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Your favorite traditional (non-cell) camera?

Southern Sportsman

Southern Sportsman

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Joined
Sep 18, 2011
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Location
West TN
It's been a couple years since I've bought new cameras. I don't want cell cams, and mine spend a lot of time hanging in river bottoms subject to flooding, so I would prefer something on the budget-friendly side. My last few have been Coverts or Browning dark ops. But it seems like there are so many new offerings every year and I haven't kept up with the options. What cams do you currently like?
 
Hands down, unquestionably the Browning Spec Ops Elite HP5. I have quite a few of them and not a problem out of any of them. They take the clearest video with sound of any camera I've tested.

However, I wouldn't call them "budget friendly." They run around $180 each.
 
BSK said:
Hands down, unquestionably the Browning Spec Ops Elite HP5. I have quite a few of them and not a problem out of any of them. They take the clearest video with sound of any camera I've tested.

However, I wouldn't call them "budget friendly." They run around $180 each.
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I second that!



 
BSK said:
Hands down, unquestionably the Browning Spec Ops Elite HP5. I have quite a few of them and not a problem out of any of them. They take the clearest video with sound of any camera I've tested.

However, I wouldn't call them "budget friendly." They run around $180 each.
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I'll third that, however, I did have to send back two of our HP5's because the time and date would reset itself to 1/1/2020 12:00….at some point while it was out in the field. No charge for either to fix. And one of them got returned to me full of batteries and a 32gb memory card.
 
BSK said:
Hands down, unquestionably the Browning Spec Ops Elite HP5. I have quite a few of them and not a problem out of any of them. They take the clearest video with sound of any camera I've tested.

However, I wouldn't call them "budget friendly." They run around $180 each.
Click to expand...
That's what I use. Got 6 of them and no problems what so ever.
 
I am/was a Browning fan but there are some cheap cams on Amazon that easily beat any Browning I've ever had in terms of pic/vid/sound quality. And a couple years in so far they seem pretty darn durable. The first two videos below were from a $60 Meidase P60 camera, $40 if you can find them on sale, which is pretty often.








The nest vids are from the GardePro A5. They're around $100 or sometimes way less on sale. The sound and clarity is unbelievable for the price. They have Sony components though.



 
Ski said:
I am/was a Browning fan but there are some cheap cams on Amazon that easily beat any Browning I've ever had in terms of pic/vid/sound quality. And a couple years in so far they seem pretty darn durable. The first two videos below were from a $60 Meidase P60 camera, $40 if you can find them on sale, which is pretty often.


View attachment 241777


View attachment 241778


The nest vids are from the GardePro A5. They're around $100 or sometimes way less on sale. The sound and clarity is unbelievable for the price. They have Sony components though.

View attachment 241784

View attachment 241786
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Those are really good @Ski . Ever had to use their customer service?
 
Southern Sportsman said:
It's been a couple years since I've bought new cameras. I don't want cell cams, and mine spend a lot of time hanging in river bottoms subject to flooding, so I would prefer something on the budget-friendly side. My last few have been Coverts or Browning dark ops. But it seems like there are so many new offerings every year and I haven't kept up with the options. What cams do you currently like?
Click to expand...
The absolute best cam I have ever had (cell or non cell) is a Stealth non cell I got in 2014. Best pics of all my cams. It will not allow me to set the date and time...I get through one or the other and it blips and goes to ready to shoot. Still works on all settings. So, how do I use it? Well I log the date and time I pull the card and I do the math when I save the pics. Yea, a little work but it keeps me young...lol...
 
Browning. Run several for our non cellular cameras and since switching have had zero problems out of them. Sometimes the battery treys are a little aggravating though.
 
Batteries just died on my Browning spec ops elite hp4. I only got 16 months and 35,000 pics from that set of lithium.

That being said, they are expensive. The Browning dark ops can be had for around $60 to $70 on sale and take great pics and last forever as well. I run 4 or 5 of those also
 
Ski said:
Garde Pro A5 from Amazon. Best camera I've ever used.
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I have a couple those, and they are ok,
but very far from approaching "best".

The pics are clear and the battery life is great.
Compared to most other brands now, Garde Pro programming sucks,
as it's not very intuitive.

They are a good value for their cost.
But for me, various Browning models are a better value and better period.
 
BSK said:
Hands down, unquestionably the Browning Spec Ops Elite HP5. I have quite a few of them and not a problem out of any of them. They take the clearest video with sound of any camera I've tested.

However, I wouldn't call them "budget friendly." They run around $180 each.
Click to expand...
Those are great cams, but, imo, not worth their initial price point if you're not exclusively running video.

I do mostly pics, not video, so I am a fan of the Browning Dark Ops models.

www.trailcampro.com

Browning Dark Ops Pro X 1080 (Non-Cellular)

Discover why the Browning Dark Ops Pro X 1080 non-cellular trail camera is a top choice for scouting. We offer comprehensive, honest game camera reviews.
www.trailcampro.com www.trailcampro.com

One thing I like about the Dark Ops series is they only require 6 AA batteries, and these units are much smaller (less visible to wildlife & humans) than most other cams.

You can usually buy the next to the most recent version (last year's models) much cheaper than this year's.

www.trailcampro.com

Browning Dark Ops FHDR (Non-Cellular)

Read our Browning Dark Ops FHDR non-cellular trail camera review to see if this camera is right for you. These no glow game cameras have numerous benefits.
www.trailcampro.com www.trailcampro.com
 

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