tasco trail cams?

[D-Rock425]

I almost got one last night while at Walmart they have some for only 50 bucks.  Wasn't to sure about them so didn't pull the trigger.  Does anyone have one.

[medic6]

i have three (amazon for 34.99).  They take good day pictures and crappy night photos.  If the animal is within 15 feet at night you can see it kind of.  Battery life has been good.  I can go three months or more on a single set during spring/summer and for the price you are not kicking yourself it they walk away.  Well worth the money.

[hoytem]

i have one of those $50 2mp ones with no IR. Works pretty good so I bought the small 5mp one with IR from wallys for $60. Just put it out let ya know in a couple of weeks how it works.

[bobcat]

I think they're a great camera for the money. You really can't even get a white flash camera that compares to the Tasco for less than $100. I had two Tascos but just had one stolen a couple weeks ago, and it didn't hurt too bad since I only paid $40 each for them. Battery life is good, pictures are amazingly good for a cheap camera, set up is easy, trigger speed is good- I really can't say anything negative other than, yes, as was stated, the flash range is very short. But, I think the weak flash probably contributes greatly to better battery life, so that's a plus. And not having the brightest flash might also be good in the sense that it may not bother wildlife as much, and also may not be as noticeable to people. You just have to know the limitations of the flash and set up accordingly. Using some kind of bait is probably the best option but if just on a trail, set it so the animals are closer than 15 feet.

I just posted some bobcat pictures recently if you want to see some examples of pictures I've been getting. The camera you're seeing at Wal Mart may be a different model than what I have but the differences are minor. I think everything is the same except mine takes D batteries. The way they work and the picture quality should be identical.

Here's the thread with the bobcat pictures if you haven't seen it (first pictures are from a Wildview so look towards the end of the thread for Tasco pics)

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=89705.msg1174832#msg1174832

[bobcat]

Here's another thread I started that has some elk pictures, where you can really see the effects of the limited range flash. If you expect a lot of night pictures and want more range with the flash, you might try one of the WGI W6XAC cams that Amazon has for $50. They are an IR cam so your night pictures will be black and white, but the range is further- about 40 to 50 feet instead of 10 to 15 feet, like you get with the Tasco. Battery life is also a little better, plus the use AA's which are much cheaper than C's or D's.


http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=90575.0

[Button Nubbs]

here you go d-rock. i have 3 of them and was happy with them last season. since then i got a bushnell 8mp and a moultrie d-55ir. one thing about the tascos is the trigger speed is slow so your gonna need some kind of bait in front of the cam or make sure they are pointed down the trail. for the money they cant be beat

[smg id=10683]

[smg id=10677]

[smg id=10675]

[smg id=10569]

[smg id=10570]

[smg id=10591]

[smg id=10593]

[D-Rock425]

Cool pics bobcat.  I think the camera I was looking at was 3 mp and took 4 c batteries

[bobcat]

Cool pics bobcat.  I think the camera I was looking at was 3 mp and took 4 c batteries

Mine is 3 mp also, but takes the D's and on mine the SD card goes in vertically and the other one I believe it goes in horizontally. But as I said I think other than that they are the same.

[Button Nubbs]

the first and last pic in my set are with the 3mp 4c battery camera, the others are with the d battery camera.

[bobcat]

the first and last pic in my set are with the 3mp 4c battery camera, the others are with the d battery camera.

OK, I can tell the difference now, the C battery cam has a larger time/date stamp, which is a good thing. I often have trouble reading the time and date on my pictures, especially when I'm looking at them with my hand held digital camera.

[D-Rock425]

Guess who's going back to Walmart today.

[Button Nubbs]

 

might as well just pick up a couple of em!

[Button Nubbs]

the "4c" camera also has a video function which i have not yet tested. its about 3/4 the size of the "4d" camera.

[bobcat]

Guess who's going back to Walmart today.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. Will these be your first trail cams?

Another thing I forgot to mention- I can vouch for the longevity of the Tascos as well, since the two I had were out in the woods taking pictures continuously for almost a year now, with zero issues. I moved them from place to place occasionally, but never brought them home.

So I'd say that's pretty good for low priced camera, to last through the heat, rain, cold, snow, ice, etc for that much time. The only thing you really have to worry about are the thiefs!   

[Arteman]

I just got the 3mp four c battery Tasco cam from Wal-Mart a few weeks ago, love it for the price.  All ive got is does so far, but the pics work for me.  Don't expect a lot of pics if the game is walking down the trail, slow trigger reload.

[D-Rock425]

It would be the first camera I've owned.  I have used a few buddies cams but never purchased one for myself.

[bobcat]

Here's the thing with the Tasco cams: 

the trigger speed is relatively fast (1.5 seconds according to testing done by www.chasingame.com)

Which means from the time it senses movement it takes 1.5 seconds for it to take the picture. But then, there is about a 15 second delay. Which is normal for most trail cameras, but on many cams, the delay is adjustable. My Moultrie D40's the minimum delay is 1 minute, my Primos 46 can go down to a 5 second delay, the WGI W6XAC has 15 seconds as its minimum delay.

