Poor results with all cameras

[Bob33]

I'm about to give up.  I can't seem to get any camera to work very well.  I've tried the Cuddeback, the Bushnell, and now the Moultrie IR40.  This morning I had my cat walk in front of the Moultrie at about 12 feet, in 60 degree weather, and it didn't trigger.  I checked the camera from last night and had about five blank pictures.

Moultrie says this is their best selling camera, very few complaints, etc. etc.  I've read the reviews and others don't have these problems (do they?).

Am I cursed?  Is there a camera for less than $400 that really works well?  I want something that would get a picture of an animal at 12 feet.  Am I expecting too much?

[whacker1]

Time to go to a homebrew for the money - otherwise get into the Reconyx.  I put my homebrew camera out last week for the first time and got some good pictures of a doe.  I will be posting in the next day.  Haven't downloaded the pictures yet.

http://www.reconyx.com/

I didn't want to afford a reconyx, so I went the homebrew route.  I will be building another homebrew this winter.

[Skyvalhunter]

If you are going to build a homebrew go with an external camera battery otherwise the battery life is poor.

[tmike]

Don't give up yet. Sounds like you have invested a lot of $. Keep experimenting and make sure you have all the settings correct. I know on my Moultries you have to set the motion sensors. Make sure your camera is set up no more than 3 feet off the ground. Good luck.

[Antlershed]

Are you sure your camera was aimed right? There is a good chance your cat was too low to the ground to get picked up by the sensor. My cuddeback capture took pics from 1" in front of the camera to about twenty feet away.

[Bob33]

My camera was attached to a tree, about 3' off the ground, and about 10' from a trail where the cat walked.  I tested the camera in "IR Aim Test" mode and it detected my hand movement, but not the cat.

[BLKBEARKLR]

I have 5 moultire's and never had a problem with any one of them. I would suggest playing with the sensors and adjustments some more.

[Bob33]

"Can't you send Moultries back in and they fix them, or send you a new one for free?"

Yes, they said they would.  The question is whether or not I have a defective one, or they all work this way.

[brianb231]

well, I don't know if this helps you but,


I bought my first camera a few weeks back. It was a Moultrie D40 and everyone says they are cheap cameras, BUT....I set it up about 15ft off the trail about 6 ft high on the tree and angled it a bit down to the trail area. I did the IR aim and the Laser aim on it when setting it up. I have had awesome results. Dont know how many animals I am missing but I got 180 pictures of ELK over the course of 9 days. We just put my buddies StealthCAM out and it was more difficult to set up and test in the woods than the Moultrie D40. We have not checked it yet to see the results. Still Soaking!

For what it is worth,


Brian

[brianb231]

Pics from the D40 from previous post. It was set to Moderate quality.

[SHANE(WA)]

Love my I40, always worked great

[jackelope]

it looks like you might have got a kangaroo in action in that 2nd one..

[brianb231]

Yeah it does, I piced the wrong one, It was suppose to be this one.....

[whacker1]

My homebrew lasts over 2 weeks in the field. so life shouldn't be an issue, unless you are looking to leave it out for months at a time.

[Bob33]

Brian, you wrote "I set it up about 15ft off the trail about 6 ft high on the tree and angled it a bit down to the trail area. I did the IR aim and the Laser aim on it when setting it up. I have had awesome results."

Where exactly does your IR aim hit at 15 feet?  How far off the ground did you point it?