Cheap trail cams

[aviator41]

Anyone else have a positive experience with the cheapo tasco trail cams?

We've been looking at replacing a few of our older cameras along with several that have been stolen this year and decided to give some cheaper ones a try. We picked up two of the $50 Tasco cameras for walmart since they were on clearance and put them facing feeders about 20 feet away.

WOW!! We are getting well over 200 photos a week with these suckers. Given, they are not all awesome shots, but they are picking up activity are more expensive Mole' cameras were missing. Now, given these camera's have limited use. Their long distance shots are useless and the IR sensor reaches farther than the flash resulting in a few night shots of "eyes" peering from the distance. Their day photos, however, just can't be beat for the price. I will post a few tonight if anyone is interested.

We really weren't expecting much from these cameras but based on our results, we're going to pick up a few more and put them out at pinch points, our other feeders and high traffic areas.

I just love it when you get more than you bargained for with hunting stuff!!

 

[kroberts2131]

I think shootermcgavin used them last year and liked them alot. Said the same as you. Perfect in the day and not great at night. I've considered getting a few.

 

[nhagar]

this has been discussed in the past. some say don't buy cheap and others do.

Personally I don't see why anyone in their right mind would spend hundreds on one camera.

SO I am all for cheap cameras. But then again I am a cheap a$$ so I have been told by many. I bought into some refurbs off of Natchezss.com this spring. Got Primos truth cam 46 camo. They were like 56.99 each if buying 2 or more. I ended up getting 3. Two work flawless. One reads incorrect temp on the stamp on the pictures. I also bought some cheap $30 cameras at atwoods in the spring also. They only take daytime photos and once the sensor is tripped it is a lapse time thing. So it keeps taking pics until your set time for it to stop. it eats a lot of card and batteries.

I think the last camera I bought new was $140. First time I used it I checked the pics and it has a blurred line all the way across the pic during the day. Not sure why. never bothered to send it in as its not that bad. However my cheap refurbs don't do that. Bought 3 for just a bit more than one new camera.

 

[retrieverman]

I have been down both roads, and you get what you pay for. I have been using the same Camtrakker brand cameras for 11 years, and I had a Cruddyback that didn't last a season.

I have friends that have as many as 20 "cheap" cameras (multiple brands) out at any one time, and they get a season or two out of about all of them. When one craps out, they just go buy another.

 

[Bowhunter]

I used the tascos before. I was pretty excited when I heard they were made by bushnell and gave them a try. The one i had was junk. The refurb truth cams on Natchezz are awesome feeder cams. They are sold out now and I gave them a call and was told they weren't getting any more. I'm sure there will be some more after this season though. I've got 2 moultrie 880's I bought this year online for $120 each and they are my favorite cams. Also have 2 bushnell hd's and are pretty good but I like the moultrie 880's much more.

 

[Sticky Stokes]

I used the tascos before. I was pretty excited when I heard they were made by bushnell and gave them a try. The one i had was junk. The refurb truth cams on Natchezz are awesome feeder cams. They are sold out now and I gave them a call and was told they weren't getting any more. I'm sure there will be some more after this season though. I've got 2 moultrie 880's I bought this year online for $120 each and they are my favorite cams. Also have 2 bushnell hd's and are pretty good but I like the moultrie 880's much more.

How is the battery life on the Moultrie 880? We have one older Moultrie that just eats the D batteries, but I noticed the 880's run on AA. My Truth Cam 35 Ultra just crapped out after two seasons, I bought it new at Academy. I have a Bushnell that is on it's 5th year with no issues. Im thinking it may be all Bushnell for me in the future.

 

[ElkStalkR]

The best part about running feeders is dang near ANY camera will work. Dang near, there are still a few junkers. But so long as it detects motion and actually goes off you will get pictures at a feeder. Detection speed is not an issue and typically photo quality is not either as you can set the camera as close as you want and you will get hundreds of pictures, literally.

I second what was mentioned above. The re-furbed truth cams from Natchez are cheap and make wonderful feeder cams. That take thousands of pics before battery dies.

 

[Okhunt!]

I have 3 Tasco Trail cameras and I have have very little trouble with them. I also own some of the higher end cameras. All do the job I want them to. Battery life is a little less on Tasco cameras but they have been very solid for me.

 

[Bowhunter]

How is the battery life on the Moultrie 880? We have one older Moultrie that just eats the D batteries, but I noticed the 880's run on AA. My Truth Cam 35 Ultra just crapped out after two seasons, I bought it new at Academy. I have a Bushnell that is on it's 5th year with no issues. Im thinking it may be all Bushnell for me in the future.

The old Moultrie d-40's and d-50s are horrible. I used to have several. They would last about 2 years and yes they ate batteries like no other. No camera I have tried compares to the battery life of the Bushnell's. The new moultries that take AA's are pretty good though. I change them out at about every 3,000 pics. I had my delays set wrong on my 2 Bushnell HD's and one took around 9,000 pics and the other took about 8,000 in 4 weeks and the batteries went completely dead. That's just using the regular Duracells (made in the USA). Probably get better life with the expensive Lithiums. I recently bought 2 small truth cam ultra 35's on sale at bass pro for $79.99 each. They take AA batteries but I actually like the big older truth cam 46's better than these. I've had a lot of problems with the cards on them.

 

[aviator41]

We are fighting card problems with an older Leaf River camera at the moment. It takes Compact Flash cards and is very picky about what card it likes. My FIL is not computer savvy so having a camera with an LCD on it out there so he can easily see pictures. Seems the older it gets, the tougher it is to use.

This monster takes 4 D size batteries AND 4 C size batteries. This thing costs a fortune to keep running, but for him it's worth it. It also picks up some great photos at night and the burst feature is cool. I am sure that those features are standard now, but when this thing was made it was high-dolla'