Which Gamecam for the X-mas list?

[Band]

I always have to put a specific item or two on my list or I end up with things that don't appeal to me at all.  Especially from my mother-in-law who manages to buy something for my wife and I that....well, that is useful to my wife and useless to me.  Go figure.

Anyway, in thinking it over, it occurs to me that I want to get a game cam to get me started.  I'm hoping you can provide a recommendation based on what I perceive to be important features for my liking, which are as follows:
- Compact
- Reliable
- Small/few batteries and good battery life
- No bright flashes (that I assume will help tip off a potential thief to the camera)
- Reasonable picture range and sensitivity settings

I plan to use the camera in a travel corridor rather than over a bait pile.  I don't care about bursts of multiple pics or video capability and picture quality is not important since I simply want to document what kind of animals are in the area.

So there it is.  your recommendations, please.

[jrebel]

Moultrie M80 M80xt or M880 are hands down my favorite.  The M880 is new to me this year and gets mixed reviews.  The M80 and M80xt have always been amazing.  The battery life is the best out there 8 AA batteries will easily take 8-10K pics and last 6-12 months depending on amount of activity. 

Hope that helps. 

[Band]

Thanks for that recommendation, Jrebel.  I forgot to mention that a price tag of $100 or less would be ideal.  Otherwise I might be wasting my time putting this on my list and I'll end up getting an ugly X-mas sweater instead and having to buy the camera myself.

[jrebel]

ebay is amazing.....I have purchased a few M80's for under $100.   

[Bean Counter]

I bought two Browning's this year for my elk hunt. They did ok and absent any better intel I would buy them again @$70/ea. Not the best picture quality but I'm with you that it really doesn't matter. They use 8-AA batteries.

[Band]

I bought two Browning's this year for my elk hunt. They did ok and absent any better intel I would buy them again @$70/ea. Not the best picture quality but I'm with you that it really doesn't matter. They use 8-AA batteries.

What model number should I be looking for on those Browning's?

Any other suggestions, folks?

[Smossy]

Primos Truth Cam 46 Ultra

[d_wilson]

Browning Strikeforce is on my wish list. Great reviews.
http://www.trailcampro.com/trailcamprostarrankings.aspx

[bobcat]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HNXQ8JO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1417058715&sr=1-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

[Bean Counter]

I bought two Browning's this year for my elk hunt. They did ok and absent any better intel I would buy them again @$70/ea. Not the best picture quality but I'm with you that it really doesn't matter. They use 8-AA batteries.

What model number should I be looking for on those Browning's?

Mine was the basic model. BTC-1 I guess. Cabelas has the Range Ops XR which might be a step up. Its $70 on Black Friday starting at 0500.

[Bango skank]

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,161013.0.html

Those are from a range ops.  Not the best night pics, but for 70 bucks a hell of a deal.  If you will go over 100 though you can get the strike force for 130 and theyre MUCH better.

[Band]

Thanks for lots of good suggestions, guys.  I'm researching all of them.

What additional equipment will I need to purchase to make the camera operational?  Anything besides batteries and one of those SD cards?

[Bean Counter]

A python cable ($11 @ Amzn) and/or a bear box with a padlock and lag bolts (use your hand drill) into the tree. Ive had at least 4 people walk past my cameras this year that I know of. Keeps honest people honest. Wont deter the Michael Brown's and Trayvon Martin's though. For that I recommend lead.

[LeviD1]

I personally love my Bushnell. I bought my dad one for xmas last year and I just bought one in august cause I liked his so much. I have lithium batteries in both. Both are different models only difference pretty much is one is hd. Both are on full battery life still even my dads that was set up in june. Mine in a new place I bought has taken about 8000 photos since august also. I have a primos cam also, it would be my second choice. Its not as good on battery power but decent to where you could get spring/summer on one set probably and have to change them in fall. It worked great last year all year long but this year it seems the sensor isn't tripping unless something is within 15 ft of it where it used to be good out to 60-70. I have also had stealthcam and spypoint and in my experience both are junk. I had to return both within a month one for not working after a couple weeks and the other ate a set of batteries within 2 weeks. I highly recommend Bushnell. Hope this helps.

