Jinks Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 I've been using a Wildview Trail camera for a couple of years now which has served me well, I've had some great photos with it, but with looking at the choices that are available now, I decided to upgrade to something more up to date. The downsides to my wildview camera were a very poor trigger time (no good for using on trails, only on bait stations), poor internal battery life, so I had to use an external battery (more to carry and to hide on location), and that it was a flash model (good for colour night time pics, but not good for security, and it seemed to spook some of the animals. So in choosing a new camera, I was looking for something with the following criteria..... Fast trigger time Good battery life on internal batteries Infared flash Day & Night Video Option Easy to use & set up So after looking at a lot of websites from accross the pond (more choice there) and reading countless reviews, I finally decided on the Bushnell Trophy cam. This camera is identical (apart from shape) to the Scoutguard and DLC Covert Cameras (all made in the same factory in China) But I went for the Bushnell because they offer a 2 year warranty. I purchased the camera from here.. http://www.trailcampro.com/bushnelltrophycamreview.aspx A very good company to deal with, as it offers unbiased reviews on most of the cameras available today and very fast delivery times (I ordered on a Monday, camera arrived on the Wednesday!!!!!) The first thing that struck me about the camera was its size, very small!!!!! So easy to carry around and to hide on location. Here it is compared to my Wildview And in the palm of my hand The camera is easy to set up by navigating through the menu on the lcd screen and buttons on the inside of the the camera, it offers 3 or 5 mega pixel photos, video mode, adjustable sensitivity, adjustable video length, timer option, sd card formatting, continuous photo shooting (up to 3 photos per trigger) and adjustable 'time out' between triggers. I tried the different functions on the camera at home before setting it up, and was very impressed with the photo and video quality. The only problem I found was that with night time photos, the shutter speed seems to be a bit slow,causing the subject to be blurred if it is moving quickly. This was not a problem for me, as I would be using it mostly in video mode. The camera can take 4 or 8 AA batteries, and with using 8 batteries, it is claimed that they will last for up to a year if lithium batteries are used, and up to 6-8 months on good quality alkaline batteries. Im using alkalines in mine and all I can say so far is that after 2 weeks, the battery life indicator is still showing full! Another good thing is that when its time to change batteries, is that the top 4 can be changed first, then the bottom 4, and in doing so, your settings aren't lost. This is what I've had so far (sorry, no photos as I've only had it set up in video mode) Cheers Jinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grouse Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Brilliant quality vids Jinks. Could use one of those up here I reckon, how much of a glow comes off the N/V illuminator when its activated please? Regrds NW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted September 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 You can see a slight red glow off the illuminator at night when its activated, but only if you're looking straight at it. I think some of the Reconyx models an a few others have a totally invisible illuminator, but you pay a lot more. Cheers, Jinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1967spud Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 looking good jinksy did you use baits fior the camera? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted September 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 looking good jinksy did you use baits fior the camera? I used a bit of dried dog food sprinkled on the ground for the fox videos, the camera is set up on a run, but I wanted to keep things in frame for a bit longer. Cheers, Jinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemasis243 Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Fantastic quality there DYlan, thanks for the emails, cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Fantastic footage Jinks, I've just bought one, so very interesting reading for me. I'll be well chuffed if the picture quality is anything like yours. Bet you've got a trip with the rifle planned Chers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossandjet Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Looks great for the money. What does it cost for shipping and did you get cought for the Taes?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Looks great for the money. What does it cost for shipping and did you get cought for the Taes?? It cost me £170 with shipping and import duty, thought I'd got away with it when the camera turned up, only to get a bill in the post a few days later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir-slots-alot Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Great reveiw Jinks , Looks like a very useful bit of kit. I go " Baiting and Waiting " for fox at least a couple of times per week. It would certainly help to identify what time the fox is coming to the bait at., and save me alot of time just sat around Will definatley be on my Christmas list. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossandjet Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 I am sure I saw a Bushnell stand at the last WMGF last year, I will be looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted September 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 A few more, this time set on photo mode....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grouse Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 How covert are these cameras in the daytime? If you hide them up are they easily detected? Any noise/light given off them in daytime? Having a hell of a job with mountain bikers at the moment, was thinking if I could identify them when getting over a gate onto an out of bound area I could get some action against them.... Amazed at the quality of pictures anybody stock them in the UK? Regards NW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanF Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Just found this topic - and wanted to add in some results off grounds where I shoot. I use a ScoutGuard and find it provides good quality stills and video, both during the day and at night. http://cgi.ebay.com/ScoutGuard-SG550-Trail...=item3f00cd1d2b Have a look at these fellows - and you will understand how having an accurate idea of what is moving (& when) can really improve your 'hit rate'. Kind of important if you are offering commercial shooting opportunities! Rgds Ian ....and a few more filmstars: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alycidon Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Nice pics and a nick buck as well in the last batch. A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonevo Posted August 1, 2010 Report Share Posted August 1, 2010 I am well impressed with the pics looks like another item on my list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.0972b4e2bdf0b5a4109eb96f2b1b62ad.jpg)
(200x135).jpg.0fd0a94f065c6cb243fdff1b40e0819a.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.