Trail Cameras… Digital

I am looking into purchasing a digital trail cam. Here is one from Cabelas that I was looking at.

If anyone has a camera that they want to rave or downgrade please make a post. One of my main concerns is battery life. If anyone has some info on how long the batteries stay charged could you please pass that a long as well. If they are anything like my in house digital camera I might have to rethink it.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
John

I use Game Vu cameras. They are unbeliveable. Super clean and clear pictures and the best part….no flash at night. They use infared technology instead of a flash. They will take 60 pictures before they start to recycle and delete each other. You can also lock a picture onto the camera so you can save shots of your bucks in the area. I don’t remember a web site, but I know Capra’s Sporting goods in Blaine has them. Maybe you could try a yahoo search for them.

I almost forgot. For battery life, I use my battery from my FL-8 ice fishing unit. Just run the cord from the camera to the battery on the ground below. The camera has a plug in for them. I set 3 cameras out in early october and they are all still running strong

The camera that I would suggest is the Cuddeback Digital. It is a great camera. I have recently purchased one and it works great. Please look at the web page and see for your self. I also use the DeerCam that is a 35mm one form NonTypical. This company is out of Park Falls, WI, so you know they know deer. There are a lot of cameras out on the market….some are good and some bad. The battery life on mine also has been great. I put batteries in mine on Aug 10th and it is still going strong.

Krisko, I have spent a lot of time looking at the Cuddleback. How is the battery life on the camera? I was also wondering how much you had to spend for a memory card and cord for it?

Like I said battery life has been great. I’ve had mine out since August and haven’t replaced batteries. I will have to probably next month, because of the colder weather where I’m at. I friend of mine has the one like was pictured here at the above post. His batteries last only a month if he’s lucky. I don’t use the cord and the external batteries. I use the internal ones. I don’t know another way.

I ended up getting 2-128MB cards. I got them at Wal-mart for $35. You can get cheaper cards for the same size….you can also get smaller cards of less MB cheaper for like $24. I do suggest 2 cards. I started using a laptop with only one card. I’d go to the camera and download the pics. It sucked. I even used a camcorder. That sucked as well. Now I just swap out cards and go back home and put them on my desktop.

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Super clean and clear pictures and the best part….no flash at night. They use infared technology instead of a flash.

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Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t that only give you the option for Black and White photos then?

Yes you are right. The infared pictures are black and white. It isn’t nearly as nice as having a color picture. I know the ones on mine are good ones. If you look on the Huning forum in the deer one you can see some of the ones I had taken with mine in the trail cam pics. They are very clear and the flash doesn’t scare the deer either.

Krisko, I thought you said those pictures in the Deer Cam area were taken with film. Was that bear and the other deer taken with the Cuddleback? Do you have any night pictures you could post?

Just wanted to bring this to the top one more time, I am thinking about purchasing the cuddleback, but just wanted to see if anyone had any last minute suggestions.

I was thinking about the Cuddleback, but I just changed my mind and I think I am going with the Game Vu. I realized that there is a lot of money that a person needs to spend after buying the cuddleback. You have to buy a memory card, cable to hook it to the computer, and batteries. I also would like to be able to view the pictures in the field. I could be wrong about some of these things, but I think I have it figured out. I am siding with the game-vu because I can get a great deal on it and you can view pictures in the field. I haven’t ordered anything yet, so any yeahs and nahs would be appreciated.

Well I did some pricing. The cuddeback digital is on sale for 349.99 at ACE hardware in La Crosse. That is 50 dollars off any place I have seen. Take that 50 dollars you just saved and go to Circuit City and you can get (2) two 256 MB cards for 29.99 and you can get a memory card reader 14.99 with free shipping. Now all that is left is the 4 D batteries.

Or if you already have a camera or other source that uses memory cards I see Sams Club has an all in one reader for $16.73

Total cost is 424.96 (plus tax). Not bad for what looks to be a great camera

I have a buddy using the cuddleback and the picture quality is great. I can send you samples if you want.