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Browning Spec Ops HP5

Hillbilly Hunter said:
Have you pulled a card yet? Mine is supposed to be here Monday.
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Yup. Unfortunately, because of the tall growth of my Sunn Hemp fields (which both of my HP5s are monitoring), I didn't get a real test of the flash distance, but so far, it appears quite powerful. In fact, flash is so powerful on video that it produces shadows. Can't say I've seen that in video before. I'm also impressed with the quality of the video. Not only is the color truer than the HP4, but Browning seems to have figured out how to get rid of the slight back-ground hum that is evident on their earlier video sound. Sound quality is very good.
 
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The HP4s also had the problem of the trigger area being wider than the image frame. This meant, in slow-moving deer situations, deer just outside the frame of the camera would trigger the camera and you would get pics/video of nothing (although in video, you could hear the deer just off camera). Seems Browning has fixed that as well. With the HP5, triggers are not occurring until deer are just inside the image frame.
 

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I bought a HP4 last winter and just got it out yesterday and was amazed with video quality day and night (in basement with all lights sources blocked), plan on buying another so question is is the HP5 that much better?
 
puppy said:
I bought a HP4 last winter and just got it out yesterday and was amazed with video quality day and night (in basement with all lights sources blocked), plan on buying another so question is is the HP5 that much better?
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For the same price, go with the 5. I've heard the 4's are hard to come by anyway.
 
HP5 is supposed to have a more powerful flash, but I can't confirm that yet. The HP5 does have truer color in daytime pics/video. In video mode, it no longer has the background hum of the camera common to the HP4.
 
OK, my final review of the HP5:

Love the truer color of both daylight videos and stills. I think the night stills of the HP5 are Brownings best yet for clarity. With video, the HP5 has solved the problem of the slight mechanical "hum" that could be heard in HP4 videos. And it is true that the HP5 has farther night illumination than the HP4 by maybe 10-15 feet. However, to achieve that they have the night flash sort of in "spotlight" mode. This means the center of the image is brightly illuminated to long range, but the periphery of the night images are very dark. The HP4s had more a floodlight night illumination, meaning everything in the image is well illuminated, albeit giving up a little distance. I think the HP5 also solved the problem of deer just beyond the frame of the image triggering the camera.

All that said, personally I think, given a choice, I would buy more HP4s, simply for the better night illumination of the entire image. I do a lot of video over food plots, and I want to be able see every deer in the image, not just the one in the center, even if that means I'm giving up a little distance (and the HP4 isn't bad, I'm getting 90+ feet of illumination). But for close-up work, like at scrapes or travel corridors, I think I would go with the HP5s over the HP4s due to the better clarity, lack of hum, and no deer outside the image triggering the camera.

And if I was doing only still images, I would DEFINITELY go with the HP5. Better night stills.
 
BSK said:
But for close-up work, like at scrapes or travel corridors, I think I would go with the HP5s over the HP4s due to the better clarity, lack of hum, and no deer outside the image triggering the camera.
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Have you tried any version of Browning's Dark Ops series?
They have been my "go-to" cam for scrapes.
Main thing I like about them is their smaller size,
and they only require 6 AA lithiums instead of 8 with most the others.

Compare this to the HP5s . . . . . . .
www.trailcampro.com

Browning Dark Ops Pro DCL (Non-Cellular)

This Browning Dark Ops Pro DCL trail camera takes 26 megapixel photos and can last 20.1 months in the field. Purchase yours online at Trailcampro here!
www.trailcampro.com www.trailcampro.com
 
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TheLBLman said:
Have you tried any version of Browning's Dark Ops series?
They have been my "go-to" cam for scrapes.
Main thing I like about them is their smaller size,
and they only require 6 AA lithiums instead of 8 with most the others.

Compare this to the HP5s . . . . . . .
www.trailcampro.com

Browning Dark Ops Pro DCL (Non-Cellular)

This Browning Dark Ops Pro DCL trail camera takes 26 megapixel photos and can last 20.1 months in the field. Purchase yours online at Trailcampro here!
www.trailcampro.com www.trailcampro.com
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I haven't tried the DCLs, but the only cameras I've bought in recent years have come from the Dark Ops line. They are great
 
I have one sitting on my reloading desk that is slated to put on a traditional community scrape, probably this weekend. I have the Spec Ops HP4 that I bought last year after season on a food plot right now and have been really impressed with flash and video quality but after reading that the HP5 has more of a spotlight type flash wanted to put over a scrape and shouldn't have to mount right on top of it as I have in the past with Covert black flash cams. So far, I have been amazed with the detail of both day and night videos from the HP4. Can't wait to see what the HP5 looks like!
 
puppy said:
I have one sitting on my reloading desk that is slated to put on a traditional community scrape, probably this weekend. I have the Spec Ops HP4 that I bought last year after season on a food plot right now and have been really impressed with flash and video quality but after reading that the HP5 has more of a spotlight type flash wanted to put over a scrape and shouldn't have to mount right on top of it as I have in the past with Covert black flash cams. So far, I have been amazed with the detail of both day and night videos from the HP4. Can't wait to see what the HP5 looks like!
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The HP5 will give crisper images over the HP4, both day and night, as well as clearer sound. With that long-range flash, you could put the camera 40-50 feet off the scrape and still get great illumination.
 
Here are examples between the HP5 and HP4. The first video is the HP4 over a food plot. Notice the illumination is broader and covers the whole frame of the video side to side but does not extend much past the fawn. The second video is the HP5 also over a food plot. The illumination is more centered in the middle of the video, and extends further into the distance in the center, but leaves dark areas at the edges. The HP5 imagery is also a bit clearer and crisper.
 

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