Bowhunr Report post Posted July 7, 2008 I see there is alot of trail cam users on this site. Do you guys have any reccomendations on which ones are the best for the money? Also how far away can an animal be to set the camera off? I am looking at setting one or two up on some tanks in my elk unit. Thanks for any info. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted July 7, 2008 If you are planning on putting them on water, then I would buy the cheapest ones you can find. SERIOUSLY, they will more than likley get stolen or damaged. Walmart sells a digital Wildview camera for about $50 and for the money it works pretty good. Just don't expect real high quality pictures. If it's quality pictures you want then there are several out there that run $200-$400 that will do the trick, but I sure wouldn't leave any of them on a water hole. Under the right conditions a deer or elk can trigger them out to 40-60 feet. Most of the time at night that is further than the flash will work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azhunter23 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 I agree with TAM. I have six of the cheap ones and they get the job done. Over the last two years i have had one stolen. But i have had a problem with people messing with them. Three times i have had people cut the straps and throw them on the ground, taking the SD card with them, which bothers me more than if they just took the whole camera. All three occasions were in the same area, all setup over water, and i believe from the same person. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattys281 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 I stick w/ the wildview II's as you can buy them at Cabelas for $90-100. They take pretty good pics & if you "lose" one you're not out a ton of mone. I've got four of them in my herd. I would have five, but ole numero uno got "lost" last May in unit 27. Incidently, if the person who "found" that camera laying around in the woods is reading this, could you at least post the pics it had on the card? P.S. Recently bought a Wildview IV, and will be returning it this week. The extra $30 gets you a 4 megapixel camera instead of a 2, but in this case it also got me a motion detector that won't trigger past 8 yards. May just be a faulty unit, but I'm taking it as a lesson & sticking w/ the trusty II's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwoGuns Report post Posted July 7, 2008 You might also try using 35 mm cameras. they are dirt cheap and take great pics, even though they use film you have to develop. anyway, if one gets stolen it wont hurt so bad. good luck either way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bowhunr Report post Posted July 8, 2008 Good info from all. I appreciate it. Definately a good point on the camera on a waterhole being most likly to be found and stolen. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted July 8, 2008 I'd bet a crisp new dollar bill that the majority of stolen/damaged cameras is done by fellow hunters. Any takers? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattys281 Report post Posted July 8, 2008 I'd bet a crisp new dollar bill that the majority of stolen/damaged cameras is done by fellow hunters. Any takers? Sad but true. It's their retaliation against you for hunting 'their spot'. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lance Report post Posted July 8, 2008 I use the cheap .3 $50-60. Wildview cameras. They all triger way out there just fine for me. They are realy slow so you have to plan for that. And the flash doesn't reach vary far either but just plan for that too. I have them triger at 30 yards all the time but the flash doesn't show mush past 8 yards. But When I can buy a handfull of them for the same price as one other what do you think is going to give me more pictures? They last me 3-4 weeks with Duracell's depending on how many pictures they take and how many night pictures. I have had as many as 1600+ pictures before running low on batteries. When these cameras run low on batteries they start taking pictures until they are compleatly dead. So some times I get 50-100 pictures of nothing at the end but that is OK cause I got 4 weeks worth before that. And didital is the way to go in my openion cause I would rather have 1000 pictures with 100 of them being nothing than just having 36 that I have to develop! Don't put them on the main watter holes is pritty much a given these days do to those few "Stupid People" that cant keep their hands to theirselves. Lance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted July 9, 2008 Here's an example of a picture from one of the cheapo $50 Walmart Wildview cameras. I did not re-size or crop the picture. It is exactly the way it came from the camera. As you can see the picture is some what grainy and lacking in detail. There is no time or date stamp and as mentioned the flash is pretty much useless. The camera is aimed south west so I have to rely on the shadows to tell me what time of day the deer came in. But on the positive side I don't have to worry about it getting ripped off. This paticular picture is kind of frusterating to me! It's obvious it's a buck, but because of the lack of clarity and photo quality I can't tell how good of a buck it is??? For as early this year as the picture was taken it looks like it may turn out to be a pretty good one. Perhaps he'll come back again. Time will tell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueshunter Report post Posted July 17, 2008 I use the wildview II and have been very happy with it so far. Seems like my picture quality is a bit better than some others (not because of me.........LOL.......) may be some just are a bit better than others??? I can see down the road I may get a better pixel/better cameras, but I am concerned about them getting stolen.............for now I am sticking with the 79.00 wildview II................Allen.........p.s. the video selection works great on these as well. You get a 5-10 second video clip and I got some great deer and javelina clips........... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
