Whether you are a hunter or a photographer, it is not always possible to be present in the jungle when the right moment to shoot presents itself – whether you are shooting your gun or your camera. Big game hunters need to stake out their prey for weeks or months before they can get a clear idea about the daily schedules of the animals. And photographers are interested in remote cameras which can help them great pictures or videos even when they are not present. For these requirements, a trail camera comes in handy. Let us examine some of the most popular trail cameras available today, so that we can make a list of the best trail camera brands and products. But before we go there, we need to understand a few technical terms which would help us understand the camera specifications better.
Battery Backup : The nature of trail cameras is such that they need to be able to take pictures and videos over a long period of time. The essence of a trail camera is that it stays concealed and then takes pictures or videos as soon as it detects animal movements. Therefore the owner of the camera can’t afford to go to the camera too often for changing or charging its batteries. Usually backup is measured in hours, or it is sometimes measured in number of pictures that can be taken. The best trail camera would have lengthy battery backup and also adequate slots for battery cells. Users need to remember that the more features that a camera has, the more would be its battery usage.
Range and Detection Zone : The range of a trail camera is the straight line distance till which it can pick up subjects and produce clear pictures. The detection zone is a V shaped arc that starts at the face of the camera and moves outward in both directions till it covers the arc in which the trail camera can shoot pictures and videos by detecting movement. The best trail camera would cover as large an area and distance possible, without compromising on the quality of the pictures and videos.
Recovery Time : As soon as a trail camera detects movement, it starts taking pictures and videos. The time taken for it to begin shooting these pictures is called recovery time. Say a camera has been placed to shoot pictures of deer. With too long a recovery time, the camera might be able to capture only the hind part of a deer or it could get blurred moving images or pictures. The best trail camera would be likely to have a recovery time of less than a second, so that no relevant detail gets left out.
Time Lapse : Most trail cameras click pictures or shoot videos as soon as they detect movement, but there are some cameras which allow you to pre-set intervals at which the camera would automatically take pictures. This feature is more useful when the dawn and dusk feature is used, and the camera is placed over a water body or a food bait area. The best trail camera brands come with both time lapse feature, as well as burst feature, which can help the camera shoot 3-5 pictures one after the other so that no movement gets left out.
Let us now look at the best camera models we could spot for a list of best trail camera brands. This is by no means exhaustive, but each of these products has something or the other that sets it apart from others in its class.
Browning Strike Force : Browning is already listed high up in every list of best trail camera brand, but this particular product has caught the fancy of all enthusiasts. The first feature that takes this camera above and beyond all competitors is the high quality of images (10 megapixels) and high resolution of videos (720p). These videos are short ones which can be up to 2 minutes long. The Zero Blur feature makes the pictures gain even more clarity, and helps you avoid hazy images due to blurring. The night time flash range is 100 feet, and during the daytime the range is about 70 feet. Some users have reported that the daytime images are a little drab at times and almost look colourless, and also some videos can sometimes have audio trouble. The battery life is pretty dependable, and can go on up to six months at least. Apart from the longer battery life, another feature which prevents any good opportunity being missed out is the short response time of 0.67 seconds. This camera which finds pride of place in any list of best trail camera brands has an algorithm programmed which also prevent any blank shots (pictures with no images) being taken, although users shouldn’t be discouraged on hearing about the algorithm, since the programming of the camera is pretty simple. The camouflage design of the camera case and the relatively smaller size makes it easy to place and conceal, so that there is no risk of any animal discovering its location and disturbing it. We feel that the flimsy looking plastic case could have been replaced, though, with something more robust. Overall, our opinion is that the Browning Strike Force with HD capabilities is a great buy at its price, and thoroughly deserves a place in the list of 5 best trail camera brands.
