Cheap trail cams any good?

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  • bwframe

    Loneranger
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    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
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    Btown Rural
    Midway and other retailers have been advertising deals on trail cams and packages. Before we know it, the big hardware and farm stores will have seasonal deals again also. Pricing on these seems to be getting better and better all the time? Getting pretty easy to say yes to picking up a few of these?


    I wonder about investing in some of these for yard and garden security from various smaller varmint like critters? Coons, opossums, groundhogs, skunks', etc.

    Anyone have good luck with using inexpensive sale cams for smaller critters than deer?


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    d.kaufman

    Still Here
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    128   0   0
    Mar 9, 2013
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    Hobart
    I have a few wildgame trail cams I picked up menards 5-6 years ago. They were like $30 each and have served me well. 1 of them has been in the elements for a full 5 years and I have had zero issues

    Believe these are the ones I have

    Wildgame Innovations Terra Extreme LIGHTSOUT 18MP Photo, HD 720P Video, 60 Ft. Illumination Range, <1 SEC. Trigger Speed https://a.co/d/cHRo4nE
     

    Jzim

    Plinker
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    0   0   0
    Sep 20, 2012
    42
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    Valpo
    I’m thinking of ordering this 3 pack from midway. I’d imagine as long as you have reasonable expectations they’ll do alright. If they’re gonna be around your house battery life probably isn’t an issue either. Might be different story if you had to hike to swap batteries.

     

    Dirty Steve

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    2   0   0
    Feb 16, 2011
    914
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    Danville
    Midway and other retailers have been advertising deals on trail cams and packages. Before we know it, the big hardware and farm stores will have seasonal deals again also. Pricing on these seems to be getting better and better all the time? Getting pretty easy to say yes to picking up a few of these?


    I wonder about investing in some of these for yard and garden security from various smaller varmint like critters? Coons, opossums, groundhogs, skunks', etc.

    Anyone have good luck with using inexpensive sale cams for smaller critters than deer?


    .
    Yes, I have 6 of them on my hunting property and they have worked very well at taking pictures of small game (in addition to deer). Each month when I pull the cards I will have a lot of pictures of raccoons, squirrels, turkeys, coyotes and bobcats. Battery life is about 8 months.
    August_2022.jpg
     

    two70

    Master
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    19   0   0
    Feb 5, 2016
    3,724
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    Johnson
    Usually one or more of battery life, picture quality, or trigger speed suffer on cheap trail cams. Batteries are the real expense of trail camera so poor battery life should be a no go. Picture quality is a subjective thing but if you are not trying to get a lot of details, ie. count tines, id facial features of trespassers, etc. then most will be sufficient. Slow trigger speed can be worked around provided they are set up over areas where whatever triggers it is likely to linger and positioned in such a way to make the most of the trigger speed. Food sources, water sources or scrapes are good areas for slower cameras.
     

    42769vette

    Grandmaster
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    52   0   0
    Oct 6, 2008
    15,222
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    south of richmond in
    Steer clear of stealth cam whatever you do. Out of 20 brand new cameras, I spent 6 hours on the phone off the bat because 8 didn't work. I never did get it resolved

    I dont mind products having issues from the factory. It happens. I do mind expecting the customer to hold for 6 hours. The 6 hour on hold was not 1 call, it was 6, 1hr calls on hold. I sent them a message, and they responded with I needed to call them, and hold times were just less than 2 hours.

    Maybe I have an odd job, but I can't be on hold for 2 hours in the middle of my day. I thought I was getting a great deal (20 cams 1800 bucks) but it was a horrible deal. 1800 bucks, and I got a box of **** I can't use.

    I was a prospective dealer at the time. Guess what product I won't sell to my customers?

    This experience lead me to start carrying tacticam. They are cheaper than most, and if you have an issue they won't leave you stranded.

     

    indyjohn

    PATRIOT
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    77   0   0
    Dec 26, 2010
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    In the trees
    What kind of a practice of handling and swapping cards in these do you folks have?


    .

    I've had the 16MP version of this camera out in the woods for 2 years now. Very happy with the video I get out of them. Decent battery life for recording videos instead of still pics.


    I carry a laptop with a usb to SD card adapter out with me. I pull the cards and move the video files from the card to the laptop, very easy. 32GB cards hold a lot of 21MB video files.

    More expensive, but if you're waiting for them to go on sale, they're worth the money imho.
     

    mom45

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    0   0   0
    Nov 10, 2013
    47,141
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    NW of Sunshine
    I have quite a few Stealth cams. I think over the years, I have had two replaced under the warranty. The cheaper ones are junk and I don't use them because the picture clarity isn't great. I have several G42NG and a couple of the G45NG that replaced the first model. I have two of the DS4K that I won in photo contests that they had. I wouldn't spend the extra for those even though they take nice pictures and video.

    I buy lithium batteries in bulk online and get decent battery life out of them. Regular batteries don't last a day here.
     

    AmericanBob

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    20   0   0
    May 10, 2009
    1,063
    48
    Noblesville
    I have a couple of the menards cameras and they take pretty good pictures. My only problem with them is I live 2 hours away from where I have them located so they don't get checked frequently. I have one of the stealthcam cell service cams and it is great! I've used it where I deer hunt, I took it down to Georgia for a hog hunt to watch a feeder, and currently it's in my backyard watching my ducks because I've been having predator issues.
     

    model1994

    quick draw mcgraw
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    8   0   0
    Aug 17, 2022
    790
    93
    glacial boundary
    for just basic but quality photo/video, honestly you really cannot beat the tasco 12mp cams available at walmart for only $32 - if they provide what you're looking for. add 8 duracell rechargeables which will cost about the price of a camera, but will pay for themselves again and again. im very impressed. side by side with my older but still $100 stealth cam g42ng they are similar quality if not tasco slightly better
     
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