Trail Cams

[offshoredes]

Hi all....looking to buy a trail cam....any thoughts as to the best for the buck so to speak?...must be suitable for Western Canadian winters(-40 degC at times)....I tried out stealth cams new 3meg version......junk, don't waste your time.....

[sledder]

Scott is completing a review on the cameras that I build. I use the Sony 4.1 pixel camera with motion and heat sensor for activating the camera. The camera is also removable from the case so it can be used as a family camera.

We will both have to wait and see how the cam makes out. :p

Sledder

[TBark]

sledder,
I have tried the P41 at -30, the cold spell about 3 - 4 weeks ago. It does still operate fine, but one note is the LCD does not like the cold, no LCD screen likes the cold actually. The screen must be set to "Off" before you walk away and leave the trail camera in cold temps. This is done with the camera turned on, set the LCD to "off" then turn the camera off again. But here is a problem. If you open the battery compartment. Meaning, if you use the Sony cameras in extreme cold temps, like -25 to -35 C, when / if you check the batteries, and or pull the mem card, you will need to take the camera out of the trail cam case and put it in you pocket or somewhere to warm it up a bit. then power it up and shut the LCD off. If you don't and you just put it back in the trail cam after checking or replacing batteries, then the LCD will go back to default setting and come on when the trail cam powers it on. This will be very hard on the LCD screen. these screens have been known to fail if they are used in extreme cold temps. Makers spec suggest operating the LCD screen no lower than - 5 C. I find they work fine a to -12 C or so. Not a major issue, but it is an important fact to remember when using a Sony camera in extreme cold temps.
The best user friendly digital camera to use in extreme cold is one that has an LCD default setting of "off", not "on" when the batteries have been changed.

TBark

[scooter]

Hi all....looking to buy a trail cam....any thoughts as to the best for the buck so to speak?...must be suitable for Western Canadian winters(-40 degC at times)....I tried out stealth cams new 3meg version......junk, don't waste your time.....
We're in the middle of a review of 3 cameras. TBarks, Sledders and the new Bushnell cameras.

One thing that I've found with the cameras is that the Bushnell is better for battery life as they use 4 "D" cell batteries instead of the little "AA"'s that the P41 cameras use. I have had the bushnell camera out for 2 weeks and have over 80 pics on it with the same batteries. The P41 (with LCD off) has had the batteries replaced twice. The cold weather is hell on the little "AA"s. I'll be publishing the new reviews and the comparison between the 3 once I get the testing completed and the new front end of the website is up and running.

The Sledder and TBark cameras take better quality pics than the bushnell one.

Scott

[offshoredes]

The reviews I've read on the Bushnells suggest they are not very good in the rain....something we seemed to get a lot of last year. What model Bushnell are you testing? Has your testing included a few showers? Apparently the Bushnell Trailscouts fill with water and fry the electronics. For the difference in price though, waterproofing the Bushnell might be the way to go.......