Stealth cam pissing me off

[egradyfire]

I have a stealth cam i bought a couple years ago. It was working great and all of a sudden stopped taking pictures at night. I called the company and they said i needed to download the new software in order to get it to work correctly. So i did. It started taking night pics again. Then this past week i noticed it stopped taking night pictures again. WTF. I understand technology keeps changing and evolving but all i want this camera to do is take pictures in the day and night with a time stamp on it. Is that too much to ask of a $145 stealth cam. I don't have a laptop with wifi out in the back county to download new software updates. Anyone experience this same situation? Whats a good trail cam to buy that doesn't require a bottle and a diaper change every few months?

Semper Fi,

Grady

 

[realunlucky]

Grady they all suck after a couple seasons of use.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Rokwiia]

I have one of the new Stealth Cam models, the 4K. I downloaded the updated software and it's be fine. I'd down load again if necessary. Did you call the company? What advise did they have?

 

[egradyfire]

I called the company and they told me the same thing, download the software. I just want a one stop shop, no downloading software bullshit. Thanks for the info though. I'll check that one out at my local sports store.

 

[reelnmn]

That's weird. I bought 9 older model stealth cams...all of them refurbished but brand new otherwise. I've had zero issues with them. Sounds like maybe a lemon?

 

[robby denning]

bummer and even worse, no solution in the woods. My SCs are only one season old, so I haven't experienced this yet.

 

[530Chukar]

I’ve found most brands to be disposable after about 5 seasons max. Some will still work but they’ll have some sort of issue. Moultrie cameras have been the best by far in my use for the cost and how long they last. I’ve yet to have an issue with any of my moultrie cams.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hoythews71]

I run a handful of Stealth Cams here out East, and I haven't had any issues with mine. Some are 6+ years old. I dont buy the expensive ones though. $100 or less, so maybe theres no software associated with those?

 

[Lastcar]

Moultrie A5 can be had on Amazon for pretty reasonable. Even more so if you buy the returned but in "like new" or "very good" condition from Amazon warehouse.

I lent a mix of cams to a friend who used them to capture pics of local wildlife in the suburbs near Vancouver up in BC.

There was Stealhcam G42NG, Stealthcam 30, Moultries A5, Browning Strikeforce BTC-5 and a couple Spypoint G4 from Gander Mountain back in the day.

Said the Moultries were his favourite, closely followed by Brownings and Stealthcam. All but the Spypoints did very well and he said he could be happy with any of them except the Spypoints. Said they were not great as far as triggering for images, but really good for video.

Got tons of great pics and videos. At first he'd set two brands damn near side by side to see which if either would get more pics. Said it was pretty much spot on for all the brands.

I am about to put 20+ cams out most of which are new to me this year. So fingers crossed I don't have too many lemons. As most are going 2 - 5 hours into the hills. All tested around home or in the bush by my pal.

And of course the old "at that price if they get stolen no biggie" theory applies. Although at $60 for the cam, $12 or so for Energizer lithiums and $10 for the memory card I'll still be pissed. But likely losing the pics of critters will be more upsetting.

But as said if you look around online you'll find negative comments about every company and model. Clearly not an exact science when producing cams. Some brands better than others but they all have their moments from what I gather.

 

[sneaky]

Pony up and get a Reconyx. 145/2 is 72.50 a year in operating costs. I know guys who are running 15 year old Reconyx cams that are still going strong. 450/15 is 30a year in operating costs and going down every year they work. It's always the up front costs that kill ya.

Semper gumby

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[jljones527]

Agree the Reconyx are worth it if you can foot the initial investment.