To get around the delay, some cameras have the option of a 3 shot burst or a 5 shot burst. The Tasco does not have that option. it only takes one picture at a time. But the WGI W6XAC is the same way, only one at a time with a 15 second delay. My Moultrie D40's, when set to a 3 shot burst, still takes 15 to 20 seconds between pictures taken with the flash, because it takes that long for the flash to recharge.

The best thing you can do to get more pictures is to use bait. Or another thing is put some kind of obstacle in the trail that will make them pause even if it's just for a moment.

[huntnnw]

I have the IR 5mp..and they have been less than reliable..I watched a bear stand 5ft from one for a hour and it took 0 pics. This november same issues..I decided to hang 3 trail cams at same spot and the Tascos consistently took 30% less pics than  my bushnell trophy cam. I am trying rechargeable or lithiums to see if it eliminates issues this year

[Turner89]

I have 2 of tascos (4-c batts). They do pretty well for the price. They have been out since august. When I checked them last saturday they both had water inside, but both were still working fine. I think that the crappy weather we had was a little to much for the rubber gasket. I dried them out, and reset em up.
 I had switched to lithium batteries a month ago, and the battery life was very strong still. I normally switch batteries every two weeks with duracells. 
 I will definately buy some more!
 

[bobcat]

Mine have never gotten water inside, except the one time that I closed the camera but forgot to use the two latches.   

As I said, I have the one that takes D batteries, and I get 6 weeks out of them before I change batteries.

[Turner89]

One of them actually had moisture behind the lcd sceen, but all the functions seem to work fine. I'll find out next weekend. Regardless I deffinately got my monies worth.
 I dont know how they got wet. My guess is that maybe that freezing rain pried the door open a little. It's never happened before.
 I have a trophy cam in the same area that was fine.

[D-Rock425]

I haven't picked one up yet but plan to tonight.

[h20hunter]

Where are you going to put it? Want me to break it in for you? I know a spot that has plenty of loggers and bears.

[Widgeondeke]

Or we can put it on the farm. My friend saw the bobcat for the first time last nite in their driveway. I went up and called for 1+hr, but nadda. Still trying.
  :bash:First time in a couple weeks that they knew it was around.
I'm thinking I will be getting me a cam or 2 real soon.

[D-Rock425]

Where are you going to put it? Want me to break it in for you? I know a spot that has plenty of loggers and bears.

whoever told you about that spot is truly an idiot.  Has to be some of the worst hunting around c-post is a much better location. 

[h20hunter]

Yep....I got my cam up at c-post as we speak. it is overlooking a tropy rock and 20 lbs of apples.

[D-Rock425]

All that stuff is most likely gone if its been there more then 2 days.

[h20hunter]

I know...planning on maybe walking up there Saturday...probably gonna break my ankle on all the sheds and will need to shoo the elk away!

[D-Rock425]

for you guys that have the cameras hows the battery life on them?  just got it put out sunday planning on leaving it for about 2 or 3 weeks.

[Button Nubbs]

i never left mine out for more than 3 weeks, usually it was 2, but i was getting 350-400 pics. i wouldnt trust batteries longer than 3 weeks if your getting alot of pictures.

[D-Rock425]

don't think ill get a ton of pics i did set it to hi resolution or whatever it is.

[Bean Counter]

Bobcat I would like to subscribe to your trail cam newsletter. 

[bobcat]

don't think ill get a ton of pics i did set it to hi resolution or whatever it is.

You should be fine for at least 4 weeks, and you really should get 6 weeks out of it, if you're not getting hundreds of pictures every day. Get a good battery tester if you don't have one, since the camera has nothing to tell you the condition of the batteries. When my battery tester shows them at 40%, I replace them. I've found that when they get that low, the camera will just shut itself off randomly and you won't know it, until you check it a couple weeks later and get only a couple pictures.   

By the way, I don't throw away those used batteries, I keep them for flashlights. They still work fine for that.

Oh, and you definitely want to run those Tasco cameras on high resolution all the time. Otherwise you probably won't be happy with the pictures.

[D-Rock425]

cool thanks bobcat.

[Button Nubbs]

make sure to post some pics of droopy!

[D-Rock425]

I hope to.

[AKBowman]

for you guys that have the cameras hows the battery life on them?  just got it put out sunday planning on leaving it for about 2 or 3 weeks.

I'm running 4 of them now. The time spans I leave them out there has been all over the board; anywhere from 4 days to 6 weeks. I have run out of batteries once but I cant recall how long the cam was out there plus it was during the real cold stretch we had in December (west side) and the cam was in the shade. The areas around it didnt thaw for weeks.

I put three of the Tasco's out with regular alkaline Duracells the day the big snow/ice storm hit middle of Jan, they are still soaking so I will let you know. Fresh batts in all three.

Depending on the activity level (time of year) I have probably been averaging around 15 pics/cam/3 week soak. Less this time of year more during Oct/Nov. I would imagine the more work the cam is doing the faster the batts will drain.

I've been real happy with the trigger speed and quality of the pics. The pic below was no bait with the cam set up on the X of two trails this buck cruised by sideways to the the cam and it still captured the first photo. You do end up with some like the second photo which can be frustrating. Obviously bait or scent during the rut helps to slow them down