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Trail cam life expectancy?

I've had some that only lasted 1 season, and other that I've had for several years.

I've found that leaving them out in the rain isn't good for them at all. It creates corrosion, and after awhile it causes problems.

I've even cut a small roof-like cover out of a plastic 3 liter bottle before, to shield it from the rain. That seemed to help, but also made the camera a little more visible.
 
Seems hit and miss for me. I have several browning, moultries, and coverts that have all quit working but have others of the same model that are several years old and still working fine. I have started using Tactacam last year and have not had any issues so far.
 
i have a couple old cannon owl's. If you know what these are, then you are truly an "old timer" from here. . They were working years ago when i went "digital".

Cannon Owl
Motion Sensor Light from walmart (can't remember the model)
diodes/jumper from radio shack

Speaking of digital, i found in my homebrew drawer, a couple Sony P32/P41's. These still work !
 
I haven't used all the brands out there, and my personal use for the past several years has been limited to Moultrie (non-cell) Browning (non-cell & cell), Tactacam (cell), and RidgeTec (cell). Do have friends using some other brands and hear what they have to say. Many like the Spartans (seems to be similar to the RidgeTecs); most have recently soured on the Tactacams.

I think no matter the brand, you can get a "lemon" unit (sometimes the entire model line is a lemon).

I'm going to say a "reasonable" expectation might be in the ball park of 4 - 5 years, a little less if used year round.

I usually have multiple units & models of several brands, and there will typically be something like 1 in 4 units that had poor quality control. Of course, Reconyx may be the best bet, but the most expensive.

Among the lower cost options, I've had my best luck with the Browning brand.

And to some degree, you will get what you pay for, as cheap is usually cheaper for a reason, but some brands are over-priced to pay for more advertising.

One thing you can do up front to increase the longevity of a cam is to use it inside a steel security box. These boxes reduce the damages caused by both rain & direct sun.
 
I used to bet on 2-3 years, and would be pleasantly surprised by individual cams that would last 5 or 6. So far (knock on wood), all of my newer Brownings are still running (4 that are 3 years old, 4 that are two years old, 4 that are 1 year old).
 
The first year Browning came out with the "Dark Ops" model (only uses 6 AA batteries and is true black flash), I bought two of them. I believe that was 2012. One of those original two is still working, the other only died last year.
 
Same as everyone else, I've had hit and miss luck. Some last. Some do not. No rhyme or reason that I can tell. I know WGI sometimes isn't so popular but my oldest cam is a WGI. I've got a few old Moulties still going, and one old Covert.
 
Our oldest is a bushnell 8ish years old. My oldest browning are 4 years and going good. I used to say like others 2 to 3. I try to buy better ones then I used to. I am curious on my cell cams how they hold up. My oldest are just 2 years on on them. Wgi cams I had a good run for 2 years and had some last 4 years the last batch didn't make it through a season. Hit and miss on Moultries. Never had much luck out of stealth cams or cuddy backs. My spy points where complete yugo and didn't last a month. Planning on trying some Spartans and browning cell cans this year. Would love to get a few reconyx but I'll have to hit the lottery for them. For most brands they are very hit and miss. I am very impressed with my brownings. We will see like I said how my tactacams and bushnell cell cams hold up.
 
deerhunter10 said:
Our oldest is a bushnell 8ish years old.
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I forgot that I still have a couple Bushnells that must be 6 or 7 yrs old.
But the last Bushnell I added, stopped working in less than 2 yrs.

I like the field-scan options of the Bushnells, but am going whole hog towards the RidgeTec cell cams for field-scan usage now.
 
deerhunter10 said:
Our oldest is a bushnell 8ish years old. My oldest browning are 4 years and going good. I used to say like others 2 to 3. I try to buy better ones then I used to. I am curious on my cell cams how they hold up. My oldest are just 2 years on on them. Wgi cams I had a good run for 2 years and had some last 4 years the last batch didn't make it through a season. Hit and miss on Moultries. Never had much luck out of stealth cams or cuddy backs. My spy points where complete **** and didn't last a month. Planning on trying some Spartans and browning cell cans this year. Would love to get a few reconyx but I'll have to hit the lottery for them. For most brands they are very hit and miss. I am very impressed with my brownings. We will see like I said how my tactacams and bushnell cell cams hold up.
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The spartan cams I have are the go live, I did an in depth cost to run the cams at the 6 month mark and posted it here. you may enjoy.

First cam got in fall 2021 and still running good. I have the go live models.
 
Still have one Covert MP5 that works, but their quality has gone down past few years imo. Have several MP16's that didn't last two years. Tried Browning's several years ago & in short time had two with broken latches. However, based on recent discussions here I'm going to give them another shot.
 
tellico4x4 said:
Still have one Covert MP5 that works, but their quality has gone down past few years imo. Have several MP16's that didn't last two years. Tried Browning's several years ago & in short time had two with broken latches. However, based on recent discussions here I'm going to give them another shot.
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First year or two Browning entered the trail-cam market, their cameras were crap. And I mean CRAP! Wow, have they ever improved. In my opinion, currently best cams on the market for the price.
 

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