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Best quality budget priced camera

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Columbia Scott

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I am presently running three different cameras. Two Wildgame IR4 cameras and a Scoutguard SG550V. I have had nothing but problems from both brands. I had to replace the Scoutguard last year due to white-out problems and both of the Wildgames have had issues where all you see are eyeballs at night. I'm getting photos from the field now, but I'm not happy. I ordered a 90.00 Primos Truth 35 yesterday and hope that it will prove to be more dependable. My question is simple. Should I just consider these things disposable and keep buying them, Or should I invest the 250.00 per camera for ones I don't have to worry about? Are the more expensive cameras any more reliable?!
 
Moultries have always been good to me,and when one breaks moultrie customer service has always been top notch. Then I bought a Bushnell Tcam,the $199 cam.Put it out,went to check it,and it was full of water.Sent it in to Bushnell they replaced it with the $250 trophy cam,the one with the 2in color viewer. Put it out and I checked it in 4 weeks,and it to was full of water! I was furious,so I sent it back to them and they replaced that one with another $250 camera. I don't think spending more money on a trail camera is key.I think the key to getting a quality/reliable trail cam is not buying one that has been made in CHINA!!
 
There are so many brands out there and so many features. I don't need 50 megapixles or audio. I just want a good estimation of what's moving on my property day and night. I also want pictures that are good enough that if I kill a buck I have a photo history of I can blow them up a little and frame them. I read on the forum that one of the homebrews has a lifetime warranty. That is sounding pretty good about now.
 
You need a "Tomahawk Cam"
http://www.jtswildlifecameras.com/the-tomahawk.html
I can tell you this...if a critter walks in front of one of my cameras you will have a picture of it. The problem everyone is having with the commercial cameras is quality control. THEY ARE MADE IN CHINA and mass produced. They test 1 in 10,000 units. For the money these guys are spending shipping cameras back and forth to these dealers they could have bought a great camera. Not counting all the time and gas money it takes to go check cameras that have failed to work and have crapped out. If I were gonna buy a commercial camera, which I NEVER WILL, I would buy a Reconyx or a Buckeye Cam. PERIOD !!!!
 
FIREMANJIM said:
The problem everyone is having with the commercial cameras is quality control. . . . . . For the money these guys are spending shipping cameras back and forth to these dealers they could have bought a great camera. Not counting all the time and gas money it takes to go check cameras that have failed to work and have crapped out.
Click to expand...
THIS simply cannot be emphasized enough.
Look at your total cost of operation, reliability of operation, as well as how many months or years is a reasonable time to expect the cam to actually operate.

I realize that homebrews are not as cheap to purchase as many of the cheap Chinese junk cams, but if you'll look at operating cost per hour for when the cam is actually afield and working, it becomes my opinion that over a 2 or 3-yr time horizon, the homebrews become the lowest cost cams available.

Having purchased two Uways and one Bushnell trophy cam a few months ago, having seen all three fail to work, having spent more time "dealing" with a non-working cam than a working cam (between these three) ---- my biggest regret was that I didn't buy either a Reconyx or TWO of Jim's homebrews ---- which would have been less money upfront than those three ---- and believe would have had nothing but satisfaction instead of time-consumptive frustration.

As is, I'm "gun-shy" about buying anything less than a Reconyx or a home-brew. Tired of being a guinea pig for over-advertised cams that waste more time than they're worth. Just going to stick to my old collection of homebrews and Leaf Rivers for the coming year, not planning to add any new cams. Guess should add that I've had good service from the Leaf Rivers, but considering their cost, would buy a homebrew instead.
 
i guess my buddies and i have just been lucky but we have had no issues with cheaper cams. we have had Moultrie, Bushnell, and Primos Cams. i can't give much more than $100 for a cam because there are too many sorry son of a guns around here that are willing to steal anything they can get their hands on. i've had one stole before.
 
Fireman Jim is right,I would not give one of my homebrews for 10 cuddebacks,Heck if my homebrew tears up ...worse case scenario I will have to go on e-bay and buy a 20 dollar cam.
Which is very rare...never had to do it yet ,worst thing is a wire coming loose from the board.
And as Jim has said if something walks within 50 foot of that cam you have a pic.They say the trigger time is a little slower ...I just do not know about that.I have one that would take my pic every night I came home from work 100 feet back in the woods!!
As soon as these two got close I got the pic.
051.jpg
 
If you check Ebay and Craigslist, you can usually find some used cuddebacks for a decent price. Also with the new cuddeback attack coming out, the prices on the cuddeback captures have dropped to around 150.00.
 
FIREMANJIM said:
You need a "Tomahawk Cam"
http://www.jtswildlifecameras.com/the-tomahawk.html
I can tell you this...if a critter walks in front of one of my cameras you will have a picture of it. The problem everyone is having with the commercial cameras is quality control. THEY ARE MADE IN CHINA and mass produced. They test 1 in 10,000 units. For the money these guys are spending shipping cameras back and forth to these dealers they could have bought a great camera. Not counting all the time and gas money it takes to go check cameras that have failed to work and have crapped out. If I were gonna buy a commercial camera, which I NEVER WILL, I would buy a Reconyx or a Buckeye Cam. PERIOD !!!!
Click to expand...

I went through 5 different BUDGET cameras (Bushnell, Moultrie, WGI)in less than 2 years. When they did work, the pictures sucked, the battery life was horrible and I had more pictures of nothing than I care to count.
Bought a homebrew from FiremanJim last Sept. and wil NEVER buy another commercial cam! The camera's been in the woods since I received it, has taken 1000's of high resolution, quality pictures and still functions like the day I put it in the woods. In all that time, I've changed the batteries twice.
So the 5 budget cameras I purchased, including shipping 2 back, cost me $317 dollars and 1 40 count bottle of Aleve. 1 Homebrew set me back $235...that's not hard math!
 

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