Shanman
Well-Known Member
Have not found them in stock for several months now, have you guys heard any information as to why? Glad I grabbed 2 when I did, figured by now someone would have them in stock.
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Tactacam Reveal???
- Thread starter Shanman
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Kinda strange for sure. I guy lucky and go one back several months ago. Would like to have another
PickettSFHunter
Well-Known Member
I read something about them not having any until summer and that it would be a new model. Weird for sure.
BSK
Well-Known Member
The trail-camera market is so competitive, market forces require every company to come out with a "new model" every year, whether it is truly "new" or not. Sometimes the differences are cosmetic (a new outer shell) or perhaps some new upgraded technical feature on the circuit boards.
Talking to technicians who design these cameras, they'll often admit the new year's model is the same as last year's model except for a few minor tweaks to the electronics.
Talking to technicians who design these cameras, they'll often admit the new year's model is the same as last year's model except for a few minor tweaks to the electronics.
rbreedi1
Well-Known Member
The reason you cant find that one is they moved production over to a new improved model coming out this spring.
Shanman
Well-Known Member
BSK.....only issue that I had with mine was the fact they don't trigger every single time. I've watched deer waik in front of them and never get a pic. Probably 93% detection rate and im ok with that as im sure they all miss ever so often. I truly hope they don't jack the price up to high, best camera for the money.
Pickett, rbreed....... hadn't heard that, thanks for the info.
Pickett, rbreed....... hadn't heard that, thanks for the info.
rbreedi1
Well-Known Member
One of the guys from Tactacam posted on facebook that they are going to improve a lot of things including detection circuit.. and that the price was going to stay the same. I think they said May 1st is when its coming out.
TN Whitetail Freak
Well-Known Member
It's really hard to believe they could improve the cam its been awesome. They need a lock mechanism on the door to protect the sd card. I have 3 of them and one Exodus render. They've been very solid, however can't say much for the Render at 3x the cost.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Certainly a very positive thing to have Tactacam and so many others now competing in the marketplace for our business ---- that's how we ultimately end up getting the most for our money.
I do applaud Tactacam's entry into the cellular cam market, and believe that competition has helped lower the prices with other brands, including the costs of the cellular services needed for the cams.
Even disagree about their being the best camera for the money, albeit consider them in the range of ok for the money, especially if you just use them as a regular trail cam (don't use the cellular feature). Their image quality is excellent, but that doesn't matter if it fails to get the picture.
One of the biggest issues to me (maybe they have or will update this) is that the cellular pics have been viewable only on a smart phone or tablet (not on a regular PC). Yes, you can remove the SD card and load the pics onto a computer, but that defeats much of the purpose of going cellular.
Another big issue has been that the cams will only upload 1 pic of a multiple-pic event. If I set a cell cam for 3 pics, either I want it to cellularly send me those 3 pics, or at least give me the choice of it sending 1, 2, or 3 of them. There is no choice with Tactacam, as it's going to send 1 pic per event.
Worse, the "dead" time between triggering events is much longer than your settings (with the Tactacams) compared to some other cell cams. If you set your cam for a 30-second delay, that delay may be more like 1 minute or longer, as apparently these cams are taking longer to "write" to the card than some others.
Another issue is programming times for cellular uploads. You are daily limited to once, twice, or immediate. But the "immediate" doesn't seem to work "immediately" any more than about half the time, instead waiting until the next trigger event to upload (which can be the next day). You can strike this cam off your list if timeliness of uploads might be important to you, as well as how often you can change the settings. A setting change may take up to 24 hrs to become effective, but sometimes it just doesn't seem to "take", pushing that then to 48 hrs.
Depending on the application, time of year, etc., I often change a cell cam's setting twice daily, sometimes more often. Either cannot do that, or cannot do it reliably with these. With all cell cams, you can greatly extend battery life by reducing the number of pics per event, and lengthening the delay between events, at night (nighttime flash is a big battery drainer, as is more frequent cellular uploads, such as with "immediate" instead of "scheduled").
