need some trail/game/security camera advise

[Crnr2Crnr]

newby to this topic but have been considering getting a few cameras for the cottage in the UP to capture critters but also to make sure no one is wandering or driving around on the property when we aren't there, or over the winter months.  cell coverage there is sketchy and I'm not interested in getting a phone plan for a couple cameras around the property.  there's tons of trees and places to position some strategically.  just started doing some research this morning and the price of them has come down considerably since I looked at them several years ago.   

this is all I've read thus far...   https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoor-gear/g37679766/best-trail-cameras/ and this https://www.trailcampro.com/collections/cabin-security-cameras / https://www.trailcampro.com/pages/how-to-catch-a-thief

thanks 

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Crnr2Crnr

[jdels]

The Bushnell Trophy Cam E3 is an older model but on sale right now for $90.  I have 3 and have literally taken hundreds of thousands of photos.  Lithium batteries last a year (no video).  IMO cant go wrong for non-cell.

https://www.bushnell.com/trail-cameras/standard-trail-cameras/trophy-cam-e3-essential-trail-camera/PB-119837C.html

[800renegaderider]

I’m guessing you don’t have internet there so these might not be an option for you but if you do have internet we have blink outdoor cameras all over our property as game cameras. They use 2 double A batteries and record a video we’ve gotten every animal on them but a moose still waiting on that. Clear video day or night and you can talk through them too which is kinda funny if the deer all crowd up around the mineral lick I put out. I like them better than the game camera but we only had a picture cam and wasn’t cellular either.

[XCR1250]

I have the Cobra 4 camera from Harbor Freight for 3 or 4 years now, no subscription needed and free to use, can see everything on my cell phone from anywhere in the World and can speak to anyone who's there..BUT needs wifi.

[SkisNH]

Just now, 800renegaderider said:

I’m guessing you don’t have internet there so these might not be an option for you but if you do have internet we have blink outdoor cameras all over our property as game cameras. They use 2 double A batteries and record a video we’ve gotten every animal on them but a moose still waiting on that. Clear video day or night and you can talk through them too which is kinda funny if the deer all crowd up around the mineral lick I put out. I like them better than the game camera but we only had a picture cam and wasn’t cellular either.

 

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How do the batteries hold up in the winter...we use nest indoors but would like to add outdoor cameras. The blink are half the price. Also how far from the router does it work. I would like to put one down my my dock.

[XCR1250]

Oh, and has a 4 screen desk monitor.

[Crnr2Crnr]

no wi-fi and cell service is sketchy at best where we are... 

 

[XCR1250]

10 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

no wi-fi and cell service is sketchy at best where we are... 

 

ok. 

 

[800renegaderider]

2 minutes ago, SkisNH said:

How do the batteries hold up in the winter...we use nest indoors but would like to add outdoor cameras. The blink are half the price. Also how far from the router does it work. I would like to put one down my my dock.

We get 6 months or so out of them. I go walk around and change the batteries twice a year I’d say. I have our furthest one close to 300ft in the woods. We have the receiver box on a second floor window on rear of house so it’s 3 stories up on the back of the house and all cameras in the woods are basically down the slope from the house. I walked with the camera while my wife watched to see how far I could go back when we first got it. We found we got the most range with receiver box high up and in the window(I double side taped it to the window in our laundry room) luckily the heaviest traveled game trail is right at about the max range we could get out of the cameras so it works out mint.

[XCR1250]

11 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

no wi-fi and cell service is sketchy at best where we are... 

 

Cell service is poor here too, I have an in home amplifier and also have amps in each vehicle, they work great no dropped calls.

BTW our cameras transmit wirelessly and require no batteries.

[Guest]

Browning HDpro. I have 6 Browning cams and they are awesome. Most of my buddies also use them. Check out how good they are as they use hundreds of them for this project.

https://www.facebook.com/VoyageursWolfProject

[Guest]

[Guest]

Ok just checked my cams are Browning Spec Ops and Dark Ops and usually you can pick them up for $150 cdn on sale at Cabela's and they come with a memory card and set of batteries.

[XCR1250]

13 minutes ago, HSR said:

Ok just checked my cams are Browning Spec Ops and Dark Ops and usually you can pick them up for $150 cdn on sale at Cabela's and they come with a memory card and set of batteries.

Don't know if they would work on all cameras but some guys here have solar powered game camera chargers which charge the batteries during any light.

[Crnr2Crnr]

another question... at what distance do the cameras turn on in regards to the security aspect?  if the camera only turns on when there's motion within ten feet, that's not going to work for me.  

