Our friend BamBam, asked,

" I have a couple more questions,
We were wondering what kind of trail cam to get? Is the wildview ok? We picked up one of them at BPS yest but then put it back because I wanted to get info on trail cams first..Don't wanna spend alot of money but we do want a digital one......thanks li"

I have the Wildview 2.0 (3 of em actually) I got em because they are cheap, and they are. It is FAR from the quality that is available for $300+, but if it walks away, I won't throw up.:mad: They use SD cards, which is good for me, because I can check the pics in the woods, by just plugging the card into my camera. The flash stinks on em with a range of about 15 feet. Definitely go digital no matter what you do.

If you want to spend a little more, get better quality, and are somewhat handy Flatlander builds his own cams, and can provide info on where and how to get it done. (thanks buddy:p)

oh ok...so I can just go out and switch sd cards out...How many pics does it hold or does it go by the sd card size........How much did you pay for yours?

oh ok...so I can just go out and switch sd cards out...How many pics does it hold or does it go by the sd card size........How much did you pay for yours?

Yup, or delete the ones you don't like and put the card back in. Batteries last anywhere from 2 weeks to a month depending on weather. # of pics depends on what card you put in. 2 MP images aren't real big, so 256 is usually good.

I bought my 1st one for $50 at WM, and then the wife got me a 2 pack of em for Christmas. Bass Pro was having a sale 2 for $70.

Wow $50......I didnt think they were that cheap! MENARDS had one for 29 on sale but it wasn' digital and I didn't wanna mess with that......

I have a stealthcam STC-AD2, 2 mp, approx. $170.00, bought it in December '05, had it about 6 months and it fried, sent it back and they sent a new one for free, so warranty work is good. quality of photos is decent, but very slow to trigger approx 6-8 seconds, a deer could be past camera before it ever gets turned on, I did learn how to work with that though by setting it up looking down deer trails, or at scrapes, or just scent posts I put out to get them to stop in front of camera, it takes 8!!! D cell batteries, but, battery life on mine has been very good, first set of batteries lasted about 4 months through the coldest part of winter and took alot of pics.

I also have a Wildview 2 mp, paid $99, I've had it since December and I think it's fried now, can't get it to turn on so I may have to send it back, Quality of photos - lousy, flash distance - lousy, battery life - ok,(4 C cell), trigger speed - slow. I bought it because it was cheap and wanted another cam out and it worked for that.

I also have the parts to build my own using a Sony P41 camera, and a Snapshot Sniper board, just haven't had to time to build it yet. I am borrowing one from a friend and the photo quality is EXCELLENT, trigger speed - excellent, battery life - excellent, value for money invested - excellent, definitely the best way to go!

I've attached a few photos from the homemade (HOMEBREW) cam so you can see the quality of the photos, a gamecam with 4 mp and this kind of quality would cost minimum of $450.00

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g125/huntrz_2006/trky3-26-071.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g125/huntrz_2006/3-26-072.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g125/huntrz_2006/3-26-071.jpg

My opinion, "build your own" or spend a little more money for a good quality cam, the cheap ones are ok for about the first two sets of photos, then you're wishing you would have spent more for a better setup.

This website www.hagshouse.com has all the info you need to build your own and alot of members that are more than willing to help you through it.

All of the trail camera pictures I post are from home brew trail cams.
I also learned how to build them on Hags house.

I have been managing to build one for around $290 depending on what you are wanting.
The biggest cost is the digital camera it self.
Most of the time I use Sony DSC-P32 but do have a few DSC-P41's.
P32's have been going for aorund $90 lately and the P41 $150 and up.

You can help keep the cost down on a home brew a little by using a plain black Pelican case and then spray painting it camo or using what is called liquid nails 3D camo.
There are 3 sellers that you can buy a complete trail camera kit and put together and has everything but the digital camera, about like building a model car.
If anyone is wanting links to sites/forums (other then Hags, Huntrz posted) to help get you started on building your own homebrew just ask and I'll post them.

Thanks!Bob, how long does your batteries last? I don't know if I like the idea of spending 450 on a camera to sit out in the woods and someone possibly take it. Those pics are really nice though but I would just like to see what is coming through for now.

sorry bambam, I guess I wasn't clear on that price, what I meant was, "if you were to buy a commercial gamecam of that quality you would pay at least $450, but like flatlander said, they can be built for about $290, I will only have about $250 in the one I am building, this is a deal considering the poor quality, poor battery life from commercial gamecams in the $250 price range. there are a few commercial gamecams available for a little over $100 that may last a year or so, that probably is where you should start if spending the money is an issue, but remember "you get what you pay for". you being the photonut that you are, you will want better quality after you get into it.

here's a few photos from mt stealthcam STC-AD2, like I said quality is decent, battery life ok, just SLOW! treigger speed. but remember the cost of ths cam is approx. $170, for about $80 more you can build your own...

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g125/huntrz_2006/2-44.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g125/huntrz_2006/2-41.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g125/huntrz_2006/deercam1-16-0714.jpg

Thanks Huntrz.....Those are really good trail cam pics.......You should have entered them into the trail cam contest for Jan- March...