Trail cameras & battery life

[squirrelhawker]

I got tired of paying for batteries and switched my Cuddeback NO-FLASH
over to a 6 volt, 7 AH lead acid battery. I have two batts. and can just switch them out when needed. These batts have so much reserve that the power level indicator on the camera stays on the high for hundreds and hundreds of pics. I have it at a feed station and sometimes getting 150+
pics per day when on the 60 sec. delay. Lots of duplicate pics. You all know what I mean.

 

[CORVAIR]

Sounds like you came up with a good solution. If you can afford another camera, buy this one:

I own the HCO Scoutgard which uses AA batteries. Power consumption is minimal with this camera and several sites have rated it #1 over well named makes.
Last fall I had mine in the woods for about two and one half months and battery condition was still over 90 %.

Paid $ 210.00 for it color pix and nitetime IR photos are very good,
trigger speed averages right at 1 second, very very small camera and has a built in groove that fits the Python lock cable for security. Love it and am buying a second one.

 

[squirrelhawker]

Sounds like you came up with a good solution. If you can afford another camera, buy this one:

I own the HCO Scoutgard which uses AA batteries. Power consumption is minimal with this camera and several sites have rated it #1 over well named makes.
Last fall I had mine in the woods for about two and one half months and battery condition was still over 90 %.

Paid $ 210.00 for it color pix and nitetime IR photos are very good,
trigger speed averages right at 1 second, very very small camera and has a built in groove that fits the Python lock cable for security. Love it and am buying a second one.

How many pics did you get in that 2.5 months? I keep mine at a feed site and at times pics approach 200 possibly in a 24 hr. period. Some cameras along trails may only get a few pics per day.

 

[CORVAIR]

I had over 600 photo's on my 2 gig SD card and this is not over a feeder, was in a clearcut.

 

[squirrelhawker]

I checked them out online and wrote them for some more info. Looks like they do have a rechargable battery pack option too. THANKS>>>

 

[CORVAIR]

http://www.chasingame.com/index.php?id=29#sg550

This is a good link on last years review. Look at the number of photos and movies these guys got on theirs.

 

[Spitpatch]

Hey Corvair....

I just bought two....Had to go back for the second, as the first one was OUTSTANDING!!!

 

[CORVAIR]

Wow, Spit you move fast! Course I havn't taken the time to post here for several months.

I sure love mine, obviously you do as well.
I would like to by another, but have to convince mommy I need it. :lol:

Just bought a new Summit Viper SS Ultimate stand and that one took some talkin. :shock:

Anyway, glad you tried the Scoutgard. What a great camera for the dollars with an excellant trigger time.

Did you get the new one that displays photo's on the hand-held programmer? or the bare bones one?

 

[Davexx1]

HCO Scoutguard cameras (around $200-$225) have become very popular because of the low cost, small size, features, etc., but they have had their share of issues and trouble. Most have been documented on one forum or another. The good thing is the warranty and factory support has been reported as great/excellent.

There is supposed to be a new model of the Scoutguard camera coming out soon.

All of the extensive tests of this camera I have seen/read were made in 2008. I have not seen a recent test and evaluation of the newer models.

I think many or most of the trail cameras are actually manufactured in China and they use many of the same components. Quality Control may be an issue and could responsible for many of the problems the various trail cameras are experiencing.

I wish there was a truely troublefree, reasonably priced camera product available. I have had a lot of fun with my camera.

Dave

 

[Spitpatch]

Wow, Spit you move fast! Course I havn't taken the time to post here for several months.

I sure love mine, obviously you do as well.
I would like to by another, but have to convince mommy I need it. :lol:

Just bought a new Summit Viper SS Ultimate stand and that one took some talkin. :shock:

Anyway, glad you tried the Scoutgard. What a great camera for the dollars with an excellant trigger time.

Did you get the new one that displays photo's on the hand-held programmer? or the bare bones one?

First one was bare bones....second was the 550V with the veiwer screen in the hand held remote.