Cell Cams with On Demand Pictures

[PraiseDiana]

I'm interested in upgrading from my current SD only trail cams (cheap Wildgame Innovations) to cell cameras for a few reasons: avoiding the disturbance of collecting/swapping SD cards, convenience of checking images from home, and I'd like to get on-demand images from a camera aimed at my deer camp to check on it after heavy snowfall, high winds etc. and save myself a trip.

I was considering the Moultrie Edge cameras but from what I can tell they don't have the on-demand feature.

Does anyone here have experience with a similar cell cam that does have on-demand picture taking ability?

[Swamp_bucks]

Tactacam reveal will send a picture immediately after getting triggered and you can have it set to send up date photos 2x/ day.  Plus I think you can get a solar panel to help with battery life.  I have an AT&T and Verizon just because of the service in one spot has zero Verizon and the opposite for the other camera. 

[phade]

For something like this the only camera that my customers report being happy with is the Spartan Go Live or Go Live 2. I have a large client who has a few hundred acres and a cabin in TN and he uses combos of these cams to monitor in similar fashion. He has a GL2 with solar on a power pole 20 feet up and hasn’t touched it in a year. Probably won’t touch it for another year or two.

Most lower price point cams are not going to be constantly connected to the network to do on demand images. Some are moving that way but it’s a hornet nest to manage power and also be reliable. Spartan’s models are proven in this space for years now. They are not cheap and I fear that if you use WGI you may not find the ideal cam in your price range that also has a proven track record of on demand performance. Assuming based on WGI and Edge being mentioned you are in the sub $100 market. You could also look into maybe certain home-based cams like Arlo but they are purpose built and some headwinds for using as a remote cam that far away. Might be an option, however.

Attached is a live view from one of mine just now to show the performance factor. You can also schedule the cam to take images and upload 6x per day. Meaning even if there is not a trigger, the cam will still take a pic at the time you ask it to and send it. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by phade

[PraiseDiana]

For the purpose of monitoring deer camp I would be fine with scheduling a photo to be taken at a specific time, so "on demand" but a substantial delay (hours) is fine. Mainly I want to check a heavy snow didn't cave the roof in or high winds didn't drop a tree on my camp!

As far as price I'm looking for something in the $100-200 range.

[Nontypical]

The regular Spartan cam is in that price range and pics can be scheduled hourly. 
If you have WiFi at camp, definitely consider the Arlo cameras. They’re wireless and will last a few months without a charge if you don’t have too much activity. You can also view them in real time. I use them at home and at our place of business. 

[NYRturkeycall]

Now when you say on demand pictures you mean the ability to take a photo as soon as you go into the app or the ability to have pictures transmitted to you instantly? Tactacam reveal Gen X 2.0 has the ability like that to press a button and have the camera. Take a picture right then and there, and in a way spy point also does in a back end process. With my spy point micro LTE, which is photo only, I can choose to sync it multiple times during the day and I even have the option to choose What time the camera syncs... further choosing to capture an image at the next sync. So what I'll typically do is change the sync time to 5 minutes from the current time and choose capture a picture at the next sync and it will capture a picture at that point. Also, I like the fact that for a camera where I don't really expect a crazy amount of activity, it gives you 100 free pictures per month.

Also, the thing about spy point is it has AT&T and Verizon SIM cards already pre-installed, so it will choose whichever the best network is while in use. My tactacam I have to use my Verizon SIM card because that's the better service to a certain extent.

Oh and right now Bass pro shops is having a crazy sale on them at $79 each

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/spypoint-link-micro-lte-cellular-trail-camera

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by NYRturkeycall

[PraiseDiana]

11 hours ago, NYRturkeycall said:

Now when you say on demand pictures you mean the ability to take a photo as soon as you go into the app or the ability to have pictures transmitted to you instantly? Tactacam reveal Gen X 2.0 has the ability like that to press a button and have the camera. Take a picture right then and there, and in a way spy point also does in a back end process. With my spy point micro LTE, which is photo only, I can choose to sync it multiple times during the day and I even have the option to choose What time the camera syncs... further choosing to capture an image at the next sync. So what I'll typically do is change the sync time to 5 minutes from the current time and choose capture a picture at the next sync and it will capture a picture at that point. Also, I like the fact that for a camera where I don't really expect a crazy amount of activity, it gives you 100 free pictures per month.

Also, the thing about spy point is it has AT&T and Verizon SIM cards already pre-installed, so it will choose whichever the best network is while in use. My tactacam I have to use my Verizon SIM card because that's the better service to a certain extent.

Oh and right now Bass pro shops is having a crazy sale on them at $79 each

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/spypoint-link-micro-lte-cellular-trail-camera

 

 

 

 

 

Yep - when I say "on demand" I mean that I can go into the app and request a picture, no trigger required. That looks like a great deal on the Spy Point cameras! How do you like the ones that you have?