Also nice to be able to kinda "toggle" between "immediate" and "scheduled" uploads closer to real time with other brands (cannot do that with Tactacam).
Unless used more for security than wildlife, I do not want "immediate" uploads at night while I'm sleeping. But may prefer "immediate" during the day. I need to be able to make these changes more often and with more reliability than Tactacam has allowed.
Tactacam claims long battery life, and it is somewhat enhanced by the very fact these cams will only send 1 pic per triggering event. Even in view of that, I'm finding the 12 AA batteries are not lasting as long as other cell cams using 8 AA batteries (and others uploading 2 to 3 times more pics daily before dying!).
Finally, the monthly cellular costs of these can be more (per cam) than other brands, but depending on how many you're running, Tactacam's monthly service charges can be more or less vs other brands. Just remember the cell service per cam over the next couple years may exceed the initial cost of the cam itself.
Best buy "for the money"?
Perhaps not if you consider the cost per pic transmitted, the cost of 12 lithium batteries replaced more frequently than other brands using 8 lithiums.
Also, what is the cost of missed pics due to the poor detection rate?
All that said, I do expect Tactacam to make improvements, likely eliminating some of the issues I find problematic, with their next "version".
Tactacam's competitors will also make improvements.
So we can expect to get more for our money will all brands in the coming months.
I do applaud Tactacam's entry into the cellular cam market, and believe that competition has helped lower the prices with other brands, including the costs of the cellular services needed for the cams.
I've also experienced the low detection rate, and believe it's been a good bit less than 93% on the two I've been testing. Not just deer, but mine often will not trigger on a person walking by at 10 feet! And that is not the only negative "issue" I have with these cams.
Even disagree about their being the best camera for the money, albeit consider them in the range of ok for the money, especially if you just use them as a regular trail cam (don't use the cellular feature). Their image quality is excellent, but that doesn't matter if it fails to get the picture.
One of the biggest issues to me (maybe they have or will update this) is that the cellular pics have been viewable only on a smart phone or tablet (not on a regular PC). Yes, you can remove the SD card and load the pics onto a computer, but that defeats much of the purpose of going cellular.
Another big issue has been that the cams will only upload 1 pic of a multiple-pic event. If I set a cell cam for 3 pics, either I want it to cellularly send me those 3 pics, or at least give me the choice of it sending 1, 2, or 3 of them. There is no choice with Tactacam, as it's going to send 1 pic per event.
Worse, the "dead" time between triggering events is much longer than your settings (with the Tactacams) compared to some other cell cams. If you set your cam for a 30-second delay, that delay may be more like 1 minute or longer, as apparently these cams are taking longer to "write" to the card than some others.
Another issue is programming times for cellular uploads. You are daily limited to once, twice, or immediate. But the "immediate" doesn't seem to work "immediately" any more than about half the time, instead waiting until the next trigger event to upload (which can be the next day). You can strike this cam off your list if timeliness of uploads might be important to you, as well as how often you can change the settings. A setting change may take up to 24 hrs to become effective, but sometimes it just doesn't seem to "take", pushing that then to 48 hrs.
Depending on the application, time of year, etc., I often change a cell cam's setting twice daily, sometimes more often. Either cannot do that, or cannot do it reliably with these. With all cell cams, you can greatly extend battery life by reducing the number of pics per event, and lengthening the delay between events, at night (nighttime flash is a big battery drainer, as is more frequent cellular uploads, such as with "immediate" instead of "scheduled").
Also nice to be able to kinda "toggle" between "immediate" and "scheduled" uploads closer to real time with other brands (cannot do that with Tactacam).
Unless used more for security than wildlife, I do not want "immediate" uploads at night while I'm sleeping. But may prefer "immediate" during the day. I need to be able to make these changes more often and with more reliability than Tactacam has allowed.
Tactacam claims long battery life, and it is somewhat enhanced by the very fact these cams will only send 1 pic per triggering event. Even in view of that, I'm finding the 12 AA batteries are not lasting as long as other cell cams using 8 AA batteries (and others uploading 2 to 3 times more pics daily before dying!).
