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Best Cellular Trailcam under 200

TheLBLman said:
These are "interpolated" to 32 mp, not true 32 mp.
I'm not sure what the true mp is for these, but suspect it is no more than 8mp.

As for the best cell cams under $200, for me it has been the Brownings.
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All I know is the pics and video quality that I get on my app is phenomenal. How it gets to that point is beyond me. I've never tried the Brownings. I've never done a lot of research on trail cameras but for the price I've been really impressed with mine.
 
WiseEye is oustanding . I have used them since 2020. The MC2 mini cam is a workhorse at $130. They offer different models. Picture quality is really good.
I also use moultrie edge for an inexpensive option, specifically for public.
 
Antler Daddy said:
Not sure.... I am interested in inexpensive cellular cameras that have built in memory without an SD card that will work well for maybe 3 months.. I will throw some Lithiums in those cameras and then I can just leave them in some areas on public. I can turn off plan when not needed. I might not go back in to get them till next year, or never!
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Why would you just leave them in the woods on public and never go get them? That seems irresponsible as a hunter on public land.
 
Rackseeker said:
Why would you just leave them in the woods on public and never go get them? That seems irresponsible as a hunter on public land.
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Because I might not be back for an awhile or a year or never to retrieve them! At $50-60 a pop, I will take that chance. It would cost me double that amount to drive round trip to get them.

If you find them next summer, you are welcome to them. I really don't expect my cameras on public to not be taken if found.

Thought I had hit the jackpot on this 2 pack yesterday...but it was only for one.
 

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Antler Daddy said:
Because I might not be back for an awhile or a year or never to retrieve them! At $50-60 a pop, I will take that chance. It would cost me double that amount to drive round trip to get them.

If you find them next summer, you are welcome to them. I really don't expect my cameras on public to not be taken if found.

Thought I had hit the jackpot on this 2 pack yesterday...but it was only for one.
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The two pack of those is $99 on Amazon and also at WalMart.
 
Antler Daddy said:
Because I might not be back for an awhile or a year or never to retrieve them! At $50-60 a pop, I will take that chance. It would cost me double that amount to drive round trip to get them.

If you find them next summer, you are welcome to them. I really don't expect my cameras on public to not be taken if found.

Thought I had hit the jackpot on this 2 pack yesterday...but it was only for one.
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If you find an academy that has the 2 pack for $99 they also have a $20 off code too
 
I have had pretty fair luck with Bushnell Cellucore's, Verizon version. First ordered the AT&T and they wouldn't connect worth a crap even though my cell phone is AT&T and had great signal. Think you can find them online for $50-$75
 
Just an observation:

Most posting on this thread have limited experience using cell cams, and may have only utilized 1 or 2 different brands or models.

If you really want to get a broader comparison, I suggest reading the technical reviews (actual field testing) available at www.trailcampro.com

I've found their reviews to be accurate.

I've also found out why they may not carry a particular brand or model: Customer complaints and/or a manufacturer stopping them from wholesale purchasing their brand after a bad review. So from my perspective, I'm wary of any brand they're currently not inventorying, although that doesn't mean there aren't some lesser known brands maybe just not practical for them to carry.

That said, there is a general "trade off" between pros & cons, price & value, regardless of brand or model you choose. Do a good comparison, try to determine which features may matter most to you.

Keep in mind up front cost is only one of many things to compare.
 
Other things that matter to me are ongoing costs of operation & expected longevity of the cam. Some in the same price range might be expected to have a useful life of 4 years compared to others being 3 years. Then there is the issue of battery life. In a 3 or 4 year period, one brand/model may cost you $100 more than another due to battery life differences.

Then add in the costs of your time & travel to re-visit a particular cam (or cams). For some, frequency of re-visiting cam sites can be the most expensive aspect of the cost equation. So for those, cell cams can actually be much less expensive than non-cell cams.

In general, lower-cost (at point of purchase) cell cams tend to have a shorter battery life, longer recovery periods between triggering events, and a shorter working life, i.e. maybe 3 years instead of 4.

Price comparisons get very complicated with cell service plans, and often brands that are relatively cheap for only 1 cam, become among the more expensive if you run 3 or more cams of the same brand.

Regarding service plans, you can usually get a better value buying just what you need rather than "unlimited", as rarely is unlimited needed. What I find myself valuing most are overall reliability, recovery speed between triggering events, battery life and large sd card capacity, as these are the things that most reduce my need to re-visit a cam site for service or trouble-shooting.

The general big advantage of cell cams to me may be more about not needing to visit the cam site so often. It is not so much about instant pics transmission, as you will get much longer battery life with "scheduled" uploads (such as 2 to 4 times daily rather than "instant").

Your mileage will vary.
 
More about cell service plans.

Over the years, I have found monthly plans to be less expensive for me than annual plans. This is because I don't need to run as many cell cams year round as seasonally, and because some cams are periodically dying at the end of their working lifetime (sometimes much shorter than expected).

For example, do you really need to run a particular cam between the 6-month period March to August? Depending on the cam, that could mean adding a load of expensive lithium batteries on top of the cell service plan, as cams require battery power. Of course, you can add solar panels, etc., but everything you do will add to your costs, and possibly come with other negatives, such as making your cam more easily seen by both trespassers & wildlife.

Many cell service plans will give you a much better deal when you run 3 or more units of their brand on the same plan. What's more, especially if you don't need your pics uploaded instantly or more often than every other day or two, you can really get a much better deal with some brands over others.

One brand I use provides near unlimited (practically speaking) for a 6-cam monthly plan. But they also allow you to swap the particular cams for different cams, periodically as you choose, meaning you could utilize 12 different cell cams on a 6-cam plan. You might have 1 or 2 cams you never rotate, but 4 or 5 you rotate with different cams every other day, weekly, etc.

Like most things, you learn by doing, then what matters most to you with your usage.
 
TheLBLman said:
More about cell service plans.

Over the years, I have found monthly plans to be less expensive for me than annual plans. This is because I don't need to run as many cell cams year round as seasonally, and because some cams are periodically dying at the end of their working lifetime (sometimes much shorter than expected).

For example, do you really need to run a particular cam between the 6-month period March to August? Depending on the cam, that could mean adding a load of expensive lithium batteries on top of the cell service plan, as cams require battery power. Of course, you can add solar panels, etc., but everything you do will add to your costs, and possibly come with other negatives, such as making your cam more easily seen by both trespassers & wildlife.

Many cell service plans will give you a much better deal when you run 3 or more units of their brand on the same plan. What's more, especially if you don't need your pics uploaded instantly or more often than every other day or two, you can really get a much better deal with some brands over others.

One brand I use provides near unlimited (practically speaking) for a 6-cam monthly plan. But they also allow you to swap the particular cams for different cams, periodically as you choose, meaning you could utilize 12 different cell cams on a 6-cam plan. You might have 1 or 2 cams you never rotate, but 4 or 5 you rotate with different cams every other day, weekly, etc.

Like most things, you learn by doing, then what matters most to you with your usage.
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I think this guy just wants to be heard. I kid. That's a lot of info. I think for a lot of people it's price vs quality. Let's face it, cost are at an all time high and our hobbies will take a hit because of it for most people.
 

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