ARRRRRRRRRRg!!!!!!!!!

what kinda issues are you having with them? all in all, they seem to get a great review for cheaper cams?

I like the Primos TruthCam 35. They're @ Cabela's for $100 (do a Google search & you can find them cheaper elsewhere). I have 2 and haven't had any problems... I keep toying with getting a few more (the wife tells me "no"). The only drawback is that it's black... so I bought a roll of digital camo duct tape from Wal-Mart and fixed that in about 20 minutes.
The TruthCam 46 is also a good one for about ~$20 more with a little extra range on the IR flash and in camo. (on sale @ Cabelas now for $120).
They also now make the 35 and 46 in an Ultra IR model which are smaller & run off AA's instead of D's, they are $120 to $160.

Re: ARRRRRRRRRRg!!!!!!!!!

Unread postby killerbee » Mon May 21, 2012 6:18 pm
what kinda issues are you having with them? all in all, they seem to get a great review for cheaper cams?

The batteries wear down quickly, the night pics are terrible, and they are way to sensitive. If the wheat blows it sets the camera off. The triggerspeed is real slow. I have a ton of pictures of deer butts because they have already passed before the camera goes off. At night the pictures wash out if the animal is close and you cant see anything but eyes if they are more than 30 ft. They work ok i guess if your deer are programmed to come in at noon and stand still for several seconds. I have four of them and they are all the same.

Check out the "Trail Cam Tips and Tricks" article on the "How-To" page. Since you're getting a bunch of butt shots it sounds like you have a very small window for the deer to wake up the camera to take the picture. Try placing the camera parallel to the trail instead of perpendicular, giving the animal more time in front of the camera to wake it up. I've found it very beneficial to elevate my cameras as high as 8 feet and aim them down towards the trail... contrary to most recommendations to place them about 4 feet off the ground. It's a personal preference as I think it gives the camera plenty of time to "wake up" and gets me decent pics of what I want to see... antlers.
"Eyeball" night shots of distant animals and washed out close ups are part of the nature of these cameras. Most of the time you really can't avoid it, I've had those problems with ALL my cameras. If you're seeing a spot where all you're getting are eyes then you should move your camera closer to the area that the deer are moving to/thru... if that's possible.
It took me 3 years before I even got a picture of a buck... it's a learning process but it's fun (I learn more slowly than most).

The batteries not lasting is another issue. I have a Moultrie that goes through 1 of those big 6V flashlight batteries in about 10 days. It irritates the heck out of me & it costs me a lot of $$$ to keep that thing running for any extended period of time (trying to convince the wife that it would be cheaper to just let me buy another Primos).
Your battery life is often a function of the settings you use. I set my TruthCams for 1 photo every 10 seconds and the 4 D batteries lasted me almost 4 months. I increased to a 3 shot burst and the battery life dropped to about 6 weeks.

primos 35 or 46 I have had good results with them :thumb

hey thanks for the help i will try seeing if i can move the cameras abit. i have a tree near one of them i may be able elevate that one a bit with. i think with some rearranging i may be able to get it worked out. the batteries are killin me tho. i have them set on low resolution and 1 pic every 30 secs yet the best i can get is 4 weeks out of 8 aa batteries. i wonder if they have a solar panel rig up for them. i looked on line and really didnt see anything for the stealth cams.

I bought a 6V solar panel and rechargeable 6V battery for my older Moultrie from Cabela's hoping to get some more life out of it... waste of money. Primos makes a "steroid pack" maybe Stealth Cam has something similar to provide extended battery life. I just wouldn't waste any money/time/hope thinking a solar panel is the answer 'cause it sure wasn't for me.

I'm considering building my own "steroid pack" by running a half dozen 6V batteries together in series (keeps the voltage at 6V but increases the amps & therefore increases running life on the camera) and store it in a marine battery case. It would take some work and be an absolute BEAR to pack up the mountain... but maybe I'll leave it on the first tree I come to! I don't know if you could do the same with a bunch of regular AA batteries.

? somethin to play around with tho

I had a Wildgame Innovations cam and it worked great for a lower priced cam until it got stolen at the end of last season while it was in the field. I have since bought two of the Bushnell Trophy cams to replace it and I couldn't be happier. They have the field scan feature, take a 35 gb card, has great battery life as well as everything else you could want in an 8mp camera. Normally these are around $300 - $350 ea but I bought mine on amazon and spend around $150 ea. Its a great deal for the camera. Cabelas sells the same exact camera for $329. The also have security boxes made for the just for the bushnell cameras for an additional $30, which makes me feel much better considering I had one stolen in the field.

Cabelas has a bunch of the Moultrie M80 cams for around $95 each. The take great videos and operate on AA batteries.