Can you find a dependable trail camera for under $150 ?

[dreaming bucks]

So I have 3 trail cams already, but you can never have enough, right ? Well, I payed over $200 apiece for all 3 of them, I'm just wondering if there is a dependable camera out there for under $150 or so ? I don't care if its flash vs infared. Has anybody had any luck with some of the cheaper cameras ? I have not given many of the real cheap ones much of a chance, I figured it's probably one of those things, you get what you pay for, but maybe there is something out there that is cheap, but yet reliable..... any help ????

[Black Squirrel]

I have had decent luck with Moultrie. You have to set them up correctly and they seem to be adequate. If you don't angle them down the path, they seem to miss the target, I assume it has to do with a longer trigger time. But for all intents and purposes, they work fine for me. Cuddyback seems to comming down in price, lately, don't know if they cleared the $150 mark yet, but they are good, IMO. I have use Cuddy's, Moultries, and a homebrew I built.

[DEERSLAYER]

Check out http://chasingame.com/ for honest reviews. They thoroughly test camera's and don't pull any punch's because they don't sell camera's, they just review them. You should be able to find an acceptable camera in the $70-$130 range, but I wouldn't expect any sub second trigger times at that price point.

I would read this post on batteries too. I think it will surprise you.
http://www.chasingame.com/forum/viewtop ... 53&start=0

[patman]

I have the $100 moultrie and like it. The only down side is it takes 6 D batteries.

[Swampthing]

The Moultrie are affordable but seemed like every other time i set one up i forgot some button or whatever and would come back week later with no pics. And they are damn heavy.I got a Wildview for Christmas and thought this thing is junk.But since all my other cameras have been stolen it was either that or nothin.The pics won,t be published Field & Stream but it takes pics and if some cheap . steals it then at least I,m only out $ 50.00 instead of 150.00 -200.00
Night Pic Wildview

Day Wildview

[dreaming bucks]

thanks for the info guys... I did not know you can get a Moultree for $100... The three camera's I have, are Moultree's, two I-40's and one I-60 I think it's called... I paid around $200 for these cams, so yeah, I'm going to have to look into those $100 ones...

[DEERSLAYER]

I think you can get a better camera for the money than Moultrie. The trigger times are so slow the last couple years (2+ seconds) on the Moultries that fairly often they either miss the picture or you end up with a pic of the back half of the deer. If they made them like my 2007 IR40 I would buy from them again, but their Quality Control went down hill in 2008 (mostly in regards to trigger time). Moultrie has been riding their name and focusing on catering to Cabelas and features that make them more money like size, near black flash and their real time system where you can see your pics from your computer. All cool stuff, but it doesn't matter if you miss getting a pic of a 200" 10pt IMO. If their detection zone wasn't so narrow it would be better. They do seem to have a good wake up time though. Don't get me wrong Moultries are a good value, but you may want to read some unbiased and thorough reviews (not just opinions but tested too) of several other cameras before you buy. If you do get a Moultrie hopefully you will get one with a good trigger time. Good luck!

[muddy]

I have the $100 moultrie and like it. The only down side is it takes 6 D batteries.

And you have to buy cards for it. The cheaper they are it seems you have to buy more crap for them.

I've heard good things about the cheaper wildgame cameras

[AC Rider]

This year I've purchased two new cameras. Wildgame Inovation ($89.00) and the new Primos camera ($99.00). They are both working great. Both are easy to operate but the Primos is VERY simple. Excellent battery life with both so far. I also have two Moultrie cameras. I hate them - Battery life sucks.

[DEERSLAYER]

Here you go dreaming bucks:

http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?co ... l%20Camera

[DEERSLAYER]

This year I've purchased two new cameras. Wildgame Inovation ($89.00) and the new Primos camera ($99.00). They are both working great. Both are easy to operate but the Primos is VERY simple. Excellent battery life with both so far...

I like those two quite a bit and have told a few people about them, but they have have bought one yet. The reviews on chasingame.com were good for those.

Here is the last part of the specs for the Trail Sentry by Natchez from my post above.

[Black Squirrel]

I think you can get a better camera for the money than Moultrie. The trigger times are so slow the last couple years (2+ seconds) on the Moultries that fairly often they either miss the picture or you end up with a pic of the back half of the deer. If they made them like my 2007 IR40 I would buy from them again, but their Quality Control went down hill in 2008 (mostly in regards to trigger time). Moultrie has been riding their name and focusing on catering to Cabelas and features that make them more money like size, near black flash and their real time system where you can see your pics from your computer. All cool stuff, but it doesn't matter if you miss getting a pic of a 200" 10pt IMO. If their detection zone wasn't so narrow it would be better. They do seem to have a good wake up time though. Don't get me wrong Moultries are a good value, but you may want to read some unbiased and thorough reviews (not just opinions but tested too) of several other cameras before you buy. If you do get a Moultrie hopefully you will get one with a good trigger time. Good luck!

I haven't bought one (Moultrie) in about 4 years, didn't realize they went down hill. Thanks for the heads up, Slayer.
Also, I've been waiting to hear things on the bushnells, they seem like a decent camera, and for a decent price.

[PASwamper]

I have two of the moultries, both 3 or 4 years old, one was on sale for 60 something so couldn't pass it up. But I wouldn't buy another one. The trigger speed works great for me. I don't think I miss a whole lot but I have caught only a deers rear a couple times. My opinion is the batteries have a lot to do with the trigger speed on these things. And heavy 6 D batteries. Batteries last me a season, but like I said once they start getting low the camera isn't as good IMO. Takes great 10 second videos but I hate, hate, hate the quality of the pictures I'm getting. I don't know if I have something set up on my computer with it wrong but the video is 20 times better quality than the relatively small photo that when you zoom in can't see a damn thing. Night time flash works okay but I've been having it go off without the flash in the dark sometimes and then it tries to take a video thats just darkness. I recommend you get something else, but sometimes the price is right.

[tim]

it seems like with all the cams something is sacrificed, and with most it is trigger time. this is simply the most important. what good is the rest if the deer aint in the picture?

[dreaming bucks]

yes, trigger speed is important, but really, if you position the camera the right way, so the deer is in zone for a longer period, you should get a pic of the deer... what bothers me the most about these cameras these days is the "breakdown factor"... Seems like so many people have problems with so many brands of camera's... I would not think it would be that hard with todays technology, to keep them running without something going haywire....