I have a dozen trailcams of various brands. None of them are perfect, there are compromises with all of them. And it all depends on circumstance – at what distance is the animal? What’s the weather like (damp, foggy => LED light is reflected by the droplets)? Is the sun hitting the lens (should be avoided, but sometimes it does happen nonetheless and you lose definition)?
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&project_id=camera-traps-trail-cams&user_id=olrett&verifiable=any
Some have Wifi and Bluetooth, some come with remote controls. Gimmicks. Unless your camera is mounted high up in a tree, those features are useless. I have my cameras relatively low above ground so they are easier to access – the quickest way is retrieving the card and transferring the shots to a phone/tablet with a card reader.
General considerations
My first trailcam was a Stealthcam and was awfully sloooooow to trigger. Had lots of shots without a subject because the subject had already moved on by the time the camera was ready to shoot. No matter what brand you get, make sure that trigger time is below 0.5 secs.
Don’t fall for high megapixel counts. Natively trailcams have 3 or 5 MP, and I leave them at that resolution. Any larger setting will only yield interpolated shots that take up more space on the SD card, also take longer to write to card, delaying the camera.
Speaking of cards: Don’t be stingy with the card. Get one that allows faster writing speeds (reading speeds are less important, but they are more prominently advertised). Especially if you record video, the faster the buffer clears and the video is written to the card, the sooner the camera is ready again.
Speaking of batteries: I use lithium rechargeables. More expensive, yes, but they are indeed 1.5V and not 1.2V like Ni-MH rechargeables. Ni-MH rechargeables become weaker over time, and when they reach the point where they are too weak to fire the LEDs at night, you end up with black shots. I prefer the lithium type because they keep the voltage up until the end. When empty, they’re empty all of a sudden, they do not gradually get weaker; the camera just stops taking pictures. Lithium rechargeables last much longer. I have my cameras set to take series of 3 shots in a row. I normally have to recharge the lithium batteries after 4-6 months, depending on traffic and time of day/night when said traffic is detected. With Ni-MH batteries I only get weeks of use. If you record video, you’ll go through batteries like nothing. One more reason to get lithium rechargeables and a fast card.
Field of view: There are wide-angle cams (>100 degrees) mainly advertised for surveillance. In my experience, they are less suitable for capturing and IDing animals. I prefer a narrower FOV. Of course, that all depends on your needs. Some cameras have sensors left and right at a 120°angle, even if the camera has a narrower FOV. When a sensor detects movement, there is enough time normally for the camera to be ready to shoot when the animal enters its FOV.
Shots in daylight are almost always fine, so you can disregard positive reviews about how good the daylight shots look on a particular camera. The proof of the pudding is the night shots. While they are never 100% tack sharp, regardless of price range, brand name, or place of manufacture, some models (even by the same manufacturer) are better or worse than others.
Cameras
One of the cheapest (80 euros) and smallest (only 4 AA batteries) models I have surprisingly turned out to be pretty good. They come from China and were (are?) sold on Amazon and eBay under various names. What they have in common is that the screen is located outside, as are the various buttons. They take the smaller type SD card which can be a hassle because the card is easy to drop while retrieving it from the camera with cold hands to transfer the files to a phone/tablet. Here is what they look like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09F9TDC33/ They are all identical, regardless of name.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/92388170
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/74772898
Victure trailcams have a tendency to fire strongly at night, and I often end up with washed-out shots with too little contrast, or the animal standing in a cone of flashlight: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/92539099 But the daylight shots are very good.
The cameras that have so far yielded the best night performance in my experience are made by Secacam and Bresser. My Bresser cameras only have 3MP but yield useful night shots:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/48438347
One of my Secacams is this one : https://www.amazon.com/SecaCam-Raptor-Degree-Camera-Surveillance/dp/B01IFG7LUC/
which has a number of issues however in my opinion when it comes to handling. The camera splits in two halves (monitor, buttons, card and 4 batteries in the front half, 4 in the back half which remains attached to the tree), and I find that not very practical because I only have two hands.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/36217911
A newer (more expensive) model is this one that handles much better but I can’t find it on US Amazon, hence here is the German Amazon link: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/SECACAM-Remote-Control-Wildlife-Camera/dp/B095X8THLM/
It has the same good battery drawer that the Victure cameras have: At a press of a button, the battery drawer pops out a bit (it points downward but doesn’t fall out, you need to pull it out hard). Whereas my Victure cameras with that system however are not 100% water proof (rain tends to collect at the bottom) the Secacam is much better in that respect.
Deployment
Don’t point the camera against the sun, if you can help it: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/165859207
Keep the camera at the level where the subjects are.
Watch the distance: The closer the subject, the better the detail. The farther away, the stronger the LED should be. However, strong LEDs work not so well when the animal passes too close, you may end up with contrastless white silhouettes.
Set sensitivity to medium or low, otherwise the camera will trigger at the slightest breeze moving a leaf.
The camera should have a clear view – plants grow, and what was a clear view at the beginning may suddenly no longer be when a twig reaches into the frame and triggers the camera all the time.