Seems to be a fairly common questions pops up about cellular trialcams - that is, the sort that send images to your phone over the mobile network, so I thought I'd post a couple of thoughts from use over the last few years.
In short, they are all a bit lacking!! Certainly, the HIK and Spypoint ones I've used and they all cost £150-160ish.
Spypoint LTE & Flex
I've been using these for a few years now and had at least two replaced under 2 year warranty, They are out all weathers and seem to have a lifespan of about 12-18 months.
Had one of these for about 6 months now:
I'm sure others have different views so it might be helpful to others to post them here.
In short, they are all a bit lacking!! Certainly, the HIK and Spypoint ones I've used and they all cost £150-160ish.
Spypoint LTE & Flex
I've been using these for a few years now and had at least two replaced under 2 year warranty, They are out all weathers and seem to have a lifespan of about 12-18 months.
- 100 photos a month sent free (you can easily run through that in a couple of days depending on settings!)
- Image quality is ok to see deer / foxes etc are present on the free plan but you can upgrade to an HD plan if needed - I've never bothered so can't comment.
- Flex model has been a bit fickle - will send notification and preview of images to my phone but when I open the app there is nothing there. Then it'll suddenly start working a few days later.
- Small, compact design (particularly LTE).
- Good battery life.
- Easy to set up and App is generally straightforward to use.
- Sends photos to your phone on a selectable schedule varying from instant to once a day (instant uses a lot more battery).
Had one of these for about 6 months now:
- Big, chunky lump.
- App and setting are hugely confusing - sort of pidgin english kinda descriptions.
- Always sends images instantly (at least I can't find a way to change it!).
- Image quality about the same as Spypoint and same free monthly allowance.
- There is a setting for "Remote Control" which sounds like the schedule for image downloads to phone but it isn't! it only seems to change when settings are uploaded to the camera and "instant" setting will eat batteries for fun. Has no impact on how often images are sent to your phone (always instantly).
- Handy setting for "working hours" - good for foxes and bait station so it only takes pics overnight and not burning through the photo allowance on corvids during the day. This is the only redeeming feature for me and only really useful for foxing!
- App is rubbish - need a refresh it every time I open it for my device to show up.
- "Delay shot" option seems to set a delay between target detection and image being taken even for the first shot of a sequence, which I think means stuff is missed. It is also the only way of setting a delay between shots to stop your 100 free pics being taken within minutes.
I'm sure others have different views so it might be helpful to others to post them here.
