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Does anyone make a decent camera anymore?

Bwhana

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2017
Messages
2,286
Location
Hickory, NC
We have used Browning, Stealthcam, Bushnell, Wild Game, Cuddeback, and Primos in the past 5 years and all have failed us in various ways. Just pulled a card yesterday where there were 3 dust bowls right in front of the camera and Zero turkey pics. Had a few pics of deer, but not enough to match the tracks and didn't even take pics of me removing the camera. All of these brands have done the same thing. Theft is a major issue here, so can't go with Reconyx or similar $ for that quality. Anyone else having similar results?
 
It depends on what you want to do with the camera. If I’m taking pics over a corn pile or mineral site it use the 35 dollar tascos from Walmart. They do good enough. Bought a nicer primos last lesson to put on entry and exit routes to bedding areas. I was amazed when I pulled it out the woods after a couple months and it had 6000 pictures. Then I got home and looked at the pics and it had took a picture every few seconds from the time I turned it on until it ran the batteries dead. I blamed myself for having vegetation in front of it. So I set it up over a food plot and it did the same thing. Then I took it home and put it in a closet and it did the same thing. Luckily someone at the retailer had enough sense to refund my money even though it had been three months. I still want another good one but would like a cellular camera. I’ve also considered the cuddleback link but really don’t know much about the brand other than they have been around a long time.
 
We have used Browning, Stealthcam, Bushnell, Wild Game, Cuddeback, and Primos in the past 5 years and all have failed us in various ways. Just pulled a card yesterday where there were 3 dust bowls right in front of the camera and Zero turkey pics. Had a few pics of deer, but not enough to match the tracks and didn't even take pics of me removing the camera. All of these brands have done the same thing. Theft is a major issue here, so can't go with Reconyx or similar $ for that quality. Anyone else having similar results?
I have had the same type of issues except the new hawk camera but I haven’t used it much so that may change. I can’t remember ever having a camera that I was fully confident in.
 
I haven't used them but I have heard good things about Exodus and they have at least one model that is fairly affordable.

I have used almost all of the brands you mention with similar results (although my Browning's have been problem free for two years). The one exception has been the two Simmons cameras I have https://www.optics4birding.com/simm...MIi5C4qNit4QIVClqGCh3YxwIEEAQYBCABEgJq5_D_BwE. I have two of these, one of them is 12 years old and the other is 8 years old and they both still work flawlessly, they just don't have the flash range or trigger speed of some of the newer cams.
 
I have had a total of zero problems with my Browning’s.

But, I do a few things to make sure my cameras work well for me.

1.) I only use lithium batteries. Alkaline batteries lose voltage throughout their discharge cycle, and MANY camera brands have sensor problems with lower voltage. Lithium’s maintain a high voltage until they crap out.

2.) I re-format EVERY card in the camera that will be using it, EVERY time I swap cards.

3.) when a camera gets removed from the field, I treat it like film equipment... brush the dust out of every nook and cranny, lubricate all rubber parts so they don’t degrade, toss them in a bag with some silica moisture removers for a couple days.

4.) I treat them like any other electronic.... gingerly. They aren’t allowed to bang around in the back of the truck, I don’t just drop my pack when they are in it, and I don’t toss them onto the shelf when I get home. I treat them just like a DSLR camera, assuming I can and will break them.


I feel like numbers 1 and 2 have had BY FAR the biggest impact on trail camera use for me. The lithium batteries can often times completely eliminate problems with failures to take a picture. And, formatting cards in the camera before I walk away keeps me from having pictures or videos that won’t download properly. I often have rats, mice, chickadees, and house wrens trigger my Browning Dark Ops cameras at 10+ yards, so I HIGHLY doubt I miss deer.


....................................................................................All climbing methods, platforms, saddle designs, and/or use of materials possibly mentioned in the post above are not peer reviewed for safety, and should only be used as an example of my own method. Do your own research and testing before becoming confident in any DIY solution to support your life.
-IkemanTx
 
I have had a total of zero problems with my Browning’s.

But, I do a few things to make sure my cameras work well for me.

1.) I only use lithium batteries. Alkaline batteries lose voltage throughout their discharge cycle, and MANY camera brands have sensor problems with lower voltage. Lithium’s maintain a high voltage until they crap out.

2.) I re-format EVERY card in the camera that will be using it, EVERY time I swap cards.

3.) when a camera gets removed from the field, I treat it like film equipment... brush the dust out of every nook and cranny, lubricate all rubber parts so they don’t degrade, toss them in a bag with some silica moisture removers for a couple days.

4.) I treat them like any other electronic.... gingerly. They aren’t allowed to bang around in the back of the truck, I don’t just drop my pack when they are in it, and I don’t toss them onto the shelf when I get home. I treat them just like a DSLR camera, assuming I can and will break them.


I feel like numbers 1 and 2 have had BY FAR the biggest impact on trail camera use for me. The lithium batteries can often times completely eliminate problems with failures to take a picture. And, formatting cards in the camera before I walk away keeps me from having pictures or videos that won’t download properly. I often have rats, mice, chickadees, and house wrens trigger my Browning Dark Ops cameras at 10+ yards, so I HIGHLY doubt I miss deer.


....................................................................................All climbing methods, platforms, saddle designs, and/or use of materials possibly mentioned in the post above are not peer reviewed for safety, and should only be used as an example of my own method. Do your own research and testing before becoming confident in any DIY solution to support your life.
-IkemanTx
Great info on the lithium and sensors. Thanks!
 
