2012 Trail Cams

[sticknstring]

What cams are you folks eyeing up or anticipating coming out this year? It's always a gamble with most the of Chinese made cams now-a-days. But unless you can afford a Reconyx or have extra time on your hands to explore home-brew remedies, most of us are stuck with inexpensive consumer cams.

I've been utilizing a Cuddeback fleet the past 4 years with fairly good results (not the norm, I know) but have recently sold a few and and am ready to upgrade the fleet. I know Cudde has a new one coming out, Moultrie has a few new mini cams based off the wildly popular M80 as well. Bushnell's 2011 Trophy Cam 466C was a smash hit as well. I've really been eyeing up the MMS wireless cams that email/text pics to your phone or computer. What a great way to save gas and keep scent down in your hunting areas. Lots of room for technological advancement in trail cameras.

So, what do you all want in a camera? Any manufacturers or models that are sparking your interest?

[Scoot]

Stick, on one hand I totally agree- the technological advances coming/possible are really cool. On the other hand I wish most companies would forget about the possibilities and simply produce a basic camera that takes decent pictures consistently, has decent trigger speed, doesn't have any light for IR pics, and most importantly... ACTUALLY WORKS FOR MORE THAN A FEW MONTHS!

[Musky Buck]

You hit the nail on the head, the wireless to your computer would be ideal for me as where I place it is a chore and a half and scenting my area is not good at all or walking up to it on Halloween and jumping a lone doe quick to realize yep there is the buck and there they go. Those scrapes were not hit again so hunting a touchy area like that the wireless would be huge. However, I just bought a new moultree primarily do to the tremendous battery life in my other 1. Infrared, but boy I tend to only get a large buck on it once for some reason, even if I harvest him in the same general area they seem to avoid it unless it's the dead of winter.

[sticknstring]

Reliability is huge. I almost hated to sell my old No Flash's - the things were nearly bomb proof. I got 4 solid years out of 4 different cams with no issues. I'm sure now, the next cam I buy will break down within a few months!

Moultrie's new M80XT with the motion freeze feature really sharpens up the typical blurry IR shots from what I've seen. It utilizes a red glow IR flash however and has a much slower trigger than '11 models. Maybe a deal breaker.

I'm sure we'll be seeing several new "black flash" cams coming out as well. Whether for surveillance or reducing the spooking effect of game, this is a great feature. Probably the most notable change is the size. Everything I've been seeing fits in the palm of your hand. Must easier to transport in the woods and conceal on a tree. The bulky days of D cell batteries are about over as well. Finally.

[Summett]

I bit the bullet this year and bought a wireless to try. I'm by no means an expert in trail cameras, and was new to the sport of bow hunting this year. So i needed to pick up a camera to get started. Though i would have liked to have multiple cameras on the property, i went with 1 wireless to get started, the Ltl Acorn 5210mms. I got the IR flash, and doesn't spook the deer at all. It just doesn't "flash" very far from the camera...about 45'. But takes good pics & video.

It works surprisingly well. Took a bit to figure it out, but once i did it's been working seamlessly this past year. It's got it's pros & cons, like any camera i suppose, but i really like the mms feature. Fun to get pics in real time. It costs me $10 a month for the mms feature through ATT. I figure i save that in gas money driving all the way to my hunting grounds to gather the info. It'd be great to have these all over, but it'd be $10 per camera that was using the feature. If anyone wants a more in depth "review", i'd be happy to share my opinion. Just let me know.

This year i'm keeping my eye on the new UWAY um562 (i think it is). Little better flash, external antenna, etc. Which ever way i go, i'll probably only keep one camera active with the wireless at a time to save $$. But good to know they work as any other camera w/o activating the mms feature.

[Meat-Run]

Summett what's your initial investment for a wireless camera/battery etc.?

mr

[Summett]

Summett what's your initial investment for a wireless camera/battery etc.?

mr

The Ltl Acorn 5210mm is $340 retail, but I found a wholeseller online and got it for $230. I already had family messaging on my cell plan, so it was just an extra $10 a month for the new line on ATT.

I initially tried rechargeable AA batteries (takes 8), but they didn't last that long. Ended up going with lithium ($25). I'm on my 3rd month with them. You can run the cam on an external 6v if you want, and they also sell a recharging solar panel as an accessory that recharges by the sun. The lithiums work great for me, so ill probably just find a cheap source online for those in the future. They work well in low temps too...as the cam is suppose to work down to -20.

[sticknstring]

I'll be putting lithiums in all mine next year. They're far superior than alkalines in cold temps.

ATA kicks off Tues AM - hopefully we'll be able to get the latest on cams added here.

[Powerstroke]

I know we had great pics and battery life with the Primos Truth 46.

I've been looking at picking up some Moultrie M80's but it seems the reviews are about 25% bad. And the ones that are bad talk of complete failures in the first 1-2 weeks. I can't even believe its a possibility that a company nowadays would produce a product with that kind of failure rate.

I'm also interested in the Bushnell Trophy cam. Any other thoughts?

[NorthernOutdoors]

I've got two M80's and they have been running since early fall with no failures. I just bought a third one because they have worked great for me. I'd also like to get a Bushnell in the future.

[archerystud]

I've got 3 Moultrie's. They are 4MP IR's. The oldest one seems to finally be flaking out but it still captures some pics, so I still put it out.

I love the battery life and how well they have lasted for me so I'll be sticking with Moultrie if I buy anymore.

I did buy my aunt a Primo's Black Out for an area on her farm where she wanted to watch. But I've also heard rumblings that Primo's my quit making these.