Finally, the monthly cellular costs of these can be more (per cam) than other brands, but depending on how many you're running, Tactacam's monthly service charges can be more or less vs other brands. Just remember the cell service per cam over the next couple years may exceed the initial cost of the cam itself.
Best buy "for the money"?
Perhaps not if you consider the cost per pic transmitted, the cost of 12 lithium batteries replaced more frequently than other brands using 8 lithiums.
Also, what is the cost of missed pics due to the poor detection rate?
All that said, I do expect Tactacam to make improvements, likely eliminating some of the issues I find problematic, with their next "version".
Tactacam's competitors will also make improvements.
So we can expect to get more for our money will all brands in the coming months.
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TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Almost have to be an accountant to compare the relative costs of monthly plans with one brand vs. another. But with many other brands, you would be paying less than half as much per picture uploaded. In some cases, you can pay less monthly period (per cam).
The more significant aspect of cell cam "cost" can be the monthly fees rather than the initial upfront cost of the cam.
$5 monthly x 24 months = $120
$8 monthly x 24 months = $192
$13 monthly x 24 months = $312
Then, over 24 months, needing at least 50% more batteries,
if replaced every 6 months,
assuming you can get lithiums for $1 each,
a 12-battery unit costs you about $16 more in battery replacement costs,
as compared to an 8-battery unit.
A $99 cell cam can easily cost you over $400 to operate over a 24-month period.
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The buck in that pic looks like it has inverted tines.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
When it comes to "best value for the money",
the water is very murky
in large part because we don't know how long any particular unit is going to last.
If a more upfront expensive cam lasts 4 or 5 years instead of a lower-cost cam lasting 2 or 3 years, which is the better value?
Some of the more up-front expensive units can actually be the lower cost and better value over time, especially if there is a longer-term replacement/repair guarantee, and a comparable or less costly monthly cell service fee.
the water is very murky
in large part because we don't know how long any particular unit is going to last.
If a more upfront expensive cam lasts 4 or 5 years instead of a lower-cost cam lasting 2 or 3 years, which is the better value?
Some of the more up-front expensive units can actually be the lower cost and better value over time, especially if there is a longer-term replacement/repair guarantee, and a comparable or less costly monthly cell service fee.
True, but you have to consider the "set it and forget it" benefit one gets from "dependable" cellular cameras, such as my Reveal over the last year. My free time these days is worth $50/hour minimum, and I do not have to pull off other jobs/commitments, drive to the camera, walk, disturb the area, etc, unless I really want to, and have time to. I run Reconyx for traditional trail cameras, but I've been toying with these economical Reveals and they are handy, especially if one is pressed for time, like so many are these days. Battery life has been equal thus far in my Reveal. I set it out end of October over a traditional scrape with Energizer Lithiums and it is still running 100% battery. Of course, with Lithiums, it will drop to 60%, then die overnight.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
We're on the same page, Andy.
Cell cams are offering huge benefits over non-cell.
I'm just not as impressed with the Tactacams as you are
Cell cams are offering huge benefits over non-cell.
I'm just not as impressed with the Tactacams as you are
Wide 6 point that looked to be 3.5 years old this past season.
Do you own any? Or just not as impressed from other's opinions and what you have read about them? I know you are impressed with their cost.I'm just not as impressed with the Tactacams as you are
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Wish these cams had that 100 free pics a month like the spypoints.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Yes, I have two of them, and was initially favorably impressed.
Over time, I came to realize they were missing lots of pics, and don't have the responsive programming features & performance of some other cams, which may cost $200 up front (instead of $100) but may actually cost less to operate over a couple years.
Was mainly trying to point out that the up-front cost is just a fraction of what you're going to pay to utilize a cell cam over a time horizon of a couple years or more.
Shanman
Well-Known Member
Very valid points LBL and I can see where the cost comes in.
You missed one extremely important factor concerning the initial cost......the wife. $99 looks alot better than $200 - $400.
You missed one extremely important factor concerning the initial cost......the wife. $99 looks alot better than $200 - $400.
