Hunting Forum

My first trail cam was a 35mm Stealthcam. The second season it wouldn't rewind the film. I am currently using a Wildgame IR4 and am happy with it. It has a decent trigger speed and good battery life. I had been using it for 2-3weeks when I set it to take 30sec. vids on my feeder. Had 120 videos after 1 week and still showed over half battery life. I wanted to get the model that had the rechargable external battery pack but were out when I went to purchase one. I have a rechargable battery in my automic feeder with a solar charger and after 4 seasons still shows 100% battery life and haven't had to charge it. It is nice not having to worry about your battery going dead.

Take a look at Trailcampro for camera performance reports and reviews.

http://www.trailcampro.com/

I don't have any experience with the cameras you're asking about. I picked up a Bushnell Trophy Cam last February, Cabela's ran them on sale. It's been taking 300 to 500 pictures a week since early October and it's still on the first set of batteries I put in it. Prior to October, I had it in a area that just wasn't showing any activity. All I was getting was the occasional rabbit, coon, or bird. It has a very fast trigger time, and long battery life. I've also got a Stealth Cam Pro, which I've had for about 5 years. I'm not real found of it. It has a slow trigger speed, about 6 seconds, and it eats batteries, 6 C-cells every couple weeks. It takes good pictures, when it finally takes them. Most of the time the animal that triggered the camera is already out of the camera view by the time the camera takes the picture. I put an external 12 volt battery on it this year and it's doing a little better, but it's still slow.

The Moultrie should be your best option in the price range you've stated. Stay away from the Wildgame Innovations, regardless. If you really want the best, spend a little more and go with the Cudde. I've owned Stealth Cam, Bushnell, Wildlife, Wildgame, Moultrie, and Cuddeback, going back to the old 35 mm film days. The absolute best camera I own is an old Cuddeback flash model. Currently I have three Moultries and that old Cuddeback and of the 4 the cudde is still the best for picture quality and battery life.

I have an older Moultrie that I'm happy with. Looking to "upgrade" it..aka..newer version. It has served it's purpose well!

Thank you all for your information.

I have several brands, Moultrie, Bushnell and spypoint. All have worked very well for me. I like the small size of the Bushnells and Spypoint and the battery life of them also. I would not buy another trail cam that didn't use AA. The Moultries I have are all older models D-40 and D-50 and have worked for years but use D cells and are large units. These have lasted for years, one finally quit working in its 5th year.

PS I do not use expensive camers as I use them in a national forest.

I have owned several different brands of cameras as well. I currently own Bushnell, WildGame Innovations, WildView, UWay, and Stealth Cam. Hands down the best camera for me has been the Bushnell Trophy Cam. As mentioned above, thousands of pictures and I am getting 12 months of battery life on 8 AA batteries. And this is in Iowa and Missouri where it gets cold. The picture quality is good as is the trigger speed.

The UWay that I own is the newest so I don't have enough experience with it yet to give a full review. But after 6 months, I am pleased with it so far.

Word of advice .... don't choose a trail camera just because it is cheaper. For the cost of replacing batteries or buying rechargeables, you may not gain anything in the long run. In fact, I am learning that you end up paying more since you buy up a lot of batteries.

Good luck!

I don't know which one I owned that was the sorriest, the Wildgame Innovations or the Wildview; but probably a toss up!

The cost of batteries is not a worry for me as I have "stock" in Duracell, Rayovac, and Energizer as I have 6 kids that all have toys that need a VAST array of every size battery....LOL

Sometimes you can find a bushnell on sale at cabelas for about 140. That would be a great dependable good quality camera.

If you're looking for more info on just about every trail camera made check out www.chasingame.com. Them guys fully field test and review game cameras and gear and post updates during the test. With trail cameras the test usually last until batteries die. You could also go to my website www.coldrunoutdoors.com, there is a link to ChasinGame on my link page. Also you might find a good price on a camera on the Gear page, just use the search bar enter game cameras and select the Hunting Accessories category. My site uses various suppliers using a unique system though Amazon with Amazon check out so it's safe and secure.