Bushnell Trophy Cam : This too is a moderately priced trail camera which has enough goodies to propel it to any list of best trail camera brands. The range is slightly lesser at 60 feet, but the high trigger speed ensures that no movement gets left out. The trigger speed of 0.6 seconds is fast by any standards. The pictures are obtained in 8 MP resolution, and the videos do not have any limit of time, and video duration can be programmed depending on the space left. The daytime pictures seem a little bright sometimes, although the colour and contrast are both impeccable. Bushnell has a unique hybrid feature which allows both pictures and video to be taken at the same time. Up to 3 pictures can be taken on a single trigger, and the video offers high resolution of 1280 x 720 p. The night vision mode uses as many as 32 LED lamps for the flash, which gives very crisp night time pictures with a range of up to 80 feet. This camera has a time lapse feature which allows you to click a certain number of pictures at pre designated intervals. The camera case seems quite sturdy and the camera components are safe and protected at all times and in all weather. In case you are not an advanced expert, the usage and programming of this camera could take some time to master. Battery life is one redeeming feature of this model, and if too many of the settings are not changed, then a year of service is par for course.
Moultrie Low Glow : We will come to the other features in a bit, but one amazing feature that this camera has is that it has a powerful flash which remains almost invisible to the naked eye, hence it is called Low Glow. For this unique feature itself, this model can be added to the best trail camera list. Now for the other things you will like (and some you will not) in this trail camera. The camera has a range of 100 feet which is an awesome capability considering how muted the flash is and how crisp those pictures are. The response time is very nice and the pictures get triggered in less than a second. Depending on the situation and the use of the camera, you could opt for motion sensor mode or you could select the time lapse mode. The motion detection can trigger off a single picture or a multi shot option. One of the several options available is the burst mode in which 3 photographs would be taken one after the other. The time lapse mode, on the other hand, is not dependent on any event or trigger, but the time of clicking pictures can be pre-set. This camera has one of the best time lapse software available, and the wide array of exposure modes gives a lot of flexibility to the user. This camera can lay claim easily to be the best trail camera at its price range, owing to the useful features, ease of use and good battery backup. Though there are a few flaws here and there, but still we could recommend this model for its picture quality and the unique low glow feature.
Stealth Cam STC : We added this one to this list of best trail camera brands simply because of the low price it offers. Let the low price not fool you, though, because it still packs a large number of attractive features. The only thing to remember is that all the features loaded on this camera would be accordingly reduced in power because of the comparatively lower price charged. The horizontal range is a reasonable 50 feet, while the angle of view of the sensor is 50°. Each trigger can set off up to 6 photographs, each of which can be programmed to show the date, time and phase of the moon. This camera would be the easiest for a beginner to operate, but at the same time is favoured by experienced shooters as well. But the most popular usage of the Stealth Cam is in buying it in bulk, to be used as security cameras in homes or residential apartments or in offices. The thick strap on this rugged machine can help you be creative in how you fix it up on a tree trunk or on a building pillar. The infra-red flash is the best combination of low intensity light on the flash and also great clarity on flash assisted images. The 12 infrared emitters aid the clarity of the 6 megapixel camera. For storage you need to attach SD cards, and this camera is compatible with memory sticks or storage cards of up to 32 GB. Some of the features on this camera might appear to be old fashioned to you, since it is one of the earliest models to have come into mass production, but looking at the reasonable price and the great utility, we would still say that this one epitomizes ‘old is gold’, and can easily make it to any best trail camera list.
Bestguarder HD : This is one of the best trail camera models available today, but you don’t need to take our word for it. Check out the awesome features it brings you. First up is the 12 megapixel camera, which is the highest among all the cameras listed here. The video also has 1080p resolution. You can be sure you won’t miss out any animal movement, owing to the 0.65 seconds response time of the trigger. The infrared flash has 36 separate pieces, which is the best in class and provides unmatched night time clarity for pictures and videos. The range of this camera is as much as 75 feet, so your camera can easily be placed at a safe distance away from where the animals are actually expected to tread. Weighing in at less than 12 ounces, with a compact size to match, this camera’s dimensions act as the perfect foil to the camouflage design to ensure that no animal can damage or disturb it. Apart from the usual date, time and moon phase displays, this camera goes a step ahead and provides information of barometric pressure, temperature and GPS coordinates. Users had mainly two issues with this camera which took it behind the other cameras on the best trail camera list. The video footage seems to eat up the batteries much faster, and the storage capacity on SD cards is still an ancient 32 GB only. But overall, this camera would be a great possession to have, and is right up there near or at the top of the best trail camera list.
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