I recently had a conversation with Steve over at HuntOnly.com about their recently implemented Real-Time Trail Cam photo webpage. He has taken a great concept, paired it up with some cutting edge game camera technology, and with the help of some custom scripts has created a dynamically updated site.
There is currently one Smart Scouter trail camera located in Maryland, but he has plans to deploy a small fleet of cellular cameras across the country. The Smart Scouter Trail Camera has a built-in cellular modem, which will send out emails containing recently captured images as attachments. Their custom scripts take the attached images from the emails every hour, and automatically post them to the Real-Time gallery.
Not only am I impressed by the concept of the real-time gallery, but I'm also impressed by the quality of some of the bucks that I have seen in the gallery. You can see the gallery for yourself at the following link: Real-Time Trail Camera Pictures. Bookmark it, and visit it daily to see the new pictures. I give it two thumbs up!
Take a look at some of the unique images that Steve gave me permission to post.
If the popularity of the ScoutGuard SG 550 says anything about its performance, then this might just be the next best digital game camera on the market.
This trail camera features a compact size, measuring 5.5" x 3.25" x 2". This game cam won't stand out in the woods, and make it a target for would-be thieves. To cover the highpoints, the 5 megapixel camera provides excellent quality pictures at a resolution of 2560 x 1920. Its infared flash reaches all the way out to 40 feet for sharp night time photos. It shoots two different resolutions of video as well. The ScoutGuard SG550 is loaded with features, and includes a 1.7" LCD. With a better life of around 5000 pics and a fast trigger of around 1 second, what's not to like?
So what are the SG550 owners saying?
I have had one out is about 3 months and still had power to spare
From what I can tell this SG 550 is the best cam for the price.
I've had my first camera out since mid june and have around 3000 pics and 1 hour of video and yesterday it still showed 2/3 battery life. At this rate I should get 5000 pics!
The more I use mine, the more I like it. I pulled it today after 5 days in the heavy rain. It had 833 great pics on it. This is a great camera for a great price.
That probably says enough. The ScoutGuard SG550 gets a thumbs-up.
You can find these selling on eBAY for around $200. Click to see the available Discount ScoutGuard SG550 game cameras.
Oh, and did we mention this camera shoots infared video at night as well? Have a look at a sample for yourself.
I read an interesting forum article this weekend, where the author had posted some pictures of some deer he had gotten with his digital trail camera. The first thing I noticed was the incredible quality of the images, and the sharp, vibrant colors.
Right away, I decided that I was going to post a response to find out what kind of digital game camera he used to get his pictures. As I read down through the other responses, I noticed that someone else had beaten me to the punch and asked that same question.
His answer? A 'homebrew' trail camera.
A homebrew game camera means that he built and assembled it himself. In his response, he stated that he used a Snapshot Sniper Controller Board and a Sony P41 digital camera.
So I headed over to SnapShot Sniper's website to have a look at their products for myself. I have to say that I was very interested in what I saw, and spent the next hour researching their products.
So how much can you build your own homebrew camera for? I did a little checking, and the pricetag comes in at around $200.00 and a little bit of your time. That's not bad for a digital game camera that takes incredible pictures. Here is how it all priced out:
$70.00 - (approximately) for a used Sony P41 digital camera (off of eBay)
$59.95 - for a SnapShot Sniper controller board
$ 8.00 - for a control panel
$36.00 - for a Pelican game camera case
$ 3.00 - for a wide angle lense
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$176.95 - Total
Now there are a few cables, mounting brackets, and u-bolts required to complete the project, but the whole thing should come in at around $200.00. An it can cost you quite a bit less if you have one of the following digital cameras lying around that you are willing to convert and use in your game cam:
Sony P41
Sony S40
Sony S600
Sony P100/150
Olympus D380
Nikon L11
Samsung A402
Olympus D395
So, if you like to tinker with electronics, and would like the satisfaction that comes with getting pictures of that big buck with a digital game camera you made yourself, check out the SnapSnotSniper website for more information.
StealthCam has definitely one-upped itself with the new Jim Shockey Signature edition digital scouting camera. The Sniper V650 MTR digital game camera is endorsed by the professional big game hunter and outfitter, Jim Shockey himself. This hardcore scouting camera has all the features to get the job done.
6 megapixel camera
50 foot flash range
A built-in 2 inch LCD color image viewer
Time and Date stamping
Moonphase and Temperature stamping
Photo 'burst mode', which can take from 1 to 9 pictures when triggered
Shoots videos, programmable between 5 - 90 seconds
You can set a delay on this camera between 1 and 59 minutes. So if you have this camera over a food plot or corn pile, you don't end up with a ton of pictures of the same deer. But you can expand the memory to 2 GB with an optional SD card, so who cares how many pics of the same deer you get. If it's that monster buck I've been watching, I want all the pictures I can get of him.
My three favorite features of this camera have to be the integrated 2" LCD image viewer, the 50' flash range, and the ability to add an optional 12 volt lead acid battery pack. I hunt a lot of remote areas, and it's not always easy to get the time to go check my cameras and pull the memory cards. Having the ability to check the pictures right on the spot with the image viewer allows me to determine whether or not to leave my camera in that spot, or abandon the area and move it to another location. If the area or trail is deal, you will know it right then and there, and you can move on.
I have other cameras that have a weak flash. I can't tell you how many times I've had a camera triggered and I can see other deer in the background, but the background images are too dark to make them out. The extended flash can give you a full view of a group of deer when the lead animal triggers the camera.
I love the 12 volt battery for hunting remote areas. There is nothing I hate more than going to check a camera after a period of time, and finding dead batteries. Who knows how many pictures might have been missed. The 12 volt battery gives you a strong supply of power that is ideal for those remote game cameras.
Yes, StealthCam has definitely exceeded expectations with their newest scouting camera. If you own a StealthCam V650, we'd love to hear from you and see some of your pics. Please post a comment.
It might look like the same old reliable StealthCam, but it's grown up a bit.
The new StealthCam i550 digital game camera now boasts a 5.0 megapixel resolution, so you get more detailed pictures. When viewing the pictures on a PC, the bigger resolution allows you to enlarge the pictures, without losing the details you need to see. Perfect for counting points on that big buck's rack.
The flash now reaches out to up to 50 feet. This is excellent for seeing the deer that may be following the one that triggered the sensor.
You still have the same time and date stamping on your images. But you now get the moon phase and temperature stamping on the images as well. This holds true for the AVI videos as well.
The extended coverage area makes this game camera worth the money.
The video recording is only available during the daytime, due to the need for a flash at night. This camera is very programmable, allowing you to delay between 1 and 59 minutes in between pictures. The burst mode setting allows you to take from 1 to 9 images when activated.
Make sure you have extra SD memory cards, so you can swap them out and review the pictures on your PC at your leisure. And consider the long life 12V lead acid battery pack as a worthwhile addition.
If you have any pics that you have taken with you i550, we would love to see them. Please post a comment.
New for 2008, the Reconyx RC60 Covert Color IR Game Camera comes with a hefty price tag ... around $600 bucks to be exact. Is it worth it? Well, it is if clear nighttime images at a distance is what you are after.
The RC60 has a new patent-pending Light Filtering Technology that extends its nighttime range to about 35 feet. The 3.1 megapixel density gives you clear full color images during the daytime, and sharp infared monochrome images at night.
The trigger speed is .2 seconds on this game camera, and it can shoot at 1 frame per second.
Do you own a Reconyx Digital Game Camera? If so, we would love to hear your take on it and see some of your pics.
