Trail Camera advice - Which ones don't SUCK?

[The Hedgehog]

I want a weather-proof digital that will store a ton of images so I can leave it out for a few weeks. Doesn't have to take the highest quality pictures, just don't want a complete piece of crap and don't want to spend a lot of money.

Any warnings or advice?

 

[schmalts]

Kurt, Well... if you dont want to spend a lot of money get the moultrie and a a couple 64MB SD card for it (10$ on ebay but get true Sandisk brand). If you want to spend 150 bucks more get the Cuddeback for its super fast trigger time. Here is the place to go to research what you want. Trigger time is important thing to look at.
http://www.chasingame.com/

 

[JB]

Don’t buy the Moultrie (have three)....... piece's of crap! (Sensitivity sucks)
Also have the wildview.......good trigger sensitivity but night pictures suck....need bigger flash.
A friend of mine has the cuddeback and loves it.

 

[Trent]

I don't have the digal Cuddeback , but I have the film cudd and it works great. Someone spent alot of time in inventing the cuddback Greenhorn. it shows, just go to my thread (Camp pics ) Trent and go to page 16 and you will see a few pics from my cuddback film. and there is alot of pics on every page that me and a few guys post in there. injoy and comments are all ways welcome.

 

[schmalts]

Don’t buy the Moultrie (have three)....... piece's of crap! (Sensitivity sucks)
Also have the wildview.......good trigger sensitivity but night pictures suck....need bigger flash.
A friend of mine has the cuddeback and loves it.

They are what they are... 98$ cameras. I have no trouble with them, but had a couple i returned before i got a good one. It seems quality control is an issue with these. You may miss a picture once in a while but.... its a 98$ camera. The Cuddeback is the way to go but you can buy 3 moultries to one cuddy. Depends on what you want. For a guy sticking it out on a wallow on public land i would feel better hanging a 98$ camera out there to get stolen over a 300$ unit. Now if i was to buy for private property i would go with the cuddy for sure.
The website i posted rated the wildview the best buy for around 100 bucks but will it take a rechargeable 6V lantern battery like the moultrie? that was a factor when i looked at these things. I can get a rechargble 6V and after 2 uses it is free from then on. I get almost 80% time out of a rechargable as i do a dry cell. One other good point for the moultrie.
The newer moultries have a better firmware for the sensitivity problem i have read. Hot days will limit sensitivity on all cameras too.

 

[JB]

I have no trouble with them, but had a couple i returned before i got a good one.

schmalts, sounds like trouble to me.

You may miss a picture once in a while

stuck two of them over two differnt corn piles.....got about 6-8 pictures on each camera while the wildview would have 60 and up on in the same amount of time....i guess you could say it missed a few.battery life also sucks on the camera's, they have 6 volt lantern batteries that last about a week...the wildview holds for c batteries and last up to three weeks
both cameras cost about "98$".
i dont care if it cost 50$ if you make a product it should do what you say it does regaurdless of what it cost.

For a guy sticking it out on a wallow on public land i would feel better hanging a 98$ camera out there to get stolen over a 300$ unit.

me too, thats why i purchased the cheapo's.
someone had stolen one of the moultrie's but returned it a week later.they left a note saying thanks but no thanks.

 

[The Hedgehog]

What about this one? That site recommends it as the el'cheapo pick:

Stealth Cam

 

[JoseCuervo]

What about this one? That site recommends it as the el'cheapo pick:

Stealth Cam

Something else to consider is that if you buy a Digital one, you will need to buy a computer to look at the pictures..........

We have used the Stealth brand of film ones for years, and I don't know who is making the digital camera for Stealth, but I can comment that the Stealth quality control has been good for their film models.

 

[schmalts]

.battery life also sucks on the camera's, they have 6 volt lantern batteries that last about a week...the wildview holds for c batteries and last up to three weeks
both cameras cost about "98$".
i dont care if it cost 50$ if you make a product it should do what you say it does regaurdless of what it cost.

I get almost 3 weeks on my batteries, in the winter no less. Not sure what is up with yours but battery life was never an issue with mine.
JB, what firmware version do you have? When you first power up the camera what version number do you get?