Trail cams, worth it? Recommendations?

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wildfowler.250

wildfowler.250

Well-Known Member
Folks what’s everyone’s thoughts on trail cameras? Worth using? Feel you need 3 or 4 to make it worthwhile or happy just with one in a key area?

The zeiss ones seem popular and handy if they’ll send a sms rather than collecting them off a memory stick every so often. Can anyone tell me what the rough running costs for texts are?

Any recommendations on models would be appreciated. I think they’d be nice to evaluate how bucks are changing from one year to the next eg going back or not
 
 
I have the secacam 3. Very easy to set up and app is easy to navigate.
Comes with sim that connects to any network.
I have the 100 pictures a month plan which is just over £5/month. I also buy 1000 credits, so if I use more than 100 pictures it starts to use the credits. If I don't use 100 pictures per month, my credits carry over to when needed.
Can also track camera if it gets stolen.
 
wildfowler.250 said:
Folks what’s everyone’s thoughts on trail cameras? Worth using? Feel you need 3 or 4 to make it worthwhile or happy just with one in a key area?

The zeiss ones seem popular and handy if they’ll send a sms rather than collecting them off a memory stick every so often. Can anyone tell me what the rough running costs for texts are?

Any recommendations on models would be appreciated. I think they’d be nice to evaluate how bucks are changing from one year to the next eg going back or not
Click to expand...
Put them up high, two methods is the strap then you will need to add a wedge for the angle or I have 2 of the brackets (made 1) they have a self tapping screw end and thread to locate the unit. I take a cheap wood saw and a step ladder that extends to a very good height.
I take any cut branches and leave them well away from the tree.
With the cell ones you can test trigger before leaving
20250724211728[1].webp
 
homer said:
I have the secacam 3. Very easy to set up and app is easy to navigate.
Comes with sim that connects to any network.
I have the 100 pictures a month plan which is just over £5/month. I also buy 1000 credits, so if I use more than 100 pictures it starts to use the credits. If I don't use 100 pictures per month, my credits carry over to when needed.
Can also track camera if it gets stolen.
Click to expand...

Thanks gents for all the suggestions. I’ll look them all up. Any other recommendations would be great!

The zeiss seem popular just now. I seem to see a lot of seacam 3 being used but they go up to 7?

The credits idea is nice. Slight worry if you’ve windy branches and it costs you £5-£10 for moving leaves 😂
 
wildfowler.250 said:
Thanks gents for all the suggestions. I’ll look them all up. Any other recommendations would be great!

The zeiss seem popular just now. I seem to see a lot of seacam 3 being used but they go up to 7?

The credits idea is nice. Slight worry if you’ve windy branches and it costs you £5-£10 for moving leaves 😂
Click to expand...
Yes, just make sure branches, thistles, foxgloves etc are out of view. I also woke up one morning to 80 pictures of cows as the farmer had put them in the field the night before!
 
I recently bought two Spypoint Flex-M cameras. I like being able to receive regular image drops on my phone, the ease of setup and the payment scales (100 free, 250 at $7/month, etc.).
However...
The sensor isn't well calibrated to the camera framing (so the timing is often off), the low sensitivity setting is still too sensitive (so distant deer or smaller animals closer in trigger the camera), and the ISO is too slow, resulting in overlong exposures and blurred animals.
The result is that I get to know what's about, but really clear, complete images are only a minority of the shots, and there's a lot of "waste".
I also wish it were possible to deactivate the camera on demand. A tree came down last week and knocked a hazel bush sideways into the camera's field of view, with the result that the camera began to trigger every time a leaf moved! I saw the problem at the first image drop, but the camera ran through this month's allowance before I could get over to fix things.
I would still much sooner have the Spypoints than a cheap Chinese camera. I have binned more of those than I can count.
As for numbers, I'm running 4 Spypoints at present, plus a "dumb" Swan, in 3 different woods. Multiples are good when you aren't sure where the deer are on a piece of ground. Once you know, one or two cameras will keep an eye on them.
 
I like them and it helps build up a picture of what's about; supplements not substitutes time on the ground. Even one placed at a key crossing point can be helpful.

Cellular are good as you get remote notifications rather than having to go and change the card. Most include 100 free images a month but there's a subscription option from Zeiss if you want to be able to change settings remotely - helpful when a branch / herd of sheep etc wants to use up your free images in a day (Zeiss allows you to turn off image capture for a period I think but the others all allow you to set a long delay between shots to minimise wasted allowance).

