trail cameras

[jay83196]

looking at getting a few new IR trail cameras and looking at the moultrie I-40 I have read good things about them and have used flash versions with good success anybody have good or bad luck with them or would recommend another camera for around the same price ($200 or less).

Thanks!

[Boar]

I have the flash I40 an boy dose it burn batteries, I also have the I60 an really enjoy that one, batteries last alot longer, takes great pics, but the sd card is in a very stupid place an i need a twezzers to swap out cards, but love the camera, for an extra hundy I'll but the I60. Boar

[jay83196]

Yeah I have one also it does suck batteries but good pics, heard IR one is better no batteries . View seen to have one of the better IR flash range on the market.

[hockeybc69]

Do an internet search for chasin game. They have some of the best camera reviews around.

Note: take the space out between the n and the g. Apparently that site is blocked from being talked about.

[shogun]

I have a couple IR moultries - I can leave them out a long time. they do really well with batteries (AND THEY DARN WELL SHOULD! 6 D cells!) - they should last longer than what they do with that many - I'll probably be selling them though - now that I've discovered the homebrew.

[Boar]

What do ya want for them shogun? Id be interested if.. The price is right. How old ore they? boar

[haverhunting]

Well not to sound like a broken record but here I go, Reconex,Reconex,Reconex,Reconex,Reconex! Spend the money you will not be disappointed.

[hockeybc69]

Shogun, What are you going to do with homebrews that will make them better than the Moultries? Are you going to make your own cams? Are you going with the external D cell set ups? Your moultries are IR, so what do you plan to do with homebrews since they are flash cams? You can mod them to do IR, but it is a MAJOR task that most cannot do.

I have made about 15 homebrews and they beat the commercial cams in many ways. But the one thing they do not beat is battery life in many of the commercial cams. Unless you do the external battery mods and set them up to use D cell batteries.

[jay83196]

What the hell is a homebrew? And whats special about them?

[BLACKJACK]

What the hell is a homebrew? And whats special about them?

'homebrew' refers to a homemade trail camera. I'm not technical enough and I don't want to spend the time, so I buy my cameras.

I have 5 cameras, two Leaf Rivers and three Moultries. I wouldn't recommend the Leaf Rivers to anybody, spendy, take good pictures when they work, but thats the problem, both of them have frequent flier miles because I've had to send them back multiple times.

My first two Moultries are flash cameras, they take nice pictures, I have rechargable 6 volt batteries for them, and extra SD cards, I just swap out the battery and card every time I check them. They were both <$100 cameras and work well for me, over a salt block and/or corn.

Just bought a Moultrie D55-IR last week, its my first IR camera, it worked fine in my shop, fast response time, and now its on its first week out in the woods, can't wait to check out the pictures. It takes 4 - C batteries, if it gets to be a battery hog it does have an external battery plug. Price was $120 at Scheels.

I like the Moultries, price is right, you're not out a lot in case it 'walks' away, they take good pictures, I'd recommend them to anybody. Get an extra card for each camera, a reader, and you're set.

[hockeybc69]

Jay

A homebrew is a trail cam that uses a standard digital camera.

You hack some wires into the camera and those wires go to a control board that has the sensor on it.

Whats specail?

First of all, they take some of the best pictures you can get in any trail cam. Some of the top end cams are tough to beat, but you are paying $500+ for one of those top end cams too.

You can remove the camera from the case and still use it as a hand held.

The flash on the S40 and S600 are tough to beat.

Trigger time is sub one second on the P41. But there are a lot of commercial cams now that are in that area, so trigger time isnt as big of a positive as it was a couple years ago.

I can build a homebrew cam setup for less than $150 in some cases. But that price does depend on what I am able to buy the camera for. Popular cameras are Sony P41, Sony S40, Sony S600. There are other brands that work too, I just havent used them.

The control boards I use are Snapshotsniper brand.

Do a search for Penns Woods Cameras. Thats what a homebrew looks like exactly. They market them as a commercially made camera. And check out the price.

[jay83196]

Interesting, do you case them in something are they waterproof? I have about 12 cameras now mostly moultrie d40s also couple cuddyback captures and a couple wild views. I don't have any ir cameras all flash. I have heard a few times that bear get scared of the flash so I want to get them for that reason I've never needed them for dear as the flash doesn't spook them. Anybody use flash for bears?

[Meat-Run]

Boar,

regarding the Moultrie I-40 are you using Alkoline batteries if not I would recomend them? I have a 2008 i40 and it went almost a full year on the 6-Dcell batteries but my 2009 i40 is a little hungry for the batteries (twice last year), don't know why but I have been seeing a pattern with guys complany about the life of there batteries on the newer models. Over all the Moultries rock and very durable and take great pictures. I've compared them to the Cuddy's and think with the sales coming out, the moultrie has to be the best deal on the market, just my .02.

mr

[hockeybc69]

Jay,

Absolutely waterproof.

A friend of mine used an IR on a bait pile and got vids of bear on it. In fact, he shot a bear that was recorded on the trail cam at dusk.

One advantage of IR, is they are less hungry for batteries. White flash takes a lot of juice.

[Boar]

i use copper tops, my 40 is a flash modle, thought that migh be the reason. Went throu three sets last year, had great pics but want better batterie life. Mines is a 09. also. My I60 is one set per year, an may by the end of the season I started on the 2nd. Later boar

[jay83196]

I agree moultrie are best deal for what you get. I'm not impressed with my cuddybacks pictures are ok field of view and detection field sucks and not much for features.