TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
First, let me say I have zero experience with some brands, limited experience with most, and over the past couple years, my main personal experience has been with Brownings & Ridgetecs, along with a couple Tactacam units. But I have been using cell cams since Covert introduced its first cell cam many years ago.
That said, I have some good friends who are running numerous brands, running the gauntlet from Tactacams to Reconyx. Our combined "fleet" currently includes approximately 250 cell cams. We frequently discuss what is working best for us, and what seems to be the better values. It is not Tactacam for us.
Things are constantly changing, new, better technologies becoming available, and what was best a year or two ago, may not be today, but it may take a couple more years to realize that.
Going back 2 years and beyond, I've gotten my best overall value from the Browning brand. My models include some of their original cell cams (no longer manufactured, but have worked flawlessly, continuously year-round now for over 3 yrs).
The majority of my cell cams now are the Browning Defender Wireless Pro Scout. Most of these have been running continuously now for @ 2 years. Battery life is approximately twice that of the original Tactacam, and they use 8 AAs compared to 12 AAs with the Tactacam. You should only use lithium batteries with cell cams, and battery replacement cost can be one of your more significant ongoing expenses beyond the purchase price, as is a monthly (or yearly) service charge from the cam's manufacturer.
This particular Browning model is widely available and typically priced at $199.99.
Browning Defender Wireless Pro Scout (AT&T)
Transmit images and videos over an AT&T network from the outdoors to your wireless account with the Browning Defender Pro Scout cellular trail camera.
www.trailcampro.com
These Browning models are comparatively feature-rich with fast recovery times between triggering events. They will accept up to 512gb sd cards (meaning you should never fill them even if you go over a year between visiting the cam sites). Unless I run video mode, I can typically go a year without filling a 64 gb card. Running video means you will have to replace batteries more often (no matter the brand/model), and you can quickly fill a 32gb card (the maximum size that can be used with Tactacam).
By the way, I do not recommend purchasing ANY "new" model of ANY brand until those new offerings have been thoroughly and scientifically reviewed by some real independent experts in comparing trail cams. Don't believe the advertisements. In 2021, Browning came out with a new model. It didn't meet quality control expectations, and I'm glad I didn't buy any those "new" units. Same can be said about many other brands & "new" models.
I'm sure my thoughts will change over time, but at least in the coming months, the only other brand/model I plan to add more are the Ridgetec Lookouts. They cost a little more than the above mentioned Brownings, but are far more feature-rich. I've been running 3 of these now for coming on 2 years. They are the closest thing to a Reconyx I've used.
Ridgetec Lookout 4G LTE (Cellular)
This Ridgetec Lookout 4G LTE trail camera comes with a modem that supports both Verizon and AT&T networks. Order this cellular camera from Trailcampro.
www.trailcampro.com
This Ridgetec is both a higher performing & more feature rich cell cam than the Browning Defender Pro Scout. I suspect that is why battery life isn't as good, but looks like I'm getting approximately 6 months of everything I want from them per battery change.
Both the Brownings & the Ridgetecs can send pics (and pic notices) simultaneously to BOTH your email & your cell phone numbers.
Tactacam will only send pics to your smart phone (not your email address). Although I do review lots of pics initially on a smart phone, my preference is on the big screen of a computer. Can't easily do that with Tactacam. This alone is a big reason we don't like Tactacams, as we need to inventory & maintain pics long-term on a computer. That's a more cumbersome task when you can only initially receive them on your smart phone.
Note: Both Tactacam & other brands do save all pics taken on their sd cards. It's just that if I have to go retrieve the sd cards to easily view the pics on a large computer screen, that defeats part of the reasoning of going cellular in the first place.
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