Best Cellular Trail Cam

[mjhaverkamp]

If you wanted to set a camera out to see who the hell has been coming into a remote business location , which camera would you choose ? I have a loading yard that we do not use that often, we believe someone has been coming in and taking some of our materials. Was going to put a security system out there but it would cost quite a bit to get electric run.

[DCZ71]

Spypoint Verizon Blackout (4G/LTE)
* Very easy to set up.
* Small, lightweight camera.
* Build quality seems good.
* I can only adjust a few settings remotely.
* On website, it shows a calendar and the number of pics per day. You can select a day to view those days pics.
* It shows me the camera’s GPS coordinates on the app.
* More expensive plans than Spartan. $25/month for 3 month increments, $15/month for annual plan. So $150 for 6 months or $180 for the year.
* Built-in solar panel and rechargeable battery. Has not showed any dip in battery since August.
* IR comes on a little late, so there are very low light color pics that are hard to see. The IR is also like a spot light beam if I have it in a small area, for example a small clearing in the woods. The spread of IR light is very focused and tight.
* Customer service very responsive. Responds to emails almost immediately.
* Resolution isn’t very detailed. Can’t zoom in much on website or app. Must save the pic to phone or computer to zoom in. Even then, still grainy. Must pull SD card to get uncompressed full resolution pics. If it’s just for monitoring what’s at a feeder, it’s fine. If you’re tying to identify individual bucks, especially at any distance, it’s tough.
* Getting way more pics than the Spartan I have set up next to it. Both are set to same interval, same sensitivity, etc. I think what’s happening is the spartan transmits every picture it takes, so there’s a delay between photos while it’s transmitting. The spypoint is set to transmit only at certain intervals, so it’s probably taking more pictures faster.
* It has a very fast trigger. Catches lots of dove mid flight that are not blurry.

Spartan Verizon Blackout (3G)
* Set-up not as seamless as Spypoint. Had to set up thru Verizon, then buy plan thru Spartan.
* Build quality seems good.
* Verizon is $5/month. Spartan is $4/month for unlimited HD photos, access to app, etc. (I think $3/month if pay for 12 months). Start/stop Spartan plan at any time. So $84 for 6 months or $96 for the year, so quite a bit cheaper than Spypoint.
* External battery and solar set-up was around $180. This is the Spartan battery box with the Herd360 solar kit with a 42ah battery. Has not showed any dip in battery since August.
* All settings can be adjusted remotely.
* Pics are organized chronologically but not broken down by date.
* Night pics aren’t as bright as other cameras I have. I blame that on the “blackout IR.”
* Customer service may take 1+ days to get response. Typically they don’t answer phone so I just email them. I get the impression (could be wrong) that the customer service is contracted out to a 3rd party.
* Pic clarity is good, and ability to download HD pics even better. Can zoom in a lot.
* Facing the sun, get lots of blank daytime pics.
* It does miss some pictures sometimes.
* Sometimes receive error messages when I send command to camera. I have 2 bars of cell service. I imagine it would work better with more bars.
* 24 hour time stamp is annoying.
* Not important to me, but I can send a command to the Spartan to take a photo.

Bottom line:
* Spartan photo quality way better.
* With the current settings, I get more pics from the Spypoint.

[Pineywoods Paul]

My son and I now have 6 Spartans in Verizon with consistently good results. We use supplemental sealed lead acid batteries and they go 3-4 months minimum. Just make sure you go 4G as 3G not supported after 2019 by them.

[RMW]

If you wanted to set a camera out to see who the hell has been coming into a remote business location , which camera would you choose ? I have a loading yard that we do not use that often, we believe someone has been coming in and taking some of our materials. Was going to put a security system out there but it would cost quite a bit to get electric run.

Reconyx Verizon cellular Security Cameras. I’ve got a couple setup on our turf farm truck loading pads. Never miss a pic, never any problems and no headaches. They cost the most but you get what you pay for.

[SnJGuin]

I use Covert, have two on my place. Whatever you decide make sure it is 4G, 3G will not be supported mid-year 2019.

[Buff]

My son and I now have 6 Spartans in Verizon with consistently good results. We use supplemental sealed lead acid batteries and they go 3-4 months minimum. Just make sure you go 4G as 3G not supported after 2019 by them.

I have 2 Spartans and I have heard that after the first of the year they will quit working.

There is hardly any service at my lease and if I can get the Spartan to find a signal it takes great pictures but 70% of my place it wont work.

I have a spypoint that runs off a solar panel that works anywhere on the lease.
So far I have not had a problem with it

[Invisible Man]

I too am using Reconyx. I have three of them set up all year long snd they are bulletproof.they do not miss a picture and are well worth the money because they will probably be in the field for five years without any issues.

[Beleg]

I have a Bushnell Aggressor and Coverts. Bushnell phone app to view pics works better than the Covert app, in my opinion. Never needed customer service with the Bushnell aggressor but did for a non cellular Bushnell trail camera. Bushnell customer service sent the part I needed free of charge. Squirrels ate the antennas off the Coverts. Ordered new antennas and put PVC pipe over antennas. This seems to have stopped the squirrels but hasn't affected reception. Both Coverts and Bushnell have been out 2 years.

[freerhunter]

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