Another addict chasing the dragon

[Broker]

I've been following along on this forum for a while, I've read nearly every post and I'm hooked.

I just picked up a Moutrie game cam new in the packaging at a local pawn shop for $75.00.  I'm not sure that was a great deal, but I bought it so no looking back now.

This is the one I have.
http://www.trailcampro.com/moultried55irxtreview.aspxWhen I set this up in my backyard to test, I noticed it has really clear pics but it seems like the trigger time may be an issue.

I set it up to shoot a 3 shot burst and after a couple of hours of edging, mowing, pooper scooping and playing fetch with my two labs, I checked the card.

What I found was an awful lot of empty frames.  Sometimes you could see a dog's tail or a partial shot but I'd say half didn't have the whole subject in the frame.

Now I currently have a very small backyard, most of the subjects were within 10 ft of the cam so that's probably an issue. 

Is this normal for a cam with non stellar trigger times?

[jackelope]

Probably normal. I think slower trigger times is a good reason to throw some  bait down in front of your camera aside from the obvious feature of bait...the attracting qualities...it will slow the critters down so they get their picture taken.

[alwinearcher]

Yep, sounds pretty normal..
If you want to get pictures of animals with these slow trigger speed cameras not on bait you have to face them down a trail.. passing animals will always be out of frame.

[Heredoggydoggy]

The trigger time is probably OK.  It's the time between the motion sensor picking up the subject and then telling the camera to take the picture that causes the problem...

[headshot5]

Yep use bait, and face the camera down a game trail instead of across.  That way you get pictures of the animal coming at you or going away.  Keeps the camera on them longer.   

[Pygmy]

I recommend updating the software on the game camera.  Many that are sold are not up to date and there are significant improvements with the updates - improved white balancing etc.   If your camera is not up to date this may help with the trigger speed.

http://www.moultriefeeders.com//softwareupdates/DGS-D55IR-Camera-Software-Update

[Button Nubbs]

I have the d55ir and it is by far the best camera I own. Trigger speed is great, battery life is even better, and the pics are clear. When it time for more cams I'm gonna be gettin a fleet of these. I currently have 2 models of tascos and a Bushnell trophy cam that crapped out after 3 months. I had the moultrie out from may-jan on the same set of batteries, thousands of photos.

[Broker]

I recommend updating the software on the game camera.  Many that are sold are not up to date and there are significant improvements with the updates - improved white balancing etc.   If your camera is not up to date this may help with the trigger speed.

http://www.moultriefeeders.com//softwareupdates/DGS-D55IR-Camera-Software-Update

Thanks for the link, I actually tried that this morning but the cam already had the latest version. 

[Broker]

I have the d55ir and it is by far the best camera I own. Trigger speed is great, battery life is even better, and the pics are clear. When it time for more cams I'm gonna be gettin a fleet of these. I currently have 2 models of tascos and a Bushnell trophy cam that crapped out after 3 months. I had the moultrie out from may-jan on the same set of batteries, thousands of photos.

That's good to know.  I don't have anything to compare it to so it's hard for me to know if I got a hold of a good one or not.  Looked to me like the review was good but not great.  I'm thinking good is probably perfect for me because they are relatively cheap and won't hurt so bad if they disappear.

Thanks to everyone else with suggestions about placement and trigger times.  I'm gonna try to put it out somewhere local here this week.

 

[bearpaw]

Make sure it's well hidden so thieves don't take it.