Who is having success with their trail cams?

[MNUser]

I have two CuddeBack IR cameras and they both have issues. They are about year old. I have called Cuddeback about them and they were helpful but they both continue to have issues. On One the IR does not work and all the nighttime triggers are black. The other takes a random picture every minute. Does not matter what the setting is on. Kinda sick of dealing with them. Just want them to work. Nothing more. Not asking much after dropping 500 on them.

So, both will be on hsolist next summer. I will deal with them until then since I do not have the money to buy new ones.

What type are you guys running? What cameras are giving their uses nice pictures without all the issues listed above? I would like to get two new ones next summer but I do not want to waste 500 bucks again on junk.

Ideas?

[harvey lee]

Yes the Cuddy backs can have issues. I went to a less expensixe Moultie and it has worked perfect for 3 years.

[goblueM]

I have a Primos and Bushnell... Primos takes random black pictures occasionally (not even a time/date stamp) and has some trigger noise, and I feel like it misses animals frequently. Like it will have a week with no pics, even though I know it is in a high traffic area

Bushnell is great so far, had it for 9 months. Takes a lot of pics, pretty good quality (though crepuscular time periods they can be a bit dark). Much more satisfied with it, I'll be getting another Bushnell Trophy Cam when I have the money

[sportfish]

I have 3 moultrie m-80 cams and like them the only problems have been with sd cards not the cams.

[Powerstroke]

Primos cams work pretty well, but I get tons of false triggers. Its tough to use when its hot out.

[archerystud]

As someone once told me (on this site) "Friends don't let friends buy Cuddebacks".

I also switched to moultries. I have one which shows an error code but it just took about 350 pictures over a couple weeks so it's fine by me.

[Bear83]

Not that I have a vast amount of experience with the different trail cam brands, but I've tried Cuddeback (3 MegaPixel) and currently have a WildGame Innovations (8 MP). Similar to any of your lower end digital cameras, I feel that the manufacturers in recent years have tried to cram too many megapixels onto tiny sensors with poor ISO performance. Quantity vs. quality debate...people are drawn in by the megapixel #, but for final picture quality, the lower megapixel cam in my instance delivered far superior image quality (contrast, color reproduction, and noise). That said, everything in life is a compromise and you get what you pay for. The WildGame cam has given me several hundred pics at a very affordable price, only wish it had a faster shutter/trigger speed as it tends to blur easily. Just pulled it this weekend and here were some of the better shots of late summer.

Doe with her twins -

Buck in velvet mugging for the camera -

[hockeybc69]

Quote:

"Friends don't let friends buy Cuddebacks".

I do believe that was me.... and I stand by it to this day. LOLLL

[CrewJones]

i have had a couple over the years. The primos I had was always taking random pix and sucked the battery down. lucky for me it broke and instead of buying a new one and replacing the guts and returning it. I just threw it away and got the moltree cam 100 bucks have seem them for 89 now uses C batts intead of D and last a long time, takes great pictures. I also purchased a wildgame one from wallys its been doing pretty good but does have a noticable click when it takes the pix. sometimes they are fuzz as seen below i believe its 3 megapix

[archerystud]

I do believe that was me.... and I stand by it to this day. LOLLL

GREAT ADVICE!!

My 3 Moultries are IR 4.0 megapixels. To be honest I run them at the lowest image quality setting so I can get more pictures. I agree that more megapixels isn't necessarily better. The cameras still seem to be limited by how far the sensors can reach out to detect something.

Here are 2 decent ones I have on camera for this year. I have about 250 pics of these 2!! I'm hoping at least one of them makes another year. I could bump up the image quality but this is good enough for me.

[MNUser]

Thanks for the information. I looked at the Moultries last night. I wish I would have gone that route the first time. I could have gotten 4 of them for the price I paid for the CuddeBacks.

Here are the ones I'm considering. These are available right on the Moultrie HSOforum.

Game Spy LX-50IR - 104.99

Game Spy I-35 - 79.99 (marked down from 179.99)

Game Spy I-40XT - 129.99 (marked down from 159.99)

Any comments on any of those above models?

[slimngrizzly]

I only use the Cuddeback Capture Flash cameras. Its the only camera Ive found that I like... from Cudde or anyone else.

It all depends... are you looking for picture quality or for cheap and reliable? Most guys arent after "quality" so dont get a cuddeback. If youre happy with B&Ws that show what deer are on your property a moultrie, a Bushnell, a primos, whatever... they all make good cameras now.

But for fast trigger and image quality, you still wont beat a flash Cudde IMO. Maybe a Reconyx$$$$ has fast trigger but still B&W.

If your cams really are bad, they will give you 50% off on a new model for your trade ins, or they will fix yours.

