The SmartScouter Cellular Surveillance System is yet another of the new remote access game cameras to hit the market with force.  Imagine being able to access your digital game camera images, from any computer, anywhere in the world.

There are some major benefits provided by cellular game cameras:

1. No more disturbing your hunting areas, just to check your game cameras.  No more jumping up deer or leaving your scent behind to spook them later.
2. No more wasting gas, driving to the woods just to check your game cameras, swap memory cards, adjust camera settings, or to change batteries.  Keep the gas money in your pocket.
3. Determine which stand you will hunt tomorrow, based on today's deer movement.  Checking your camera remotely gives you that option.
4. Check your game camera pictures from your smart cell phone.

The SmartScouter is a 1.3 megapixel camera that is capable of sending digital pictures across a cellular network.  The pictures are sent within 40 seconds of being taken.  It sends its images across the Sprint cellular towers.  The camera can also be modified to work on the Alltel cellular towers.

SmartScouter charges a monthly fee, as well as a per-picture charge.  The monthly fee is $14.99 per month only during the months that you choose to use the camera.  During the off-season, you can hibernate your account, and only pay $7.99 per month.  You are allowed to hibernate your account for up to 6 months of the year.

SmartScouter charges on a tiered level for the per picture charge.  The first 500 pictures each month are 4 cents for low resolution images, 10 cents for high resolution images, and 39 cents for mega resolution images.  For pictures 501 and above, they charge 2 cents for low resolution, 5 cents for high resolution, and 19 cents for mega resolution images.

The fees are really not that bad when you consider the gas savings.  My truck for example gets 16 miles per gallon.  One of my hunting spots is a 130 mile round trip.  I burn I probably burn 10 gallons of gas on that trip.  At $2.00 per gallon, that's $20.00.  Back when gas was $4.00+ per gallon, that was $40.00+.  If I make that trip twice per month to check my game camera, swap out memory cards, and check batteries, I'm spending $40.00 - $80.00 per month in gas.  You can see how this can quickly become a cost effective solution.

So what does this camera have in it:

• It is an infared game camera, that has 50 infared flash bulbs.  This means no flash.  They are invisible to the human (or animal) eye.  No more spooking game with a blinding flash bulb.  These infared emitters reach out to 60 feet giving you quality night time images.
• The SmartScouter uses 3 Passive Infared Sensors.  Most game cameras on the market have only one.  This allows this camera to go into a sleep mode in order to save energy.  When either of the outside sensors are tripped, the camera immediately wakes up, and is ready to take a picture when the center PIR sensor is tripped.  The PIR sensors work by detecting changes in heat.  That means that wind blowing a branch or tall grass won't falsely trigger images.
• A 1.3 megapixel camera is a the heart of SmartScouter System.  You have the ability to configure the image resolution to suit your needs.
• A built in laser pointer helps during the setup of this camera.  You can use the laser to ensure that you have the camera covering the desired location.
• The camera controls are straight forward, and allow you to configure all of the cameras settings.  You also have the ability to modify these settings via the SmartScouter website.
• The camera takes Compact Flash memory (CF cards).  This allows you to use the camera in areas that have no cellular signal, or use the camera if you choose to not enable the remote access services.
• This camera is powered by an on-board 6 Volt rechargeable battery.  This battery comes with the camera.  You also have the option of adding an additional external 6 Volt battery for extended use.

The SmartScouter won't be the last cellular game camera to hit the market.  Other manufacturers like Moultrie have their cellular game camera systems hitting the market in 2009.  The SmartScouter might just be the best though.

Check our online store for the SmartScouter Cellular Surveillance System and other cellular game cameras.

Tags: cellular game camera, satellite game camera, smart scouter, smartscouter, smartscouter cellular surveillance system

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 12:23 pm and is filed under Game Camera Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.