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Trail cams suck

Allegheny Tom

Allegheny Tom

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
6,038
Location
Western Pennsylvania
I've about had it with my 6 Browning cameras. I originally bought 4 about 6 (?) years ago and then I bought 2 more 3 years ago. At 1st I really liked them. They worked well with very few malfunctions.
Fast forward to about the last year...these things are screwing up on a regular basis.
The worst issue is false triggers. I just pulled one camera and it had 775 pics in less than a week. (It's in a spot that I can check it with no disturbance.) At least 500 of the pics were nothing more than a view of the scrape...no critters.
We hung these cams 900 miles from home last year for our Iowa hunt. Cams were in place for 5 months and 5 months of malfunctions.

The other issue is interior fogging. No rhyme or reason to it. Not happening during wild temp swings or any particular time of the day. Might have 100 clear pics, the within a minute there will be a dozen that are totally fogged, then an hour later they are clear again. The fog is interior to the cam, not a weather condition.
Trail Cam Pro wasn't much help...they basically said that it's common to get only 2 or 3 years from a camera.
I feel like smashing them with a hammer. Thoroughly disgusted.
 
Yep, trail cams do suck! My brownings also suck. I recently put a $35 Tasco directly on top of my browning and let them both sit for a week. The browning missed about half of all deer that went by according to the "granted new" $35 cam. It was mainly the ones slightly further from cam tho.

Edit. That browning is currently in the floor board of the truck as it's pretty much useless to put in the field.
 
I have had good luck with the strike force but my range ops blow


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Before the move to cell cams I was using Moultrie 888 cameras. No mechanical problems at all. The only cameras that broke were either chewed up by bears or went under water in floods. I switched to spy points 2 years ago and they were nothing but problems, junk! Last year the local sporting good store (Simmons) in Bastrop La. was pushing the Browning Defender Pro cell camas I have 6 currently running with no complaints but I do have one that gets sends foggy pics in rain/high humidity occasionally. These cameras are only 1 year old so time will tell if they will hold up longer than their warranty. Anyway the subject of trail cameras has been beaten to death on every hunting site I follow. There is obviously no camera that is going to satisfy everyone it is either Perfmance, Price, cost of operating, battery life, Pictures quality, cost or endless other reasons. If anyone finds a camera that fixes all of the above mentioned issues please! Please! Let me know. Haha, good luck and y’all be safe this season.
 
I ordered a reolink. It should be here tomorrow and then I can put it out and try it. I had watched some videos on YouTube and decided to try one. Once I get it in I can report back
 
Stuff like this is why I'm reluctant to get back into trail cameras. I bought 5 spypoints once upon a time (employee discount, sale, and 0% the first year on the in-store card). They were fine for 2 years. 3rd year half were junked. My dad runs them at the lease for the past 10 years or so and he basically gets 2-3 years, so I can confirm that much.

I guess at least with a cell cam, you kinda know when it's acting up. Won't be a thing where it soaks for a couple of months and then you go to pull it and realize it's gone/broken/doesn't have an SD card.
 
20basstriton said:
I ordered a reolink. It should be here tomorrow and then I can put it out and try it. I had watched some videos on YouTube and decided to try one. Once I get it in I can report back
Click to expand...
My Brownings were fine for a couple years. I actually loved them. They are tiny, battery life is great, and the pic quality was decent. Trail Cam Pro rated them near the top overall. That lasted 2 years. Now they are constantly screwing up.
Can't repair them, so they are basically throw away cams. Only 2 dependable years for $150??
Chinese junk. We have to stop sending our money to them.
 
The reolink is actually a home security camera that uses a solar panal to keep the batteries charged and you can hook it to a cell plan. People are using them as trail cameras though and the reviews I've seen so far look promising
 
Exodus are an American company. I have no idea where their cams are built but I do think they have a pretty good warranty on them. No experience with the cams either.
 
I have a buddy who’s Browning trail cam story is identical to Tom’s. I have 4 exodus Renders and have had zero issues so far (2 years).
 
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