good from the summer, and good quality pictures. A friend of mine had another brand's camera and I was not that impressed. I also used a salt lick preseason to help stop the animals for pix. Only problem was that bears would rub against the cameras and I would get some good ground shots until I readjusted- then I put hot sauce on the cameras- stopped the problem.
the wild game ir4 is a great cam for the price. I have three scout guard 550's and love them. They were flawless for me. They are basically the same as the covert.
www.trailcampro.com (http://www.trailcampro.com) and www.chasingame.com (http://www.chasingame.com) have excellent reviews of all the major trail cams. I'm partial to trailcampro simply because they are local here in springfield missouri.
QuoteOriginally posted by xtrema312:
the wild game ir4 is a great cam for the price. I have three scout guard 550's and love them. They were flawless for me. They are basically the same as the covert.
Todd, the coverts have been totally re-designed and have top end camera features now without increasing in price.
- Bulb or IR flash option now.
- Door hinged moved to top (makes it much easier to access camera card and internal settings without having to unstrap the camera).
- Day or night or both option.
- Hole through camera body for a security cable for theft protection.
- Larger card capacity (used to be 2 gb was the largest card you could use) Now its 16 gb
For the big spenders they also now offer a telemetry camera. Go check them out under the products section of the site.
http://www.dlccovert.com/product-edgeseries.html
TJ,
You've peeked my interest in the Covert cameras.
The edge series doesn't have the built in viewer does it? Do they offer a portable viewer like the Bushnell? How's the battery life on them?
Hope you don't mind the questions, just like to get answers from someone who's used a certain product.
Thanks!
Charlie
The Extreme series has the built in viewing screen. I have a portable viewer for my cameras that don't have a built in screen and actually don't even use the built in screen in the camera as they are very small and run the camera batteries down while using it. Portable viewers can be bought from many companies. The Covert's Battery life is the same as the Bushnells as Bushnell gets them from the manufacturer in China that Covert started with. I like the energizer blue lithium batteries and they last up to 4x longer than normal batteries.
The Bushnell cams don't have nearly the features the new Coverts have for the same price.
Thanks TJ, I appreciate it buddy.
Charlie
After talking to TJ today my next cam will be the Covert edge series. Thanks TJ !
Thanks for all of the input from everyone. I know a lot of you have had good luck with the Bushnell cameras but after about 6 hours of reading the testing reviews by Chasingame and reading all of your input I think I am headed for the Covert Edge series.
Trail cams work great for catching your teenager sneaking out and in the window as well.Not just for hunting anymore. :thumbsup: :campfire:
The smaller Trail Cam the better to keep it less noticeable from thieves.
Also have two cuddebacks. Battery life is a little short but have too much money invested to make a switch.
I like the DLC Coverts as well. Very small, easy to conceal, great battery life and reliable.
I have good luck with my Wildgame Innovations IR4 and IR5 game-cameras,I also have a Cuddback,it is OK but I think they are overpriced.
I JUST BOUGHT THE STEALTHCAM "UNIT". A LITTLE BIGGER THAT THE BUSHNELL, TAKES GREAT PICTURES. HAVE HAD WILDGAME CAMERAS AND DID NOT HOLD UP TOO LONG FOR ME.
This is an excellent thread, so many informed opinions & feedback! Something I myself have puzzled & pondered over, which Cam to buy & why!
I would like to get a few to place on some spots near me, this has helped me alot! (why I love this site!)
Keith
Homebrews for me. Nothing like it for picture quality and longevity.
BTW, congrads on your purchase.