Spypoint send images on a schedule (which you can change - every 2, 4, 6hrs etc - you can do instant but eats batteries a bit) but HIK and Zeiss ping as they happen. Secacam 3 isn't cellular I don't think?

I've got:
1. Spypoint LTE - probably my favourite. Compact, just works.
2. Spypoint Flex - rubbish, wouldn't have another. This is the original Flex though and there are now Flex-M etc so they may be better. It triggers on sunlight / shadows way too easily even when in a woodland in shade. End up with a 100 free images of nothing, regardless of settings. It's been back once under warranty but apparently nothing wrong with it.
3. HIK - big clunky camera, works ok but images not the best at night and the App is terrible. I use it as my foxing camera in the field next to the house. Pings me when charlie appears at the bait station so I can wander upstairs and shoot it out the bedroom window. Very convenient!
4. Secacam 7 - only ended up with the 7 as the 5 was out of stock and they sent this at the same price. Potentially a long delay for 5s coming back in stock unless you can find someone with stock now? It's fractionally bigger than 5 as it has a live view screen you can use to compose the shot when you site the camera. I wouldn't pay extra for that feature (site camera, wait 2 mins, walk across shot, app pings, look at image on phone app). Not used in earnest yet (it's going out tomorrow morning) but seem very well rated. So far seems ok but notification "tune" is a bit annoying and can't be changed.
 
wildfowler.250 said:
Thanks gents for all the suggestions. I’ll look them all up. Any other recommendations would be great!

The zeiss seem popular just now. I seem to see a lot of seacam 3 being used but they go up to 7?

The credits idea is nice. Slight worry if you’ve windy branches and it costs you £5-£10 for moving leaves 😂
Click to expand...
I have a Zeiss Secacam 5, bought before the 3 was available so no idea what the difference is!.
It's set up in a broadleaf copse. I got s few false triggers when the trees came into leaf but turn the sensitive right down and that cure the issue but still picks up annual movements no problem.
The 5 and 7 can be controlled remotely, no idea if the 3i s the same.
What I really like about the Secacam is that it has its own SIM that connects to any network so great in areas where phone signal may be weak on some networks
 
75 said:
I like them and it helps build up a picture of what's about; supplements not substitutes time on the ground. Even one placed at a key crossing point can be helpful.

Cellular are good as you get remote notifications rather than having to go and change the card. Most include 100 free images a month but there's a subscription option from Zeiss if you want to be able to change settings remotely - helpful when a branch / herd of sheep etc wants to use up your free images in a day (Zeiss allows you to turn off image capture for a period I think but the others all allow you to set a long delay between shots to minimise wasted allowance).

Spypoint send images on a schedule (which you can change - every 2, 4, 6hrs etc - you can do instant but eats batteries a bit) but HIK and Zeiss ping as they happen. Secacam 3 isn't cellular I don't think?

I've got:
1. Spypoint LTE - probably my favourite. Compact, just works.
2. Spypoint Flex - rubbish, wouldn't have another. This is the original Flex though and there are now Flex-M etc so they may be better. It triggers on sunlight / shadows way too easily even when in a woodland in shade. End up with a 100 free images of nothing, regardless of settings. It's been back once under warranty but apparently nothing wrong with it.
3. HIK - big clunky camera, works ok but images not the best at night and the App is terrible. I use it as my foxing camera in the field next to the house. Pings me when charlie appears at the bait station so I can wander upstairs and shoot it out the bedroom window. Very convenient!
4. Secacam 7 - only ended up with the 7 as the 5 was out of stock and they sent this at the same price. Potentially a long delay for 5s coming back in stock unless you can find someone with stock now? It's fractionally bigger than 5 as it has a live view screen you can use to compose the shot when you site the camera. I wouldn't pay extra for that feature (site camera, wait 2 mins, walk across shot, app pings, look at image on phone app). Not used in earnest yet (it's going out tomorrow morning) but seem very well rated. So far seems ok but notification "tune" is a bit annoying and can't be changed.
Click to expand...
The secacam 3 is cellular, connects to the strongest signal available. It also has remote control so you can change settings from the app, although the new settings dont get updated till the next picture is sent across.
 
homer said:
The secacam 3 is cellular, connects to the strongest signal available. It also has remote control so you can change settings from the app, although the new settings dont get updated till the next picture is sent across.
Click to expand...
You're right - I was sure there was a reason why I went 5 over 3 but looking at the comparison here I can't figure out what it was!! Should have just got the 3 and saved a few quid! Cameras - Overview of all ZEISS Secacam models
 
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