Game camera features

[Northwoods]

I have been doing some research in consideration of purchasing a game camera but I have absolutely no prior experience with these cameras and have no idea what features are really important.

For those that have used game cameras, what parameters do you consider and which features would be desirable but ok to live without.  Specifically  things like minimum trigger speeds, IR vs incandescent flash,etc.  

I am more interested in the parameters rather than specific brands but if any other ideas are important to mention,  please comment.

Thanks,

Ted

[Steel]

I run several trail cams and really enjoy doing so it keeps me active and out in the woods even through the summer months.I also use them for Security at my hunting spot and sometimes around the farm. I have flash, IR, and black flash cameras, and time lapse units(Plot Watcher). To me trigger speed and great PIR range is #1 in a trail camera. Flash depends more on your use if Security is a concern black flash makes a camera alot harder to spot in low light by theifs. As far as deer/turkey/game they all work you get lots of pics of critters you will never see with your own eyes I had three otter in a  pic 2 weeks ago I lived on the land for 30 years never seen one or even heard of anyone seeing any there.I also had two big bucks that came only at night noone ever saw them all season but they were there.

[toppredator]

I've had several cameras.  To me you absolutely must have IR.  They are way more unobtrusive when taking photos at night, I've had cameras set to take 3 pictures at a time and the first shows the animal and the next two show the animal running away.  Another awesome feature is having a camera that is also capable of shooting video.  It's kind of cool to be able to switch between photos and video.  The biggest advantage of photos, at least with my Busnell Trophy Cam, is the videos are not time stamped.  The photos are time stamped as well as have the moon phase on them.  Pretty cool feature.  You also want long battery life.  I've had cameras where every time I check for pics I also had to change batteries.  I have found that I get more battery life out of cameras that use AA's rather than C's or D's.  The Trophy Cam uses 8 AA's and boasts a battery life of 1 year if you use Lithium.  I've had mine running since September 1st and have taken litterally thousands of 30 second videos and watched them all with the cameras view screen and the batteries still read full.  That's just my 2 cents on the subject.

[Jim Jackson]

Two sites that have excellent reviews and basically walk you through the features, pros/cons of each:

 www.chasingame.com
 www.trailcampro.com

[leatherneck]

I use what is called"Homebru" cameras. We make them ourselves. I don't worry so much about the pir range caus e these cams are so fast that you can set them up 8-10 feet from the trail and still get your pics. I'm a firm believer in trigger speed. 1.5 to 2.5 is a good speed. I use alot of flash cams but am slowly changing them over to all IR. I myself believe that the white flash cams will eventually scare a big buck away from that particular trail/spot.
I wou;ld recommend that if you are going to use a cam on a food plot then any cheap cam will do. If you want to use them on trails pay particular attention to trigger speeds.

[maineac]

Around here, from my limited experience, IR is important.  My buddies first camera's were flash.  We would get a picture of two, and then nothing else for a week or more.  
got caught twice by the flash on the way out of a stand location picking up a camera. Couldn't see anything for several seconds. Kinda hurt.  I can see why the deer stopped using the trails we had the camera's on.

[LC]

"I would recommend that if you are going to use a cam on a food plot then any cheap cam will do. If you want to use them on trails pay particular attention to trigger speeds."

With my limited experience I couldn't agree more! Personally I've got no desire to set it up over a bait pile so trigger speed and battery life are important to me as I won't be in every day replenishing a bait pile.

[Dustin Waters]

I know you didnt want to know any brands.  But in my experience for the price you can't beat the moultrie brand of trail cams. I just picked up an IR cam from moultrie for Christmas and it has been flawless in some pretty frigid weather.

[Northwoods]

Thanks for the replies thus far.  It's sure ok to mention any standout brands, or anything else that really stands out.  I have reviewed websites and camera reviews and have seen the comparisons.  Its the practical applications - what really matters in setting up cameras and getting acceptable pictures. Most of the reviews just give comparisons of raw numbers.  Other comparisons reveal that faster triggers, wider areas of detection, and IR all seem to work better but cost more.  To clarify the question, I want to know what I really need to spend my money on.  Thanks again for all the replies.  They have really been helpful.

Ted

i think they all work fine , it just depends on how much your willing to spend on something that might not be there when you go to check it......so i wont spend much on one.

[Twitchy]

Northwoods I have tried many different cameras and have been left scratching my head for what went wrong.Then I bought a Bushnell trophy and I can say without any doubt that it is the best camera I have used.I have been useing  it for the last 7 months and it will average about 1000 pics per day.That is on the lowest sensativity level and a 20 sec reset for the unit.Havent used nothing but regular duracell batteries and been getting around 25000 pics per set.This camera dosen't miss any thing!!!

[K.S.TRAPPER]

We have been using flash cameras for years and have no problems getting picks of booner bucks over and over at any of are locations. My picks on the trail cam threads the last few years will show they don't spook for us and I we like the flash pictures much better.

Of course we are hunting mostly private on many different properties and theft is not a problem, The flash definitely is a give away to thieves.

We set are cams for 1 minute delays and three shots at a time and that definitely lets us get good pictures. Fast trigger is a nice option to have and long battery life is a biggie too.

Tracy

[free2bow]

Consider battery life.  I had a camera that ate batteries up but now have one that is a lot easier on the pocketbook.

[Mechslasher]

trigger speed is not as important as long as you set the camera up facing up or down a trail.  battery life will be greatly extended using an ir camera.  i've actually had more deer spooked using ir compared to flash, but they get use to the ir in a couple weeks.  i don't get into taking videos, i'm just interested pics of what is in the area and a pic does that just fine.  i personally would stay away from bushnell products.  had one of their cameras that stopped working and they basically told me tough luck.  moultrie ir40 will last months on a set of batteries and take excellent pics.  it also has a good choice of gadgets on it.  wildgame makes some very good low end cameras and they have a customer service staff that can't be beat!

[Dustin Waters]

if you are looking for a cost effective place to buy your cames check out wingsupply.com  Im not sure if I am allowed to mention another website or not, but thats where I buy all of my cameras from because they are usually heavily marked down compared to the big stores.

[bowmaster12]

when talking IR theres two different kinds there is the IR that most companys have which the leds will glow red when taking a picture then there is true IR where there is no visiable light what so ever this would be the one to go with if security or thief is a conceren

[LoweBow]

I've been looking for new cams and have been pulled in so many directions as there are so many "fads" out there right now.  IR, Video, High Resolution, Time Lapse Photography, etc...

I was about to pull the pin on a "Plot Watcher" camera for it's time lapse aspect, but I waa also going to order a few of the new 8 mp IR cam also...

Well now I've gotten ahold of some info on a couple new cams Covert has in the lineup this year that will do all the above....

The new Edge series is deffinately worth looking at for all around functionality..IMO