[InTheNorthwoods]

Thanks for the information. I looked at the Moultries last night. I wish I would have gone that route the first time. I could have gotten 4 of them for the price I paid for the CuddeBacks.

Here are the ones I'm considering. These are available right on the Moultrie HSOforum.

Game Spy LX-50IR - 104.99

Game Spy I-35 - 79.99 (marked down from 179.99)

Game Spy I-40XT - 129.99 (marked down from 159.99)

Any comments on any of those above models?

I have had a number of different brands of trail cams over the years, and I have settled on Moultrie's based on a balance of quality, features, ease of use, and cost. I have had a number of different models made by Moultrie, but I think the best options within that brand right now is the "M" line.

Based on my experience, my strong suggestion is to go with the M80xt or M80 (which is not on your list, but will cost you a little more - about what it would cost to skip going out for dinner with your wife/girlfriend once). It uses AA batteries, fits in the palm of your hand, has a lot of features, and works great.

[Scott K]

I agree with the M80's I run a few of these, and they take great pictures. The one thing I have wrong with them is the thermometer is off on 2 of them, but I dont care about that, only that it takes good pictures, and takes them when there is something in front of the cameras. I have had them for a few years now, and no issues with any of them, other then temp being off.

Here is a day time photo, and night time photo, it also shows the distance the IR will shine in the night photo.

[nbadger23]

I'm glad this thread came up. I had bought 3 Wildview cameras over the past 10 years and none of them currently work. Yes, I know they were cheap, but I had hoped to get 2-3 years out of them. Unfortunately a few of them worked only for a year and then started taking pictures that were completely dark and I had problems with the SD cards.. ugh.

I decided I'd spend between $100 and $150 this year on one but kind of got overwhelmed trying to figure out what type. This information has at least given me a solid starting point. I am not that picky on picture quality as long as I can get a decent look at the deer. Sounds like Moultrie has a few different options in that price range that will fit the bill for me.. thanks!

[mudslinger64]

I have a couple bushnell trophy cams with the black LED and really like them nice pics and the batteries last for ever,I have had them out since January and still haven't changed the batteries.just run them on the lowest sensitivity settings or blowing grass and branches set them off.I also have a moultrie d55ir and it has been a decent cam for the money,has a little noise to it but I doesn't seem to bother the deer or bear.

[InTheNorthwoods]

The Bushnells are good. Very comparable cams to the "M" series by Moultrie. They tend to run a few bucks more on average ($10-20) for similar cams. I'd not hesitate to get one of these.

[HunterLee]

I have 3 or 4 of the capture ir and 3 of the new attacks, Format your sd card, check your batterys and update the filmware stuff. I have not had anything other than that needed to be done.

That being said I just got 3 moultries, the D-55Irxt's. Work great so far and no bears have eaten them.

[skee0025]

I have one of the Bushnells and would not hesitate to get another one. True they are a little touchy when it comes to triggering when the winds blows the grass and leaves around, but I dont consider that a downside. I may have to sort through a few pics, but I feel if moving grass and leaves are triggering the camera i'm not missing the deer that come into range. Battery life is excellent and with an 8GB card in I can capture upwards of 8 thousand pics. If its alive and has come in front of the camera I have pictures of it. The only issue I have had has been an infestation of very small ants that took up residence in the camera housing. I had to take it in for a day, freeze it then put it back after cleaning the little buggers out. Even they didnt interfer with the operation of the unit, I just hated having them crawling all over my hands when I changed out cards.

[MNUser]

I have 3 or 4 of the capture ir and 3 of the new attacks, Format your sd card, check your batterys and update the filmware stuff. I have not had anything other than that needed to be done.

It is a drag cause I did all that. My 15 year old brought out the laptop and formatted the cards and installed the update on them both. Still issues. Put brand new batteries and still issues. My technology luck has been in the dump lately. Even my 6 month old iPhone has developed issues. Time to get unplugged......

[Finlander]

Looking at the instructions on the SD cards and the camera itself, I never see any instructions as to formatting the card! Is this needed?

[slabz]

I have owned cameras that range from Wildview to Cuddeback and personally my two favorite models have been the Bushnell Trophy Cam and the Moultrie M-80s. They both take good pictures (day and night), have pretty good battery life, compact, easy to set up, and wont break the bank. Thats just my opinion. Slabz

[hunter322]

i also have to cuddebacks and am curently having problems with one of them. it seems it drains the batterys like no tomorrow. ill put a fresh set in and check it 2 weeks later and the camera is off with no pics. i really havent looked to far into it yet so it could be a quick fix.

[certified jumbo]

moultries are hard to beat. affordable, easy to use, excellent picture quality imo. look at any of the trail cam threads on this site, lots of great pics.

cudde's have had issues ever since they came out, plus expensive.