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Where do you get the best deal on a trail cam?

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TheLBLman

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[size]Where do you get the best deal on a trail cam?[/size]

That answer may depend on just exactly what you're looking for.
May depend on a lot of things other than just price.

If you're looking for a Reconyx, Uway, or HCO Scoutguard
you'll be hard pressed to equal the overall value of
"The Huntin Shack".

This company has given me top-notch service, particularly service and help after the sale.
And price? Among the cheapest for those I listed above.

http://www.thehuntinshack.com/default.asp

Also, if you want a bunch of Python locks all keyed the same, they can get those for you at a good price (cheaper than what I had paid at Wal-mart).

Some of you know I'm partial to my home-brews, but I also use "commercially" available cams, some of which will do things the homebrews cannot, such as truly invisible "black" infrared flash (Uway & Reconyx). While I can't say "all" my future cams are coming from The Hunting Shack, I will say any future purchases will be from there if they carry the brand/model of any new purchase (such as Reconyx) I'm making.

And I'll know in advance that should I get a lemon cam (that can happen with any brand, particularly those made in China), or need technical help beyond the poorly written "instructions" that come with most . . . . . . . .
I can actually make a call, speak to a live person (who actually speaks English), AND knows the stuff, AND stands behind the products they sell.

They "treated me right", went beyond expectations, and I'm wholeheartedly recommending them, with a special thanks to John Williams for all his help.
 
FIREMANJIM said:
I just knew you were gonna say JTS Wildlife Cameras.......
Click to expand...
Jim, I plan to get my next homebrew thru you. :)
But the Reconyx is coming from The Huntin' Shack.

Wes Parrish said:
[size]Where do you get the best deal on a trail cam?[/size]

That answer may depend on just exactly what you're looking for.
Click to expand...
Homebrews provide much better quality pics than a Reconyx.
While Reconyx has some programming and triggering options not available (yet) on the homebrew platform.

I wholeheartedly recommend FIREMANJIM, too.
Best of both worlds. :)
 
Andy S. said:
Which Reconyx model are you getting Wes?
Click to expand...
Andy,

The Reconyx Hyperfire� HC 600.

I should elaborate a bit more, regarding the need for different trail cams for different applications. Just "generally speaking", I consider quality "homebrews" to provide the most bang for the dollar, and without question, higher quality pictures.

But the Reconyx line has proven itself in terms of being the overall "best" cam on the market, the only disappointment being its 3.1 mp images. My 4.0 mp Sony P41 homebrews produce far superior images, and FiremanJim is even producing homebrews now with 14 mp Sony images! It's just that image quality is but one of many factors.

The options for high-quality truly invisible "black" flash infrared flash are limited. Same can be said for high resolution video and "time lapse" triggering. While the Reconyx may not be true seamless video, the fact that it can take those 3.1 mp images at 2 frames per second (continuously) makes it superior to any trail cam videos I've seen (at least for my purposes).

But the main attraction of the Reconyx to me is absolute reliability, and it's ability to take a very large card capable of holding all those 3.1 mp images. Not to mention a trigger speed of 1/5 of a second. Most commercial cams have trigger speeds around 1.5 to 2.5 seconds, and I'm not aware of any homebrews with a trigger speed faster than about 1 second.

For me to get what I want from my trail cams and various set-ups, I need both homebrews and commercial cams. Maybe some day we can have all the great options and features in a single cam. But today, that doesn't exist.
 
Wes Parrish said:
For me to get what I want from my trail cams and various set-ups, I need both homebrews and commercial cams. Maybe some day we can have all the great options and features in a single cam. But today, that doesn't exist.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. I still use my homebrews as "food plot cams", because of their powerful flashes and high-quality images. All other set-ups (where the deer will be close to the cam) are monitored with commercial black-flash cams (Reconyx and Uway).
 
Wes Parrish said:
The Reconyx Hyperfire� HC 600.
Click to expand...
I was hoping you were getting the 600. My HC 600 (true black flash) is my go to camera on scrapes, salt licks or any where else deer may become stationary for several seconds. From my experience, nothing else compares to black flash in this exact scenario as the deer stay calmer longer allowing numerous pictures from a variety of angles (just as Bryan has stated many times on here).

Wes Parrish said:
For me to get what I want from my trail cams and various set-ups, I need both homebrews and commercial cams.
Click to expand...
I agree 100%.
 
I would like to add for 'us' rookies with these high tech blackflash cams(mine being uway) that my mistake was not knowing everything about it. yeh i had it for all of Oct. taking pics but not videos. so when the Pre Rut got here i thought gee, i never had a cam with Video before lets just put this Cam on a hot Scrape and do video option. Well when i went to check the cam, my remote was dead, then swap cards and head back to the house, slap the card in my digital cam and Nothing! well that sorta sucks somethings wrong with the cam, go check on it a week later then no pics But i had then heard a little beeping sound, i then found my sd card wasnt in all the way. after season i was going thru my cards and i accidentaly found the card from the pre rut with 3 big shooters using that scrape in the daylight! the video was awesome. if i had known that i could only see the video on my remote(or laptop) i would have known about the Bucks and i would have had a stand Right there close to that Scrape. oh well, theres always next season.
My two cents is Know your Cam before you Deploy. Plus i totally agree with you Guys on Black Flash for scrapes, its a Must.
 
mr.hicks said:
My two cents is Know your Cam before you Deploy.
Click to expand...

To second what mr.hicks wrote, DON'T buy a cam and then rush it out into the woods without having played around with it for awhile. Set it up in your backyard and test different settings both day and night, video and still images, for several days to a week. This will give you the chance to figure out which settings will work best for that camera before deploying it.
 

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