[sticknstring]

I was able to get a look at Bushnell's new offerings... 5 new cams and 3 models being continued from last year. Looks to be the same sized case with a few added features. The lineup has both LED & black LED cams, 1 year battery life, & 5 of the 8 offer HD video w/ sound.

I guess I was maybe hoping for a Bushnell MMS cam this year but a new & improved black LED will may suffice for now. I want to wait for the reviews before I purchase one though. There are still several camera companies to look at but I think these will be tough to beat in their pricerange.

[Scoot]

Stick and others,

I want an inexpensive, reliable camera with decent battery life and a black LED light. Am I dreaming at this point?

[sticknstring]

Keep dreaming! It's probably not EXACTLY what you're looking for, but the Moultrie M80 BLX might be close. Inexpensive, it's M80 predecessor was pretty reliable, black LED, & an average battery life. I think if you invested in some lithiums, you might be able to achieve above-average results. The only downside to this cam is that the trigger speed regressed from the 2011 model and is closer to 3 seconds now. If this can be resolved through a software update, then it might be a winner. If not, then probably just another offering to put up on a foodplot or mineral station.

I know DLC Covert has released some new stuff. Not sure about Primos and several others. Hopefully something will be released that's exactly what you're looking for! It's definitely not too much to ask!

Please chime in guys if you feel you have anything to add/discuss here! Folks with Trohphy Cams - will the camera take pictures & video silmultaneously or just one or the other? That's one thing I did like about the Cudde's - it would capture a pic, & then record a short video as well. Hoping the Bushnell's are the same.

[sticknstring]

Here's Covert's new offering - the cellular cams have my interest peaked!

Primos with their new Ultra series...

[Scoot]

Cool- thanks stick. How much for an M80 BLX?

[sticknstring]

BPS is selling it for $199 online - $60 more than the 2011 model. Ouch. I think Moultrie shot themselves in the foot on this one.

[goblueM]

I know we had great pics and battery life with the Primos Truth 46.

I've been looking at picking up some Moultrie M80's but it seems the reviews are about 25% bad. And the ones that are bad talk of complete failures in the first 1-2 weeks. I can't even believe its a possibility that a company nowadays would produce a product with that kind of failure rate.

I'm also interested in the Bushnell Trophy cam. Any other thoughts?

Thats funny, because I got a Truth Cam 46 last year, and was fairly satisfied with it (big beef was it makes a small noise as it turns on to take a pic) but great for the money.

Then it was stolen (may be getting it back, next door landowner called me and said his Truth Cam was stolen as well, and then he found them both (mine and his) put back on trees in his property last week. Gotta go see what that is about...

anyways i got the Bushnell Trophy Cam for Xmas (with the lockbox). I love it so far - the Field Scan mode is awesome. Takes pretty decent pics, although sometimes in the dawn/dusk light they are a bit dark, but you can still make things out just fine

Buddy had the M80 and it took ok pictures...seemed like better trigger speed than my Primos as well. but Moultrie's customer service is pretty bad. And they do have a higher proportion of bad reviews so I will be staying away.

[sticknstring]

Little Acorn looks appealing as well. Looks like all the new stuff has been announced from what I can tell. Now it's just a waiting game for the reviews to start happening and find out which out which cam wil provide the most bang for the buck. It's going to be a hard wait until summer to bolster the lineup!

[Scoot]

I want an inexpensive, reliable camera with decent battery life and a black LED light. Am I dreaming at this point?

Stick and anyone else who might know- has anything changed in this department? I'm thinking about a new camera or two, but I'm not going to get one unless it's got a black light, decent trigger speed, and good battery life. If it's not available now, I'll wait a year or two and get it when it actually exists...

[sticknstring]

1. 2012 Bushnell 466

2. 2012 DLC Covert Black 60 or 2012 Bushnell 476

3. 2013 model?

I'm running 2012 Bushnell 476's black flash cams right now. Overall, I'm pleased with them but they don't come without flaws. The black flash is awesome. The deer are rarely looking at the cam compared to IR or whiteflash cams where they stare at it in every pic. It's got a .6 second trigger which is about twice as fast as the 2011, but they increased the amount of light at night by keeping the exposure open longer during pics. This causes a lot of motion blur on moving targets. On mineral sights/foodplots, there is no concern here as deer are usually stationary or slow-moving, but on trails it becomes problematic. A few tips to overcome this is to place an obstacle (small branch) or a mock scrape on the trail to slow the animal down. The camera offers 3 shot burst as well so usually at least one of the pics will be clear. Otherwise running it strictly on video will overcome the blur issue. But note, on video the trigger time is delayed ~2 sec as the cam has to prepare to write larger files to the memory card. The HD video is outstanding however and it comes with audio as well. Here's a few pics from the 2012 Bushnell 476 both day, transition, and night. I think you can get 2012 466's TYD for around $170 right now. It's the same cam from 2011 but continued for this year. If you don't want to spend that much, I'd wait for 2013.

[JBone]

Sweet pics! Solid 8 it looks too:)

[sticknstring]

Thanks!

[Meat-Run]

SNS whats up with all your deer giving you the tungue? I've got the older IR Moultries and they're really showing there wear but last year I did pick up a Truth 46 and I'm VERY impressed with battery life, trigger speed, range is awesome, and over all picture quality.

mr

[Finlander]

Are all the new model trail camera's equipped to plug in a standard 12V 7-9amp Vex battery? This would really extend the time between battery switches!