Bushnell Trophy Cam one of the best options for trail camera?

wahoowad

wahoowad

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I recently bought my first trail camera - A Bushnell TrophyCam HD 14MP unit. I was overwhelmed by all the different models and went with this one because hoping the Bushnell name would mean something. It was a little more expensive than comparable models but I was OK with that assuming I got more value.

I've just been playing with it in my yard to get used to the features. One thing I'm noticing is the battery life sucks on AA rechargeables. I know, I know, it says to use alkaline or lithium batteries but I have a good supply of rechargeables that I keep charged up and hate to use up expensive throw-away batteries.

Anybody have a good solution to find the right balance for batteries?

Also, it has this infrared flash that is supposed to be blacked out to make it less visible, yet it looks obviously red to me when it is working. Should I expect it to be non-visible?

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https://www.rogerssportinggoods.com/medi...u-119777c-1.jpg
 
Hey, haven't seen you in a while. Groundhog season is fast approaching and I know you will be ready.

As to the Trophy Cam, mine has been going strong for over two years, more like three. It is the easiest on batteries of the many cameras I have owned. I use alakalins, generally the cheap Dollar Store kind and it just seems to run forever on them in warmer weather, and set to record in video. I set my cameras to video rather than photos. Even in cold weather it runs a pretty good while. I have external batteries for my other cameras to extend field use, but haven't had to with the Trophy Cam.

Try some alkaline batteries and see how it goes. Your camera is a different model than mine and I am anxious to see how they compare. Mine is not the black out type but I would like to have one of those.
 
I have am 8mp Bushnell Trophy Camera that I use Duracell Copper Top AA (alkaline) batteries in and get months of use out of them.

As far as the red light showing I don't see that as a big problem. I use some Tasco's with a flash so I can get color pictures at night and bobcats, bears, and coons, have come right up to the camera to sniff it. The coons have leave tooth marks around the flash area. Coyotes are not as brave, but still get their picture taken in the background.

Fast trigger speed will get you more pictures of animals.
 
Had two of the 14 MP's. Worked great for 3-4 months and then all of a sudden they started taking pictures every minute. No idea what the problem was. Changed batteries to lithiums and SD cards to Class 10s. Hope this helps.
 

I too have had coyotes put their nose to the camera without being afraid, and have had others practically jump out of their skin when the camera turns on. I don't know whether they hear the sound of the camera turning on, or the red glow, or both.

Here's a video clip showing coyotes that didn't seem bothered by the red glow. Near the end of the video, a coyote comes up to the camera and looks into it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rirZYPohX4k&feature=youtu.be




 
I use lithium batteries and the set in it now has been going for over a year.
Mine is the standard bushnell 8mp one w/out the blackout. Coyotes & other animals have stuck their noses & rear ends in it to many times to count.
 
I work for Moultrie and I cann't speak for Bushnell but we recommend alkaline or lithium batteries in our cameras. Rechargeable batteries work on a lower voltage, therefore if there is no activity in front of the camera it will go into a sleep mode to preserve battery life. Rechargeable do not have the same voltage as alkaline batteries and will not let the camera come out of sleep mode fast enough to take a picture when motion is detected.
 

Originally Posted By: GkrepsI work for Moultrie and I cann't speak for Bushnell but we recommend alkaline or lithium batteries in our cameras. Rechargeable batteries work on a lower voltage, therefore if there is no activity in front of the camera it will go into a sleep mode to preserve battery life. Rechargeable do not have the same voltage as alkaline batteries and will not let the camera come out of sleep mode fast enough to take a picture when motion is detected.

Good information that Gkreps. I just learned something.

I really like my Moultrie M880. It has been going strong now for a few years. It is rather hard on batteries (alakalin) but I use an external 12-volt and it seems to run forever.



 
I gave up on Bushnell cameras several years ago,they always fail,and Bushnell's warranty/customer service sucks.
I've owned 4 Browning SpecOps trail camera's for over 4 years,and they are still working as good as the day I took them out of the box. I use the Northern Tool brand AA batteries,and they last for several months in each camera,even when I use them on video mode. I run all of my camera's year round on my hunting lease,so they get used hard.
 
This new Bushnell "Aggressor" cam is not not like the Bushnells of old. I bought two of the red IR models and immediately had problems with black pictures at daylight and again at dark. Customer service had me download a "fix" and install on the cams, but that really screwed them up! They wouldn't even power on after the install. Sent them in and got two new ones from Bushnell, checked them they still had the old firmware version that Bushnell told me had been replaced on "Every cam in the factory and warehouse".
\Sent those two back and finally got the newer version, but I'm still not as happy with them as I am with my Stealth G42NG cams and Browning Dark Ops

Detection range is fantastic and battery life is above average, but image quality isn't all that great for a 14 megapixel camera
 
Radio, your camera is prolly closer to an 8 mega pixel that has been interpolated to 14 MP. Interpolating is really stretching the current MP to the max. It can lead to blurry photos.
 
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