[xd2005]

If you don't have your SD cards yet, they'll be dirt cheap over the next few days. Might be worth picking a couple up.

[Bean Counter]

If you don't have your SD cards yet, they'll be dirt cheap over the next few days. Might be worth picking a couple up.

 

[bobcat]

Here's a good deal from Wing Supply- a Moultrie M-880 for $90.99. That's after 30% off of a sale price of $129.99. Regular price is $149.99. The 30% off is only until 11/29. If I was looking for another camera I'd probably be ordering one of these.

http://www.wingsupply.com/game-cameras-accessories/moultrie-m-880-8mp-low-glow-infrared-mini-game-camera/

(you won't see the 30% reduction until you put it in your shopping cart)

[Band]

If you don't have your SD cards yet, they'll be dirt cheap over the next few days. Might be worth picking a couple up.

I remember that last year during the shopping season.  Problem is that I don't have a clue what kind of a card to get.  Am I right in my assumption that I'll find a wall of such devices, some of which will only work in cameras and others in game cams, and I'll have to figure out a particular memory size or something that matches to the game cam I end up with...and I'll just stare blankly at them without knowing what to buy?

If it helps, the leading contenders for my wish list so far are the Moultrie game spy M-80 infrared 5 MP and the Moultrie M-880 Low Glow Infrared Digital 8 MP.

[LeviD1]

For chip just get one at radio shack or other electronics store I use sandisk 16 gig hcsd. Dont listen to cabelas when they label them memory cards for game cams and they are like 1 gig for $20. The hc part just stands for high capacity. A 16 gig will get you about 10,000 photos on a 8 megapixel image and cost around $15. A 8 gig gets your about 6000 but only costs a few dollars less that's why I go 16 cause if you want to use video mode it takes more memory also. When you get your cam read how to format your chip this will alleviate any stress if for some reason your camera is taking pictures but not saving them when you go to check them. When you reformat a chip though it will delete anything saved on the chip permanently so save them on your computer first. Every time I swap my chips in my cams I reformat them, that way it deletes them back to 0 instantly and I know its formatted to that camera. If you ever use the memory card in different devices it can change the format. Hope this helps and makes sense.

[bobcat]

Choosing an sd card is not complicated. I've never spent more than $5 for one (always get them on sale), I have more Sandisk than anything, but I'm not sure the brand matters. I only have 2 GB and 4 GB cards. You can spend more on bigger cards but I don't think it's necessary, especially in your case since you say you won't be using bait. Check Amazon and eBay for good prices on sd cards.

[Bean Counter]

I used 8 &16gb with bait. A few times I filled up the 8gb but never the 16.

One rule of thumb I will add is not to waste money on the high speed write cards. Those are meant for sports photographers shooting a 25+ megapixel camera and blasting out half a dozen shots per second or more. Or Hd videography. Those cards will work in your camera, but you'll be paying extra for a superfluous feature that you don't need. Stick with regular speeds and save a few bucks per card.

[Band]

OK, thanks again, guys.  I picked up 2 8GB SD cards this morning for $5 a piece.  Now I play the waiting game to see if anyone loves me enough to get me that game cam.

[bobcat]

That's a great price for 8 GB cards. You shouldn't have to worry about running out of room. I only filled up a 2 GB card one time, and that's because I let it go 5 weeks before checking it. It had over 2,900 pictures.

[Bean Counter]

Size of card you'll need is really determined by how often you plan to check  your cams. I was 4-5 hours away from my trail cams this summer for my elk hunt. I didn't want to go up more than once a month given the gas, time, and effort so 8-16B was appropriate.

[nbk]

I have the Moultrie D-555I and it works well for me. Good picture quality so far and battery life is what I would call amazing....I have had it out for about 9-1/2 months and still has 89% battery life left as of yesterday.............