How long do trail camera's last?
Equipment
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I've already tossed out 4 trail camera's. How long do they last? Seems like i get about 5 season's out of them and then their junk.
Five seasons is great. They don't last.
Generally less than five years if they work in the first place!
It depends on when and how many people who come walking by notice them!
Two months, tops.........
...seriously, I've had some still going after 7 years, some didn't make it 2, some didn't work out of the box. Really hit or miss for me.
I have reconyx cameras that are 10 years old and still work great. not one issue use to buy the cheap ones but why not send a little more and get my moneys worth .
Ghostbird X2.
Had a couple of the old Cuddebacks last 6-7 years, but cost me a fortune in D cell batteries, and other Cuddebacks that crapped out in a few weeks. 2 Reconyx that are at least 6 years old are still working great. Got a few Moultries that are 3-4 years old still working, yet just had another one that's less than a year old, and the infrared quit working last week.
after 2 or 3 years I consider everything else a bonus. ROI is about the same as a Reconyx ASSUMING none get stolen. If I had a Reconyx stolen I'd go crazy. You also can't tell me a $150 camera from today isn't better than a $500 Reconyx from 10 years ago. With the way tech changes it's easy to stay on the front lines. with cheaper stuff.
Every Cuddleback I had is 1 day after warranty. I think they are programed that way. I have 4 Moultrie 880 going on 4 years.
I've got a flash stealth cam I've had for about 13 years. I've also had IR cams that smdont last a season.
At the Illinois public land where I use them anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months regardless of brand. Never again. Will take a few out to AZ next month for my deer/elk hunts but they actually manage their public land there instead of just cashing pension checks & taking special interest group payoffs so pressure is extremely limited as it should be.
I just chucked my first one,a Scoutguard 550,after 9-10 years.The camera was still good but the remote programmer was acting up.If I had been willing to by a new remote,it would still be going.I fixed that remote a couple times before.
I've had 4 Bushnells for over 7 years now,still going strong.There are 6 others from maybe 6 to 1 year old,still working.I did have one Bushnell out of 10,act up after 1 year and 10 months and they replaced it.That was when there was a 2 year warranty.
I often wonder why some has such poor luck with trail cameras.It is very dry here.Maybe you need to use some dessicant packs in them?They also make cards that let you know when the dessicant packs stop working.
I find Wildgame Innovations last the least amount of time.
I have a few Bushnells that are over five, but I've also had to replace two about that same age.
My cameras last 5-8 years. My biggest improvement was to put our trail Cam Guardians on them. Before using theft deterrent systems cameras lasted only as long as a thief let you keep your cameras. It still amazes me how many people we run into at shows that tell us that they had some stolen the previous season. Wish everyone well. Gary
My cameras last 5-8 years. My biggest improvement was to put our trail Cam Guardians on them. Before using theft deterrent systems cameras lasted only as long as a thief let you keep your cameras. It still amazes me how many people we run into at shows that tell us that they had some stolen the previous season. Wish everyone well. Gary
I have a wildgame innovations that is over 10 years
I've owned cameras from Moultrie, Stealth Cam, Bushnell, Browning and Primos. In my experience, if you get much more than two seasons out of a camera, consider yourself lucky. So far I like my Browning Strike Force cameras the best. I typically have them out from the first of July until maybe February.
It seems like the older, larger cameras lasted longer for some reason. While some have had good luck with Primos cameras, I've had two of them and wouldn't have another one if they were giving them away. Good Hunting.
I have a primos truthcam 35 that's 5 years old. It was cheap and still works like the day I got it. Battery life is about 2 years on 4 d cells. I just got this picture from it yesterday
Funny how a $20 digital camera from Walmart is built as well as the $160 trail cameras were suckered into buying, just doesn't have the pretty camo case.
Some positive input on Moultrie from me. I have several older M80 and one newer model. Liked the M80 best but one died on me last fall. I emailed Moultrie customer service and asked if they had a refurbish program because I like that model. Long out of warranty and I was willing to pay for repair. They responded that they could no longer repair but if I provided the serial number they would give me a discount certificate. They sent me a 50% off up to a $300 purchase code good on their website. I bought three new cameras for half off which was $20 more than I originally paided for the M80. Great customer on an old camera most people would have just thrown away.
Till the first flood or till the first meth head finds it, whichever comes first!
I bought five of those Primos Truth cameras, two years ago. For 25 bucks apiece you just can't beat them. All in all, I think I have about 20 cameras and for the money I have invested in the Primos camera, it's money well spent . If I ever see them on sale again, I'll buy five more.
X2 on the Moultrie M80. I have one on its sixth season. My Browning is on year 3.
X3 on the Moultrie M80. I have two that still work great in the 7th season.
It's great to see the different makes that last awhile.
I'm running Browning cameras now for the third year with no issues thus far. Very pleased with the results.
They are out from July to December
2 months to 3 years tops is average.....95% of them are made In China junk Big bills junk seems to be the worst
It's definitely a crapshoot at best.
I bought like 3 M80's and none made it two years. Now I wish I would have kept them - dang it!
I've only had one moultrie were out and it was over 5 years old, I still use several that are over 5 years old and still work great. I do use the newer ones in better spots as the battery life and trigger time is so much better now. I have a 2008 spypoint that still works as new. Only prob was from new it always took a lot of white out pics and has a slow trigger.