 

ah... there's some range adjustment

 

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Crnr2Crnr

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, XCR1250 said:

Don't know if they would work on all cameras but some guys here have solar powered game camera chargers which charge the batteries during any light.

Yes but the solar panel is a dead giveaway to crooks who can then steal the camera. Batteries last a really long time.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

another question... at what distance do the cameras turn on in regards to the security aspect?  if the camera only turns on when there's motion within ten feet, that's not going to work for me.  

 

ah... there's some range adjustment

 

 

Yes you can reduce /increase trigger distance. I do it on some so background movement doesn't give me ghost pics. Very versatile cams and take awesome video too.

[Crnr2Crnr]

ordered one of these to fuck around with and learn more

 https://www.amazon.com/Vikeri-Activated-120°Wide-Infrared-Monitoring/dp/B0B4J8VT67/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=32TYUBDQ3YXOW&keywords=vikeri+trail+camera&qid=1682176911&sprefix=vikeri%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-1-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzT0NJRUIzWDVGS0hBJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzI5MTA0V1FGNDlSMEVGMzlWJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTEwMDUwODMyME0zNzA2QTNLTlRJJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

if a game cam seems to work up there this summer I'll get a couple better ones to position around the property.  

[Crnr2Crnr]

interesting comparison to the Browning at 7:30ish@HSR

 

going to try it in the woods behind the house, where I see deer every day and they should start fawning soon

 

[Sleepr2]

6 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

interesting comparison to the Browning at 7:30ish@HSR

 

going to try it in the woods behind the house, where I see deer every day and they should start fawning soon

 

I’d be interested in your  results 👍

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

going to try it in the woods behind the house, where I see deer every day and they should start fawning soon

Yup give it a whirl  I've done tests years ago with a cheap cam and an expensive Reconyx and did find the Reconyx got pics the WildgameInnovations cam missed. Man I remember having to change film and then wait for the pics to get developed.

When I went all Browning I talked to 2 of my buds 1 is running about 25 and the other guy has around 10 and then a bunch of wifi cams where he can get signal, and then with the people running that wolf study. All swear by the Browning for pic/vid quality and battery life. The dark ops are IR flash at night which is better for security.

 I should ship you one for the summer.

[Crnr2Crnr]

9 minutes ago, Sleepr2 said:

I’d be interested in your  results 👍

will do...

1 minute ago, HSR said:

Yup give it a whirl  I've done tests years ago with a cheap cam and an expensive Reconyx and did find the Reconyx got pics the WildgameInnovations cam missed. Man I remember having to change film and then wait for the pics to get developed.

When I went all Browning I talked to 2 of my buds 1 is running about 25 and the other guy has around 10 and then a bunch of wifi cams where he can get signal, and then with the people running that wolf study. All swear by the Browning for pic/vid quality and battery life. The dark ops are IR flash at night which is better for security.

 I should ship you one for the summer.

we won't open up the cottage for a few weeks yet so I plan to mess with it here and then take it up and move it around to different locations.  battery life is my only concern leaving them over the winter as several folks commented that LI batteries won't work in it... can't imagine why with eight of them but at that time of year I'm pretty certain I would just set it/them to camera mode.

  

[Crnr2Crnr]

we've a fairly long gated driveway and the place isn't visible from the road so I'm thinking two along there to capture anything incoming or outgoing and probably another pair strategically pointed at the cottage from the surrounding trees.  what got us started discussing cameras was the notion that someone drove (of all things) a sled onto the property over the winter from the lake (see pics)... which has never occurred before and they were clearly trespassing.  nothing inside was disturbed, thanks to the tactical assault rooster.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Crnr2Crnr

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

we've a fairly long gated driveway and the place isn't visible from the road so I'm thinking two along there to capture anything incoming or outgoing and probably another pair strategically pointed at the cottage from the surrounding trees.  what got us started discussing cameras was the notion that someone drove (of all things) a sled onto the property over the winter from the lake (see pics)... which has never occurred before and they were clearly trespassing.  nothing inside was disturbed, thanks to the tactical assault rooster.

Yup you could easily cover that with 4 cameras placed right.

Is that one of the wind up roosters that gives you daily Edward Jones financial reports?

[SkisNH]

34 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

we've a fairly long gated driveway and the place isn't visible from the road so I'm thinking two along there to capture anything incoming or outgoing and probably another pair strategically pointed at the cottage from the surrounding trees.  what got us started discussing cameras was the notion that someone drove (of all things) a sled onto the property over the winter from the lake (see pics)... which has never occurred before and they were clearly trespassing.  nothing inside was disturbed, thanks to the tactical assault rooster.

That's not a driveway...that's a skidder road.