Game Camera Recommendations?

[mikester]

Ideally I'm looking for something under $100 on Amazon that does the following:
1. Good quality still and video images. Ive tried a couple of cameras in the past that claimed to be megapixel quality but was really only a low resolution camera "upscaled" to higher pixels with images that were smeared looking and blurred motion events. I want to be able to read a car license plate.
2. Good battery life. Anything that last for months? Do the solar panel models really work?
3. Good quality low light images.
4. Reliable motion capture. I want to be able to grab an image of a car driving down my driveway every time, not of a blank scene after the car is long gone.

 

[Jim Nelson]

I had one of the 1st version Stealth cams and it was the best I've had, the new versions aren't nearly as good. Between my neighbor and myself we've tried pretty much everything else out there for under $200 and none work well. I really wish someone would come up with a good one but no luck so far. I won't pay $500-$700 for one.

If you find one please post what you find as I'm still looking.

 

[Thomas]

I am very happy with my Browning...easy to setup takes nice photos. :thumbsup:

 

[repete]

My favorite is my older Reconyx simple and intuitive. I have a newer one but the directions are pathetic.

 

[nybirdman]

I have five Brownings and a couple Bushel's,happy with both.I don't buy their low end cameras;pay about $180.Run lithium batteries.

 

[two_bit_score]

Ideally I'm looking for something under $100 on Amazon that does the following:
1. Good quality still and video images. Ive tried a couple of cameras in the past that claimed to be megapixel quality but was really only a low resolution camera "upscaled" to higher pixels with images that were smeared looking and blurred motion events. I want to be able to read a car license plate.
2. Good battery life. Anything that last for months? Do the solar panel models really work?
3. Good quality low light images.
4. Reliable motion capture. I want to be able to grab an image of a car driving down my driveway every time, not of a blank scene after the car is long gone.

Hoping you find a good one and share the info. With all the choices out there you might think it would be easy but doesn't seem to be.


.

 

[coobie]

I am very happy with my Browning...easy to setup takes nice photos. :thumbsup:

THIS ^^^^^^ I own 5 brownings all have been flawless..Going on 3 years now

 

[Rebeldad1]

got my interest...
which Browning?
are all the best choice for a entry level?

 

[coobie]

got my interest...
which Browning?
are all the best choice for a entry level?

Mine are $110-150 range nothing fancy.Try these guys Game & Trail Camera Reviews - Trail Cam Buying Guides

 

[nybirdman]

I don't think Browning makes a bad camera;higher cost is better camera(MP"S),screen view ect.They replaced one of mine at no cost at over a year in use.Midway has a Browning for less than $100.Use lithium batteries,last 1000's of pictures and the cold doesn't effect them.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I have 2 Brownings and 4 Primos cameras. The ones I have are no longer available, but both brands have been very reliable, take good pics and batteries last 4-6 months.

 

[wngsprd]

Seems like to get a good one under $100 you'll need to catch a good sale...usually on a model being replaced with something newer. A lot of these are good quality, with enough user reviews that you might find a good one.

I get emails from Midway USA with lots of cam sales, and we have a great local hunting and fishing store with lots of models going on sale, as well as Bass Pro nearby.

I have a low cost Browning that I like a lot, haven't tried videos on it. I've had some great Moultrie cams, but also some dogs that leaked every time it rained.

Probably the best quality cam I've used is a Moultrie cellular cam XV-7000i...but I do have to pay them a monthly fee for the cell transmission of photos...a good deal since the cam is installed over 100 miles away...requires 12 AA batteries since it is taking pictures and also transmitting them. Normally it transmits lower quality pix, to save on data usage, but you can retrieve a high quality pic of any that you want...stores them on their cloud, and sends you an email when you have new pix...even tells you that it is buck or doe or turkey. You can also see the battery level and the cell network strength on the website. I've been impressed with its trigger speed, and battery life, installed it last August.

Good luck.

 

[gsganzer]

I'll chime in for the Browning. I'll be going into the third year with mine.

 

[suburbanfarmer]

I have a moultrie in the field with a solar battery connector for 4 winters and 3 yrs and still going strong.

 

[mikester]

I took the plunge and ordered one of these CDN$76.88 Campark T70 No Glow Night Vision 14MP 1080P Trail Cam
Trail Game Camera, Campark T7 No Glow Night Vision 14MP 18P Trail Cam Wildlife Surveillance Hunting Cam with 2.4" LCD and IP66 Waterproof Battery Powered: Amazon.ca: Electronics

According to the box supposedly this is a 16MP CMOS camera NOT 14MP as shown on the Amazon tagline. In reality I'm guessing its a 1 or 2MP camera sensor and the image is "up converted" to 16MP.

I've had it running for a couple of weeks now.

On the PRO side the device is compact and uses standard AA batteries that are supposed to last 4-6 months. Motion sensing is OK. Night vision is grainy at best, sorry no vehicle night shots to share.

On the CON side the SD card is hard to remove, has limited camera settings and it takes grainy photos. Cheap plastic case. License plates are barely readable IF you manage to catch an image of them. I had to downgrade the snapshot images to 5MP in order to get 3 photos each time a motion event triggers. The minimum time between motion events is 5 seconds. I see no difference in image quality between 2 to 16 MP, only much larger grainy photos.

Each photo Ive attached is the best of 3 frames photo, each in full 5MP resolution. One shows the 3rd frame of my tractor going down the driveway. The second is a deer at night. Third is a night shot of a racoon - two points to you if you can find it in the image. Wheres Waldo?



I hesitate to recommend this camera. In my mind it's worth no more than $40 as its most likely a 1-2MP camera sensor NOT the 16MP as advertised. Im probably going to send it back to Amazon as I think these vendors are scammers for falsely representing the cameras capabilities and posting fake "real" camera photos. I think that the 4.5 star reviews it gets must be BS paid for positive reviews given by buyers who want to get a free SD card from the manufacturer as part of their 4 or 5 star review. Id probably give this camera 2 stars based on the images and video alone.

 

[Thomas]

Thanks for the update.
I found out cheap game cam if use during the winter battery life bad also game cam frost up.