Noticed Browning has a major sale on cell cams right now. What’s been your experiences with cell cams and what are your recommendations as to the better units?

I have 6 tactacams. 2 have been back for service, and right now, I have 2 that don't work, and of course they are out of warranty. They don't run long on alkaline batteries, and I have 2 of their lithium ion rechargable battery packs, and they don't seem to last long either. The love some energizer lithum AA batteries though.

I just got couple of Moultrie camera's from Bass Pro, I think they were $49ish, probably the ones before the edge. They seem to be ok. To new to tell. I had an old spypoint that I liked, but... it didn't send me all the pics it took. Neither did the tactacams.

I am not sure what I am going to go with, but I have been less than impressed with the tactacam, and I seem to be the unicorn on that experience.

Not at all LJ… bought three first gen Tactacams three years ago. One is totally done and I’m pretty certain the other two aren’t sending pics as they should. BTW… for those who might mention it I’m aware that they only send one out of every three pics.

Take a hard look at the bushnell cellucore. That’s all I’ve ran and they will outlast the tactacams on batteries by a long shot.

After giving SP more of a chance than I should have I switched Reconyx and haven't looked back

5 Tactacams ( 3-SK, 2-XB ) no issues. Just bought 4 more SK's at Cabelas. I do run them off exterior batteries.

Buddy of mine has several of the Browning cell cams and loves them. The pics and videos he sends me are good quality.

I'm running 10 tactacams 2 original reveals, 2 sk, 3 reveal x2.0, and 5 reveal x. 5 are running on tactacam solar panels 5 are not. None are running on the lipo packs. They all have energizer alkaline batteries in them. I'm getting around 3 months of running in front of feeders/minerals sites with no solar panel, year long with a solar panel, the ones on trails will last all season with out a panel. These are all set on photo/video max range for flash. Customer servcie is top notch.

Browning typically makes great cams, but no experience with their cell cams.
Tactacams worked fine for me as well as my old Moultries. A friend shipped me a Moultrie 2yrs ago and its crap IMO.
The Tactacams need to be aimed a specific way or they'll miss pics.

I’ve been using Spartans for 4-5 years now and they have always been really good cameras UNTIL earlier this year when they decided to “upgrade” the app and it has been complete junk all summer. Lots of complaints on the Spartan Facebook groups about it. App freezes up, app is down, crappy pics and videos, and a noticeable loss of cell service (at least on my club anyway). If they don’t have all the bugs worked out by deer season, I’ll be selling all mine and going to something else.

Running 15 spypoints. Zero trouble

Been running the new Exodus Rival for a couple months now. Battery is still on 100% and i haven’t had any issues thus far aside from an SD card issue. Great photo quality and I like the app.

Love the non cellular Stealth Cam DS4Ks but their cell cams are garbage.

Not a fan of browning cams due to low quality videos and sheer unreliability. I would assume their cell cams would be the same but I’ve never run them.

Haven’t run moultrie in years because of all their plethora of issues. My uncle has a couple Moultrie cell cams I’m constantly running IT support for that are broken more often than they work.

Bought a spyppint a couple years back and returned it within a month due to terrible photo quality. I think their cell cams are decent, but there are much better options.

Tactacams appear to be a great option, but I don’t think we have a good gauge of longevity yet.

Take a look at Black Gate cell cams. (Disclaimer: I am employed by Black Gate Hunting Products, if this is not allowed please remove it, I’m just answering the question)

Just look at the specs vs other cameras plus the data plans. You share total data amongst all your cameras which comes out much cheaper vs individual plans per camera. 11 cameras cost $45 bucks/month right now. You can increase/decrease data each billing cycle. Once season starts and we’re running some cameras on feeders we’ll increase data. During season $65/month gets me all the data needed for all 11 cams including HD pictures. Plus, if you ever have any issues with your cameras you’re most likely going to talk to me. If you have any questions shoot me a message.

What's your web site?

Buy you a cheap plastic ammo box, a waterproof gland, a 12 volt rechargeable feeder battery, and a cable and build your own battery pack. A 12V battery will run those Tactacams for over a year with them set to text you every time a pic is taken. Ask me how I know.

They cost about $40 to make and will save you a fotune in battery costs because if you properly maintain them they will last years.

Heck I'll do you one better than that.... I'll give you a parts list.

Box

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BD54KXO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Battery

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K8V30D0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

Cable

https://www.amazon.com/Compatible-Tactacam-Reveal-Camera-Connectors/dp/B0BQZ4QVQV/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3Q78LCFVEW9BD&keywords=herd360%2Bcable&qid=1692728434&s=electronics&sprefix=herd360%2Bcable%2Celectronics%2C102&sr=1-2&th=1

Gland

https://www.herd360.com/collections/diy-external-power-products/products/pg7-waterproof-cable-gland


You will also need a pool noodle to keep the battery from sliding around in the box. You can also get cheaper non chew proof cables off of Herd360's website. They are $7 I think.

Ok so my Moultries are Delta Base cameras. Not alot I can do with them on Moultrie Mobile, but like I said, they were cheap. They take pics, but so far, no notification on my phone when they take a pic.

I like the Tactacams, and their user interface, but they just seem to not be reliable. I got one of the non working ones working, for now, by doing a hard reset. The problem that I have run into with them is when they get to where they need a hard reset, they will run down you batteries in a week. I don't get 3 months off alkaline, and its not like I am taking lots of pics either. Now lithium ones, they last a long time.

Its a hard sell to tell me I need to get new model ones, when the old ones don't work. If they were 5 years old and quit working, it would be one thing, but I have sent 3 of my 6 back in the warranty period. One has worked fine since, the other 2 have not. And then I don't have a positive experience with their lipo battery pack either. I took the cover off to see if it looked like something I could get at batteries plus and add some extra battery power, but it wasn't that simple. It has a circuit board in it.

I sort of like the idea of that new Moultrie one, which they claim significantly reduces pics of nothing.

blackgatehunting.com

You don’t have to do all that with the batteries. The Bushnells hold 12 AA batteries and I have one that’s still taking pics from last year. Never seen any camera that good. FYI

If they're aimed a little high they miss pics. All of 3 my cell cam brands miss sending pics btw if set on instant send