 

 

[NYRturkeycall]

So if that's the on demand then you're talking about then you want to go with Tactacam...BUT you also have to pay for The $13 a month plan plus $9 a month for the pro plan extra in order to access the on demand photo function. So it's $22 a month.. Plus you get the perks associated with it obviously.... ANOTHER BUT- you do not have the option of choosing different plans for each camera you have under tactacam. The highest plan you choose applies to all cameras. Spy point allows you to choose different plans for each camera depending on how much activity you have in that location

Like a referenced in my other post, you can kind of get away with that with spy point, but it'll only take a picture at the next sync interval when you change the sync interval time. But it's not necessarily immediate. You're not waiting hours, but it's not crazy immediate.

Example, I changed my sync time this morning at 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and I chose to capture a picture at the next sync. I went into the app at 8:50 and refreshed it and the picture came up.

That a great deal for that camera. You have to buy a micro SD card, use the Amazon link on this website so it gets some revenue and buy the microSD card for $6.99. It has to be a certain class and speed, I think class 3 and speed 10 or vice versa.

I like the ones that I have. The app is user friendly and simple enough and the images are pretty good. I gave you some for reference here. Clearly the whitewashed one, The deer was very close to the camera. Some pictures can get a little hazy in the warmer months I guess because of condensation or whatever but still didn't seem to affect me seeing a deer. Even the buck image of just the back and rack came out pretty decent considering the camera was placed too high.

Edited January 11, 2023 by NYRturkeycall

[PraiseDiana]

I decided to go with the SpyPoint cameras. Scheduling a test photo to be taken should work just fine for my purpose, and the 100 free photos is too good to pass up!

I got them from Bass Pro Shops - thanks for the sale link!

[PraiseDiana]

Well I got three cameras and set them up, went out into the woods today and managed to snap off the antenna of one camera while I was setting it up! Pics look good from the two surviving cameras. Here's hoping I can send in the third one for repairs or replacement 😬

[NYRturkeycall]

I actually picked up two more micro LTE with cards on Amazon for a good deal.

https://www.amazon.com/SPYPOINT-Link-Micro-LTE-Cellular-Camera-Options/dp/B0B3VZVDRG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1LO9YYGIIG76G&keywords=spypoint+link+micro+lte&qid=1675227206&sprefix=spyp%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=ALORA49PI3GGB&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFQU0NQNldTS0FFUUImZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAxOTUxOTEzNDZISDczUlk0T0kyJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1ODAwNzQyTkdKV0w1MVBNRkJLJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Here's the link through the site so they can get some revenue.

I'm going to be running five spy points at this point. I plan on signing up for the Insiders club at $100 a year... But that includes 250 pictures PER camera, 50 HD pictures at your choosing from all of your cameras, and entries for some free giveaways. Probably won't win anything but the pictures alone are worth it.

Since I'm paying for the whole year, I can run cameras throughout the year and really get a good pattern on my spots.

You have three cameras you might want to look into it unless you can stick to the hundred pictures per month.

With a broken antenna I would actually return it and get a new one. Could be some manufacturer defect. No point in paying for repair if it's within the return window.

I'm enjoying running cameras, gives a whole another perspective to my hunting.

Edited February 1, 2023 by NYRturkeycall

[2BuckBizCT]

I have Spartan (from @phade) in NY and a reveal in CT. The Spartan takes way better pics, while the reveal is cheaper. Got this Spartan pic today. Don’t even need to order HD with the Spartan because they are so clear. I do a 3 shot burst btw.
 

 

[NYRturkeycall]

5 hours ago, 2BuckBizCT said:

I have Spartan (from @phade) in NY and a reveal in CT. The Spartan takes way better pics, while the reveal is cheaper. Got this Spartan pic today. Don’t even need to order HD with the Spartan because they are so clear. I do a 3 shot burst btw.
 

 

 

Hot damn that's pretty clear. For my needs I'm good with the quality that spypoint gives. It would be nice to be a bit clearer, but I'm looking to get the best bang for my buck including cam price.

[PraiseDiana]

I have 4 cheapo wildgame innovations cameras that take videos (I posted a video of a fisher in another thread from these) that are pretty high resolution. I have to collect the SD cards from those to see what's on them. The spypoint images are not great quality, but I think getting the images sent to my phone and the price of the cameras negates that. I did end up returning the camera with the broken antenna - hopefully I get a refund and I'll buy a replacement. Thanks for the discussion and advice and the sale links.

[Belo]

Browning will do what you're after but I've such a poor experience with their quality over 2 years that I will actively encourage you to avoid them. Their pricing plan is high, they've always replaced my cams with issues but at cost of shipping ($20) and 16 dead AA's and a few weeks of no pics at the spot you want them. If I wasn't over a grand into their setup I'd have switched already. My dad ran spypoints last year with success, I'm not sure if they have on-demand but can't imagine they don't.