Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Game cameras, cellular

What is a good brand of camera that sends pics to your phone? Does it cost a monthly fee? How does that all work? Do you like them? Are they worth the trouble? I haven’t used cameras in years, got tired of fooling with them.

We’ve used cuddelinks, MoultrieMobile, exodus and now Tactacam Reveal. By far the Tactacam are the easiest to setup and most reliable. Use solar panels to save on batteries. Although 12 AA Duracells seem to do just fine for about 3 months.

Make sure you get the right SD Cards. Sandusky Extreme pro 32gb I think.

I use the intermediate plan. 500 pics per month for each of 9 cams. The cams will use each others data if one uses all photos and it’s been fine. About 75 per month is the fee

There is a feature to load photos in HD that is 5$ for 50 hd photos.

I have had good luck getting the Verizon cams to pick up service in weak areas.

We run them on the Missouri property and here at home in PA. Nice to see what’s going on without walking in to check cams. Being able to monitor a property 900 miles away is priceless

In the end they all have a few pros and cons. But were it me looking to get in the game it would be Tactacam and MoultrieMobile in that order. Cuddles links are a pain to setup and the exodus eats batteries.

+1 on the Tactacam Reveal with a solar panel. We had three of them last year in MS and used the strap to easily move & mount them on various trees. This was the only brand we ever had so no comparisons. But if my technically-challenged buddy Dwight can setup & operate one, I have a high level of confidence most people can.

Hanco...
I have a good friend that is pricey to free cameras. He told me to get the Tacticams... I got 3 last year off eBay (new) for about 65 each during the summer when no one wanted them. Could not be more pleased. Will probably pick up a couple more this year. Totally programable by your smartphone for everything. My cheap batteries lasted 3-4months only sending pics a couple of times a day. Let me know if you need any info... I'm sold.

I have the Tactacam Reveal and it work’s really well. Good pics both day and night, batteries are on their 4th month. I’ve gotten clear pics as far out as 80 feet.

I’ve used older Moultrie models and had good results with all but the VX-6000 which doesn’t seem to work well in extreme cold. I’m running 4 of the newer Moultrie Edge cams with no complaints. Battery life is dependent on how often you have it transmitting pics. I use longer interval settings to conserve battery life. I have no use for instant photo transmission with as many pics as I get some days. Several of my buddies like the Spypoint cams.

We use Tactacam and Spypoint. As was said, the Tactacam needs a specific SD Card to operate correctly. Spypoint customer service sucks and must be updated in the field occasionally. All in all both work pretty good with Tactacam having an edge in useability and receiving signal service.

I wanted to buy some Tacticam units but couldn't find any. A buddy was using Muddy cameras and I bought 3. They've been performing well, so long as I can get a signal, which can be really spotty in my area. Lots of spots on my place won't even get one bar on my phone.

Received a SpyPoint as a Christmas gift, had it up on the 26th.
Get 100 free pics month.

No issues so far.

Bought 2 of the MoultrieMobile edge . No sd cards to worry with, not tied to any one network.
So far they have worked well for me.
Ronnie

Thank you all for the replies, birthday in a couple weeks, gotta get Wifey on this soon

I will also add... The best part for me is not actually having to pull the sd cards - Ido everything I can to LIMIT my intrusion. This helps immensly

hanco they are worth it to keep track of things at the hog traps . stops a lot of checking empty ones

Another vote for the Tactacam Reveal

I run 11 Reconyx Cellulars that are expensive but you get what you pay for, you don't miss any pictures and fast transmission along with a 5 year warranty and great customer service
These are low resolution pics you can request high resolution for an extra charge or down load them off the SD card

Check cell service where you’re going to use them. If it’s spotty, you might want to pass. I don’t like SPYPOINT. MoultrieMobile was ok. I like getting the instant pics, but it’s almost cheating. I’ve got mixed feelings about them.

I like being able to change the timer delay on the fly. If some hogs move in and start homesteading, I can easily bump the delay timer up to 2-3 minutes between pics. If bucks are rutting, I can set the timer much shorter and catch more deer on camera. The instant pic functionality has helped me before with hogs, as they'll sometimes mill around long enough for me to sneak in on them. Not so with deer, as they are usually on the move much more.

This. With a solar unit I can put a camera up and leave for 3 or 4 months, maybe longer and never have to enter an area. Very good if you are watching bedding areas.

Looking at some cellular options other than Tactacam which I really like.

My SIL talked me into a cellular camera system this last year. We went with Cuddebacks with Solar panels. The data plan with Verizon, I believe, was $120 a year. The system worked flawlessly, sending pics to my PC and his phone. He lives about 2 and a half hours south of me. Had 4 cameras around the property linked to a single sending unit. Solar panels are the way to go. No replacing batteries. We did have a couple cameras fail due to water leaks during the year. These were replaced by the company without question. The only downside was that the cameras wouldn't link up well in heavy pines. According to the SIL, the data signal wavelength is pretty close to the length of red pine needles so they are very efficient in blocking the data transfer.

Tried the first gen Reveal and it sucked. 2 cameras for 3 months- 0 pics sent.
Traded those for the Gen 2 and those have been flawless. The new Pro model looks great too