I am looking for a good cellular trail camera with Verizon Cell Network.
Does anyone have any good suggestions for one? Not one that is really really expensive ($300+).
I’ve been doing some research, but they all have mixed reviews.
Thanks!
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I don’t have any experience with wifi cameras but as far as brands go. Stay away from Stealthcam. They are junk. I had a lemon and the company did not respond to my emails. Cabelas ended up taking it back. Also took me nearly two hours to read through all there negative reviews on facebook.
I replaced it with Wildgame innovations which work perfectly. Honestly though, if you don’t mind dropping that much cash on a cam. Then I would probably go the Browning route.
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I started off looking for a cellular camera in the $300 range and then I found this non-cellular one for $50
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0728J1FYH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
So cheap I just bought it and it turned out to be great. It’s not available anymore but there are ;qny similar ones on the market.
Now I’m of the opinion it’s better to have a bunch of cheap non-cellular cameras out in the woods rather than an expensive cellular one. But that’s because my goal is to maximize chances of detecting a particular species in a given area. Your goal might be different.
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Agree with clem. I’d start with an inexpensive non-cellular trailcam and see if that meets your needs. I’ve had good luck with cheap cams like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H92F8Y7/ref=dp_cerb_2 Buying a 2nd set of memory cards and batteries allows you to just switch those out and leave the camera in place, but you’ll likely need to experiment on location, height, etc. to minimize the false positives/images.
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Someone bought me a $150 CuddeBack camera a few years ago, which seemed only to take pictures of deer and other large animals, and wanting a camera that could record video, I went and purchased one quite similar to what clem mentioned, and I found that it outperformed the more expensive camera by far (and recorded many small animals as well, not just deer). And now, two winters spent outside, many drops, and a bear attack later, the cheap camera still works when the CuddeBack no longer even turns on after having only been used sporadically during the summer. So yes, I recommend the cheap non-cellular camera before you try anything else!
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I have a Bushnell Core DS and, so far, it has been outstanding ($199.00). Can’t speak to longevity as I’ve only had it a couple of weeks, but it’s tough. A racoon attacked it the first night I mounted it, and it was undamaged. Takes great day and night photos and videos.
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Immediately uploading cameras would only be useful, I would think, if you wanted to get there to see it right away (and I’m sure it would be gone by then anyway…). Browning 5HD-850 is what I settled on for a trailcam. It cost maybe $125? It doesn’t take photos that compare with macro-photography or what my Nikon will take, but it plods away for as long as I need it to. Does stills or video. Leaves a time and temperature stamp on the picture. Takes night shots pretty well. Has held up for a couple of years now. The trick to getting a trailcam is that there are (at least) two kinds. One has a limited range so is really only useful looking down a restricted trail. I gave that one away as it really didn’t work for me. This one has a wider view. Nothing I found would respond quicker than 10 seconds, which I find super annoying. For example, I’ve only caught my house cat on the camera one time. I understand that the reason for the delay is to avoid triggering the shutter with random wind-blown branches, but I’d like to have the option of a quicker response.
I also haven’t gone the route of wifi cameras, but over the years i’ve learned to avoid Moultrie and Cuddeback products, and have settled on Browning cameras. A handy website for trail cam reviews is https://www.trailcampro.com/ and prices on the website are in the Amazon ballpark.
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House cat’s should not be outside. Unless there on a leash with a jingly bell. So they can’t needlessly kill things and create feral cat problems.
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