NEWBIE WITH NEW TRAIL CAMS THAT DON'T SEEM TO WORK PROPERLY AT NIGHT QUESTION

[Chet43]

Sorry but this may be a bit long for a post.

I purchased my first 2 cams from Cabela's and they are the 2 Simmons cams sold in a package of 2 that Cabela's had on sale in Dec and I think Jan.  I have done a little testing and learning both at my apartment complex yard where people and their dogs go plus out in the field where I know deer will pass by at night.

There is a learning curve.  Here is my problem, the day time pics are good to great for both cams and both locations.

The night time pics are a  different story. At my apartment complex they where just barley OK, could just barley tell they where people and/or dogs at 20 feet and beyond that nothing except maybe once in a while a pair of eyes, which is what I sort of expected. BUT the pics in the field where I knew the exact distance from the camera the deer would have to pass all you could see was their eyes and nothing else. The distance was always between 10 to 14 feet.

I will be testing them again but if the results are  the same I will most likely return them to Cabela's.

Anyone have suggestions what brand and model is good during the day and better than these Simmons at night? Or are my night pics I described the norm for all trail cams under 150 bucks?  Reason I ask is I have seen tons & tons of complaints on this and many other forums plus store product reviews that complained about the same thing.

[jackelope]

My Bushnell Trophy cams cost half of your $150 ones cost. 10' is too close in my opinion, and the trigger time is probably too slow. I think you'll get better constructive criticism if you post a picture so we can see what they look like. You probably need to put the cameras a little further away and then put an attractant down or something to slow the critters down so they're standing still when they get their pictures taken.

Night time, Sub-$80 Bushnell camera. Bull is 15 yards from the camera.

[bobcat]

If Cabelas will take them back and refund your money, I would do that. If they aren't lighting up the subjects enough at only 10 feet, then they are useless. Unless you meant to say yards instead of feet. I've had cams that weren't any good past 25 or 30 feet at night, and they were still useful, I just had to be careful in my setups to be sure the deer would be that close.

The best deal on a decent camera I know of right now is the refurbished Moultrie M80 at Rogers Sporting Goods. I got one and it's working great for me. They are only $60.

[jackelope]

Lope,

Refurbished cam or new? What model?

Not refurbished....they call them "demo" models.

[bobcat]

It takes AA's, eight if I remember correctly. I've had it out for about 6 weeks now and just changed the batteries last weekend because they were down to 60%. It was still working fine but I always change batteries when they get near 50%. This is the first m80 I've had so not much experience to base my opinions on. I would expect to get at least 3 months out of the batteries in the summertime.  (and I only use cheap alkalines)

[elkh8me]

i have started to phase all mine into bushnell trophy cam and really like them...

[Pygmy]

Moultrie m-100 70ft nighttime infrared flash range.   Far back objects in these cam pics are beyond 70ft...cam costs less than  $150.   

[huntnnw]

Why would someone have to spend $150 on a cam to get decent pics? I have 15 cams and all of them are under $80 and one was $110. Biggest mistake is buying any cam from Cabelas...I can find the exact same cams between $40-$60 cheaper online. Amazon and Natcheez are a couple to  buy from. Some of my best cams are Wildgame innovations 5mp that I found on Amazon for $50 a piece 2 years ago still work great today