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Good Trail Cam for Reasonable Cost

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Can anyone tell me a decent camera that won't break the bank? I have never used them prior ... figured I'd start small monitoring the neighborhood feral cats ... bought one of those Tasco cheapies at Wally World. Needless to say ... it stinks. Didn't even get shots of my Aussie strolling around the yard, and only one picture of me walking around despite being out in front of it quite a bit. I guess I can figure $50 isn't going to cut it.

 

Suggestions?

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Can anyone tell me a decent camera that won't break the bank? I have never used them prior ... figured I'd start small monitoring the neighborhood feral cats ... bought one of those Tasco cheapies at Wally World. Needless to say ... it stinks. Didn't even get shots of my Aussie strolling around the yard, and only one picture of me walking around despite being out in front of it quite a bit. I guess I can figure $50 isn't going to cut it.

 

Suggestions?

 

 

 

i have had great luck with wildviews... i have 3 now and they all have lasted me 3 or 4 years, one stoped taking an sd card. i put these cams to work too they are out almost every month of they year. im going to pick up 2 of the wildview ir soon.. you can also get lockboxs for 24 bucks and get the ir cams for 59.. good luck

 

trailhunter.com has the best prices i have found on the wildview...

also check out chasingame.com these guys know trail cams and give great reviews...

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I've got half a dozen or so wildviews. They work well and are cheap. They go on sale pretty often, their 2 pack on sale is a good deal.

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Which model number for the Wildview trail camera do you recommend for someone who wants to spend only about $50? I did a Google search and found several models in that range.

 

 

Bill Quimby

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I have a few of the cheaper wildviews, I think they are 2mp with the flash. They take 4 C batteries and can last almost a month with over a thousand pics taken. They are very basic with little adjustments or features. Trigger speed is a tad slow so placement and angle is key with these. I've heard the more expensive wildview cameras lose some reliability?, but I don't have experience with those. I'll put them out if I feel it's too risky for a better quality cam. I do think for the price they are the best cheapy camera. I've had bad luck with the older moultrie cams myself and wouldn't recommend them.

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Bill which model do you want?

 

I do have a nice little camera that's works well for the cost. Its the Stealth Nomad IR lists for $180 normally sells for $99. I can let go for $80 each.

 

Like this one but camo

 

http://www.stealthcam.net/HTML/sc_nomad_ir.html

 

Thanks, Eric

 

 

Thanks, Eric, but about $50 is all I want to spend. I don't care how long the battery lasts because I'm going to set it up on an elk path in my yard in Greer, and will be pulling photos (I hope) daily. I want it to be digital, but it doesn't need to be high pixel quality because I have no need to reproduce the photos. I just want to see what we have walking past the cabin after dark. Also, I only want still photos, not videos. There are at least three Wildview cameras ranging from $49.99 to about $56 that seem to do what I want. Does anyone have any recommendations about model numbers?.

 

Bill Quimby

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Thanks for the information. I'll check those out.

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I have some wildviews that are 1.3mp. I'm not sure if they still make those. Mine are 4 years old or so, and still work. I also have some 2mp and one 4mp. They all work the same, just different picture quality. They are all fairly simply to operate with switches instead of a digital menu. Setting the date takes getting used to. The EZ version just has the "pictures per time setting" preset at 3. I usually use 2 pictures with a 1 minute interval, sometimes 3 if I am checking the camera more often. They are't the fastest triggerspeed cameras, so make sure the target will stay in the motion sensore for 10 seconds or so. I have found that the interstate workaholic C batteries outlast just about everything else in them. I can regularyly get 1200 pictures with those batteries.

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Come to think about it, I think mine are they MP 1.3. Model number is stc-tgl1, sounds like this type will do you just fine. They come in two packs as well I think. It has a 1, 5 or 10 minute setting for taking pics. Also the test mode is really easy to use on these.

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Picked up a Wildgame 5.0IR. 99 with batteries and card on sale at Dick's. So far pretty darn good.

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I purchased 5 Wildview(STC-TGL1) cameras for #25 at Walmart on sale 4 or 5 years ago and I only have one that I can depend on now. Nothing more disappointing than walking up to your camera and seeing it quit working. You get what you pay for but they gave me my money's worth and you don't feel to bad when they are stolen. I now have to buy a couple more and they won't be wildview. Just my experience. :)

 

TJ

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The Coverts that Amanda sells here in the CW.com store are the best I've found and what they save you in a year in Batteries pays for the cost of buying a little better camera... I have 2 of the wild views and am going to give them away cuz I get mad at the qulity every time I use them after owning the Coverts.... ;) Plus the small size of the Coverts makes them harder to see if you place them well and when I build my "bear boxes" for them they are also smaller and less weight. I'll never go back to the larger, heavier cameras.

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The Coverts that Amanda sells here in the CW.com store are the best I've found and what they save you in a year in Batteries pays for the cost of buying a little better camera... I have 2 of the wild views and am going to give them away cuz I get mad at the qulity every time I use them after owning the Coverts.... ;) Plus the small size of the Coverts makes them harder to see if you place them well and when I build my "bear boxes" for them they are also smaller and less weight. I'll never go back to the larger, heavier cameras.

 

 

If you are giving cameras away, PM me for my address. I'll pay the mailing costs. :rolleyes:

 

Bill Quimby

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I bought 4 of the 1.3 mp wildgame cams when they first came out for $50 each. I have never had any issues other than 2 of them being stolen. I have been told the first ones were better for one reason or another. The pictures are plenty good enough. The reaction time is not the best, but if you place it correctly you will get plenty of pics. Here are a few examples:

post-4763-0-87255900-1298904655_thumb.jpg

post-4763-0-18708600-1298904705_thumb.jpg

post-4763-0-93268500-1298904725_thumb.jpg

post-4763-0-84309000-1298904744_thumb.jpg

post-4763-0-57350900-1298904761_thumb.jpg

post-4763-0-29298400-1298904782_thumb.jpg

post-4763-0-88856300-1298904818_thumb.jpg

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