Separating the ordinary pieces of equipment from the extraordinary ones can be the difference between a satisfying hunting trip and a disappointing one..............
What Makes a Great Trail Camera?
Separating the ordinary pieces of equipment from the extraordinary ones can be the difference between a satisfying hunting trip and a disappointing one. Whether you’re a novice hunter or have years of experience, ensuring you get the right trail camera plays a big role in your ability to effectively track game, so understanding what makes one worth your money is key to your success as a hunter.
To help everyone make a more informed choice about their next trail camera, we’ve rounded up what we think are the most important aspects to look for. Read on and ensure you’re getting something that will help you succeed out on the trail.
Responsivity
You’re trusting your camera to do the job of a trained photographer, so it needs to be able to shoot when you need it to. The two key metrics for this are trigger and recovery speed: Trigger speed is the amount of time between the camera sensing movement and taking a photograph, and recovery speed is the maximum amount of time between successive shots. A responsive camera – one with a low score for both of these metrics – will be able to take photos of even fast-moving game, and could potentially even give you a number of photographs of the same animal to assist in identification.
Image quality
This is an aspect people commonly approach with misconceptions. Image quality is about more than just the how many megapixels a camera has. A camera with a high megapixel count could still create blurry, grainy or noisy photographs because while its image sensor may boast 10 megapixels, the sensor may be of poor quality. Additionally, higher megapixel counts can decrease the useability of your camera by shooting average quality pictures with a hugely inflated file size, filling up your SD card faster.
Look for a camera with a quality image sensor, a decent lens and a good flash. The only way you’re going to be able to separate the good from the bad is here is research and actually looking at photographs the trail camera has taken.
Ease of use
Last but certainly not least, you want to be able to set up your camera and access its data quickly and easily. While still ruggedly constructed, many modern trail cameras are being offered with more advanced and intuitive controls, making them simpler than ever for the first-time user to work with. Some are also being offered with internal viewers for quick review of photographs. If you’re wondering what to look for in terms of usability, just imagining yourself trudging out the camera in the pouring rain – how quickly and easily can you get the job done so you can get out of the rain?
For more information on what to look for in a trail camera, speak to the team at Pro’s Choice.
