I've had it with trail cams...

[AJMD429]

.
I keep replacing trail cams that don't work and getting ones that promise cellular communication and all sorts of things and they all work for about a week (...ok...maybe three months... ). I don't even really care if one has advanced functions. I just want it to take basic pictures, and do it reliably. Even if I have to strap a car battery to it to get it to work for more than 24 hours, I can do that.

When somebody shot several rounds through the front door of our house (coincidentally right after I had terminated a patient for narcotics abuse), the police brought out cameras the size of a Mini Mag flashlight that they could half bury in the ground or tape to a tree, and similar sized motion detectors they could bury that would activate them. The batteries lasted almost a month, and the cameras took reliable pictures.

But everything they sell at Cabela's and Bass Pro and Midway USA pretty much seems to suck. Does anybody have any experience with trail cameras that actually work more than a few days and are reliable?

I know humans can be flawed but I expect machines to function perfectly 100% of the time or they get the bullet treatment. And yes, that means over the years I've shot quite a few lawn mowers, computers, cell phones, and other things that proved disappointing; I almost shot my 1968 Ford, but it was in the middle of a busy intersection and I thought I would get in trouble.. However on the upside it helps my marksmanship skills and it's quite emotionally satisfying.

[Drawdown]

Doc, I had 2 Stealth Cams that I used for several years, one was good, one was not much. They where identical, cheap. Now I've run one the cheapest Moultries I could get at Walmart, aprox $50, and it's been great, really perfect. I had a really cheap Tasco a buddy gave me that seemed to be doing good, but a bear destroyed it, along with another cheap one. Put all 3 out in March, the 2 got destroyed, and the Moultrie is going strong, I love it, good pics, triggers like it should. I got a Browning out in June, and it's the best.
Most everyone that's fooled with them much will tell you, money spent doesn't necessarily mean it's better. You get what you get good or bad. If you're willing to spend right around $100+-, then I got to recommend Browning, they do have a great rep for their cameras. Mines a "Command Ops Elite". I know nothing about the cell cameras, complicated stuff. Don't want one, I only use the simple ones, and a bear is apt to destroy it first day anyways!
I'm batting 100% with Moultrie also for now!

[Drawdown]

And as far as battery life, I've had great life out of all mine. The Moultrie been there since mid March, last I checked I believe it showed 90% still, that's 8AA battery's. Most use 8, but the Browning is only one I've seen which holds 6 AA.

[AJMD429]

.
I figure I'll see what you guys say and ask some other people and try to buy a decent one before deer season, although mostly I just hunt where I usually do regardless of pictures, and as to time of day I just hunt when I CAN.

I mostly use trail cams to see what kind of pests are getting into the garden or digging around the fences, although I would like to have a camera that was reliable enough to get pictures of anyone pulling in or out of our driveway. Unfortunately nothing 'cellular' or 'wireless' works very well where we are because it is to remote for cellular service and there is a huge 675,000 volt power line nearby the pretty much kills any wireless signals. Getting a camera set up that uses coaxial and works 300 ft away also seems impossible.

So.....Midway had some junky China ones on sale for $29 each so I bought three of them; I figured maybe at least one of them will work for awhile and then I can use the rest of them as targets in the meantime...

Screenshot_20220806-204920-926.png

I used to really LIKE electronic gadgets, but it seems like 90% of what's out there is chunk even though there are some amazing state-of-the-art items if you shell out enough money and know what to get. Whatever the stuff is the cops had was incredible, but when I asked them they said the cameras were about $4,000 each...

[coyote nose]

I am with you. I never had one work more than a month or so. Finally gave up on them.

[TomF]

I have 3 MUDDY cameras from Academy... $30. I've gotten 2+ yrs use from the oldest unit, still in service, deployed 365 in dry central Texas . Easy on batteries too. Excellent pictures.
I have not ventured into the cell phone compatible units. Likely won't.
Moultrie and Wildgame Inovations seemed to last the least

[wvfarrier]

Moultrie has a replacement warranty that I have used several times. The replacements always work better than the originals

[Pisgah]

My buddy has 2 high-dollar, whizbang trailcams that he bought so he could leisurely check his photos via phone each morning as he sips his coffee. What he got is endless frustration, and an almost daily dose of bitterness and woe before 7AM when he tries to check them.

I bought two new-old-stock Wild Game Innovations super-primitive cameras -- practically antiques -- $15 ea. Yeah, I am forced to take a leisurely walk in the woods every few days to check pictures. Big deal. A set of batteries lasts a year plus, and thousands of pictures. Both have been flawless for 4+ years now.

My friend, refreshingly candid, simply says, "Hey, a fool and his money..."

[cas]

I've never had a trail cam that I was completely happy with, they all seem to do one thing a certain way I don't like.

I have one Browning branded one I like more than the others, so I tried to buy another and of course they don't make it anymore. Had to go up a model to this one, about $20-25 more than the older one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BL ... =UTF8&th=1

The secret to longevity is lithium batteries. I have cams in the woods that have had the same batteries in them for over a year. Last November I but one of my cams (a Bushnell) in a spot, not realizing the way it was facing was catching a little of the road that runs by the cabin. Come spring I had close to 4k photos, every time a car or truck went by for 6 months. The batteries still showed close to 100% charge.

[horsesoldier03]

I bought a new Moultrie Camera about a month or so ago and went to put it out on the property that I deer hunt last weekend. I was getting pictures to my phone when I set it up at my house, but once it was placed on the property, the only time I received pics is when I went to that property to check the camera because I had not been getting anything from it. Called the help desk and they helped me reset the camera. Hopefully it will work when I get the opportunity to put it out again. It kept telling me I had a weak signal, however, there is a Verizon tower that is on the opposite end of that property. When I am standing at the location where I set up the camera my phone shows 4 bars for the signal. I guess I will go back to SIM CARDS if this doesnt work. Meanwhile I am out about $200 so far and dont have a pic of a deer yet.

[jmiller]

I used to get new trail cameras every year in Sept. They’d last most of the hunting season and quit. About seven or eight years ago I bought five Cuddeback’s and they’re still going strong. A couple of months battery life, great trigger speed, and decent pics. I’ve had a couple of Browning cameras that I liked, but they lasted about two years each. If you have the money, get Reconyx. They’re what the pros use but are around six hundred bucks each.