Trail Camera Review Criteria

22. Oct, 2008 10 Comments

Dozens of factors can come into play when you are shopping for a trail camera.  Some of the more obvious are price, reliability, and picture quality.  I am currently working on creating a trail camera test and review system.  I am looking for feedback from all my fellow hunters.  No registration is needed.  To share your ideas all you need to do is submit a commit below.  Feel confident when entering your email because we will never spam you.  I am just looking for ideas on how to test the trail cameras and the criteria that you are looking for when buying a trail camera.

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10 Responses to “Trail Camera Review Criteria”

  1. Ronald Cheek 28. Nov, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    Last year I started out with the Moultrie I40 and have been impressed with the stills and videos. This year someone recommend the Remington Ghost at Dick’s Sporting Goods so I got one and put it up in the same place the Moultrie was to compare them. To say I was dissapointed would be an understatement. The videos are more important to me than the stills and the Ghost had the poorest quality I’ve seen yet. Thinking I may have gotten a lemon I returned it to Dick’s and got a new one in return. I then took it home and set it up in the backyard and discovered that either I got two lemons or they’re all lemons. Ex. Starting at 5 yards I started backing away from the camera and by the time I was at 15 yards I became blurred by pixels. At 20 yards I was a “Ghost” (maybe that’s why they named it that). By 25 yards I wasn’t even in the picture. I got a lot of totally black videos when it was in the woods so I surmise the deer were past 25 yards when triggering the camera. Personally I would not reccommend this camera.

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  2. Mike 12. Dec, 2008 at 1:59 am

    Most important thing when picking out a game camera. Power up time #1, Battery life #2, quality photos #3. I would test at 32 degrees at both day and night. Would be a very interesting test.

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  3. Dave 10. Feb, 2009 at 1:58 am

    I’d like to see a feature comparison chart. That is, a list describing things like Flash or IR, megapixel size, memory storage type and capacity, programmable features (burst count, video, no flash, delay, etc.), cost, battery type and so forth.

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  4. Deer Hunting Tips 21. Feb, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    A feature comparison chart is a great idea

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  5. Larry Morelli 18. Aug, 2009 at 3:06 pm

    1. Trigger speed.
    2. Flash range.
    3. Storage media.
    4. Ease of set up.

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  6. Larry 18. Aug, 2009 at 3:09 pm

    5. Battery life.
    6. Time and date stamp.
    7. Usable temperature range (i.e. -10 to 95)

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  7. Charles W. Cox 31. Aug, 2009 at 1:08 am

    I have used 2 Moutrie IR cameras the past 3 years. They are great on battery life and picture qaulity. The one drawback is the wake up time (delay) – is over thirty seconds. This does not matter over a food source but it is bad for trail photos becuase most game passes before the pics. I think the newer models have much better wake up time Another issue is they are hard to mount. The plastic clip on releases when you try to tighten it. Another issue is that you have to scroll through the options each time you turn it on. I like a camera that stays in he same mode ubtil you manually change it. A simple on/off would be nice, I tend to us the same settings unless I move to a different spot. One of my Moutrie has a built in veiwer. As far as I am am concerned it is a wasted feature. Its too small to see any real detail. Just switch out the s chip and look at home, on with a laptop n the truck. I am waiting for a new Covert II to arrive. I will let you know how I like it. I expect it will be easier to mount becuase of its small size.

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  8. Dick 30. Nov, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    I would like to know the difference between wake up time & trigger speed…My #1 reason for putting out a camera is I want the camera to take a pic as soon as possible

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  9. Mark 19. Jan, 2010 at 2:42 am

    I agree with Mike, test at below 32 degreees, my 2 bushnells will not work below 35.
    2- radious of detection
    3- distance of detection
    4- distance of infra red pictures
    5 ease of use
    6 price

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  10. Dave 28. Jul, 2010 at 3:38 pm

    What I want in a trail camera:
    Quick wakeup
    Good battery life
    Reasonable cost
    Quality color day and night
    pictures
    At least 3 picture per trigger
    Easy setup
    Good severice

    I have also created a group on facebook:
    TRAIL CAMERA REVIEWS!
    PLEASE COME AND JOIN OUR GROUP!
    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111412198893651

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