Trail Cam advice / recommedations?

[oleheat]

Okay, so I've had really, really, sh*tty luck with trail cameras. Anyway, it's time to take another stab at it & get another one....
Anybody have any recommendations on a decent, easy to use camera for a reasonable price?

I've owned several brands over the years....I currently have a Bushnell & must say I am not happy with it AT ALL. I am convinced this particular camera will not capture anything with four legs- unless it's a coon. Maybe I just happened to pick a lemon......Although is is an infared 5 mp camera, it is not even in the same class as my cousin's 3 mp Stealthcam- but it cost twice as much.

I want something that uses standard SD cards, 1 or 2 GB. Battery type isn't that big of an issue. Because of my crappy Bushnell experience, I am also reluctant to get another infared model, unless there's a more reliable model I'm unaware of....

Anyway, I respect the opinions I get here from you guys, so once again, I'm calling on you for advice.
-Sam

 

[Richard in LA]

whats your price range? I've had good luck with the Moultrie gamespy 4.0. They are about $80 at academy, run a long time on 6D batteries, and come with a 1Gig SD card. can take still pictures and video. You can hook it to a TV or computer to play back your pictures, has a laser aim feature. Only thing I do not like about it, is that it lacks a picture viewer to be able to see pictures in the field. Not a big problem if you have a laptop and a spare SD card.

if you got a lot of money to spend, Cuddeback's are supposedly the best.

 

[oleheat]

Well, I was torn on the idea of a Cuddeback- one of my realtives in MS had one and loves it, but a friend has one that he says just wasn't worth the $$- he says it's no better than his $80-100 cam....I've seen pics from a Cuddeback that looked pretty good, though....
The reason I'll probably not get a CB is because the CBs I've seen have that large memory card that I would rather stay away from....It's hard to beat one with a regular SD card for ease of use- I can check the cam in the field with my digital camera.....

I suppose probably one of the lower end $80-120 range cams is what I'm leaning towards....If God Forbid they're stolen, you wouldn't lose your mind.....

 

[electrode1998]

I have been holding off on getting the Moultre i40 with the ir insted of the flash.

I have seen some nice pics from that camera and I have a friend that swears by them. I am waiting until after hunting season to get one or two since they are larger than the newer models comming out and may drop in price sometime in the spring.

I've gone this long without one so I guess I can wait a couple of months more......

 

[CZowner07]

My dad has the multri with the ifrared and we like it.

 

[bayoupirate]

I have the small Bushnell/Cabelas 5m model IR and I've set it to shoot video clips.
It's captured some great footage and I really like it.
just under $200.

My brother uses a couple of stealth cams with IR and they've done a good job too.
They ran just over $100 each.

We have used the Moultrie 3.0 and 4.0 models for quite a few years. (limited to 512mb cards) with a flash and they were okay. I didn't like the trigger speed. always seemed to get pics of deer rear ends and other parts, but not racks or whole bodies.

My 2 cents.

I'd love to get a cuddieback, but the price is up there.