I still like my brownings best. I buy mine through Trail camera pro (2 year warranty) only used then 2 times in 5 years to replace 2 cameras.
The only time I use lithium is when I will leave the camera for over 6 months. With the new brownings they will fill a 8gig card before the batteries die. The flash and detection will get less powerful over time but if you check them 3-4 times a year regardless alkaline batteries work good enough for me.

My only complaint is the current paint which is crap IMO. I'm going to try stealth tape and see how that holds up.
 
Short answer no.
Consumers want them at a price that they cannot make a reliable camera. They simply cannot make any money selling you a $50 or $100 camera that will last 5 or 6 years. IMHO they try to make a $100 camera that last 2 years people will keep buying them. I’m sure @IkemanTX has better luck than most treating them the way he does but the camera makers count on people NOT treating them in this manner.


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I still like my brownings best. I buy mine through Trail camera pro (2 year warranty) only used then 2 times in 5 years to replace 2 cameras.
The only time I use lithium is when I will leave the camera for over 6 months. With the new brownings they will fill a 8gig card before the batteries die. The flash and detection will get less powerful over time but if you check them 3-4 times a year regardless alkaline batteries work good enough for me.

My only complaint is the current paint which is crap IMO. I'm going to try stealth tape and see how that holds up.
We had been getting best results with the Brownings until now. It is like the Bermuda triangle of cameras on this property all of the sudden. The cameras work, just very sporadically, and they are just not triggering properly. I had one Browning mounted on this same tree last November that took over 3000 pics, but it has failed so far this spring too. I even found a shed 10 yds in front of the camera in the clover that was not there when I put the camera up a week ago, but it didn't get that buck either.
 
I think running them through the winter does a number on them. I've worked my way up to running about 15 from June to September then I'll run 3 or 4 during the season through November and have had minimal issues compared to most people. At least 10 of them are 5-10 years old. Whether it's just from less overall use or not using them in the winter I'm not sure. I also run them on video, just prefer it that way. I also just use regular amazon batteries that I get in bulk and they seem to be fine for the time of year that I'm using them. Bushnell, Browning, and Moultrie have all been decent to me. Some have their quirks but at least are working.

I have not lost one bushnell yet and have a bunch, mostly the older trophy cams, and 2 newer E3's that I traded in some ancient D cell moultries to field and stream to get them for $70. One of the trophy cams leaks pretty bad so I run electrical tape around the seal and it works fine. I had one browning dark ops crap out, but was able to return it to cabelas. I REALLY like the spec ops so I look for those under or around $100 but it seems like the price on them went way up since I last bought any. I have one Moultrie M80 still going strong and wish I would have bought 10 of them, I have a newer 990 that's doing fine. Not a fan of stealth cam, have a G42 that rips through batteries and dies way too soon, and a G30 that works but images are too grainy.

Maybe I've been lucky but like I said I attribute it mostly to not running them through winter. The quality very well may have gone down too, a lot of my cameras are older. Perhaps they focus too much on megapixels and features rather than durability now. I know this doesn't really help if you need something to run year round, but that's been my experience for the 2 cents that it's worth.
 
Exodus Trail cams are good. They have a 5 year no B/S warranty. I gots a couple work great.
 
Brownings have been my goto for a couple of years now. Security box and chained. My last tasco was malled by a bear, i have some great pictures of its teeth, its claws and it using my camera as a back scratcher. Tasco always leaked and last just 1 year.
 
In fairness to Cuddeback, a friend reminded me that I did have a Blackflash model 3 years ago that I put out in late October and forgot about until the following August. The last 2 pictures it took was me walking by with the DR mower, and then me taking it off the tree. Over 6500 pics. When I got it home, some of the batteries had corroded the connectors to the point of no repair. I got another one just like it, but it has had the same problems as all the other brands with intermittent triggers.
 
Been using Coverts for 7 years. I’ve had 10 of them on our property in NC all year for the past two years. Great cameras for middle range price. The few issues I’ve had were immediately resolved by customer service.

I tend to get 3-5 years out of a camera that’s used aggressively all year, that’s good enough for me at the $100 price point.

A note on the lithium batteries. I’ve been using them since I started using trail cameras. Recently I had an issue with night pictures on a few cameras. The staff at Covert recommended alkaline batteries which immediately fixed the issue. These Coverts last over 6 months on alkaline, I won’t be spending any more money on lithium.


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I checked my browning cam today and the pics were horrible.

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Browning strike force of some sort. I have some that are physically smaller than the others I have. The one I checked today and posted is the slightly larger one. It probably didnt help with the sun direction but the attached pic was the best. The rest of the pictures looked like 8 mega pixel minus the mega.


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Browning strike force of some sort. I have some that are physically smaller than the others I have. The one I checked today and posted is the slightly larger one. It probably didnt help with the sun direction but the attached pic was the best. The rest of the pictures looked like 8 mega pixel minus the mega.


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My strick Force are small my Command OPS are bigger and the quality of the picture and videos are not as good as my Strike Force. My favorite cameras are the Exodus cameras . The are really good cameras.
 
Just would be nice to actually be able to assess head gear. Maybe it was just the sun and the fact that I stand on 1 climbing stick to hang them about 12’ up.


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