As stated previously, I try to think in terms of price and value, from a broad perspective, and over time. Then go for all the value for which I can afford that initial price.
Consider . . . . . .
What if the average $600 Reconyx works better and works flawlessly for 6 years? Then your investment is $600 a year?
What if the average $200 cam works only 85% of the time and fails to work at all after 2 years? Guess what, the cost remains $100 a year, yet you get less reliability and fewer pics.
Although the gap is closing on some of these differences, one big difference in the recent past has been battery life and reliability. Many cheap cams would go thru the batteries much faster, sometimes costing you more on batteries over a 2-yr period than you paid for the cam. This was particularly true when you needed to replace the batteries every 3 to 6 weeks.
Now, many cams will go 6 months to a year on a single set of batteries. But for how long can you trust that cam to work properly for several months without checking on it? If you make special trips to check on cams simply because you're afraid they might not being working, then you need to add that extra gas cost to your total cost.
Bottom line is there's much more to think about than just the initial cost.
