Trail cameras (also called wildlife, game, scouting, motion-sensitive, surveillance or remote cameras) can be highly effective tools for helping locate and recover displaced cats (including escaped indoor-only cats) and skittish lost dogs. They can help provide evidence that the lost pet is in the area and whether s/he will enter a humane trap if one is set up. For an example, see Kat Albrecht’s recent blog “Catching Bill.” However, the effectiveness of the camera is dependent on several factors including the quality of the camera and where/how it is set up.
Selecting a trail camera can be a daunting task, especially if you intend to purchase a quantity of cameras to rent out to clients. There are so many brands available, none of them are particularly cheap, and they all seem to have some technical issues. The TrailCamPro.com website provides some very useful information for making this decision. They have a “First Time” Trail Camera Buyer’s Guide that covers many important aspects of selecting a camera including:
- Trigger Time
- Detection Zone
- Recovery Time
- Picture Quality
- Type of Flash
- Battery Life
- Security Options
There is even a step-by-step Trail Camera Selection Guide that picks a camera for you based on the criteria you select. The information is interesting, but you are limited to selecting from the cameras that they sell. I was happy to see that the best quality affordable camera that they suggest is the one that I currently use: the Bushnell Trophy Cam. TrailCamPro.com sells them for $200+, but you can buy them for around $150 on Amazon.com. I only say “affordable” because the next step up is their best camera, the Reconyx, which sells for $500+.
If you are really serious about learning all the features and how different brand cameras compare, then you should also check out the TrailCamPro.com Trail Camera Tests including trigger speed, detection zone, recovery time, and flash range tests. Both TrailCamPro.com and Chasing Game also provide in-depth reviews of many different trail cameras. I was unhappy to find that Chasing Game has some rather unflattering reviews of the Bushnell Trophy Cam based on camera performance and customer service issues. TrailCamPro.com also indicated that the Warranty Rate for the 2010 Bushnell Trophy Cam was 3.8%, while the best made cameras have a return rate of less than 1%. However, until I find a better camera for the same cost, I’m probably going to stick with Bushnell.
Whichever camera you select, you can improve your success by setting up the camera effectively because even a great camera won’t get a single picture of a lost pet if set up poorly. TrailCamPro.com provides a useful Trail Camera Checklist. Since their website is aimed primarily at deer hunters, the height that they suggest placing the camera (24”-36”) is too high for cats and small dogs, but most of the information is applicable to setting up a camera to locate missing pets. Chasing Game also has some useful set-up information under the “Getting Started” tab. In addition, they cover the topics of camera camouflage and security, which TrailCamPro.com does not cover on their checklist.
If you want even more in-depth information or are seeking answers to a particular question, there are many forums and discussion groups online. Among the hunting forums, I found the Chasing Game forum particularly user-friendly and informative. Besides hunters, wildlife biologists are the other heavy users of trail cameras, which they generally refer to as “camera traps.” The Yahoo! Camera Trap Group is another good source for information and questions on camera selection and set-up.
I am currently researching wildlife studies that use camera traps. I am particularly interested in those that compare using trail cameras to other methods of detecting animals such as track plates (a method of recording animal tracks), box trapping, and spotlighting to determine which is more effective. I am also hoping to learn more about how to most effectively set-up cameras for cats and dogs by researching wildlife studies on similar size carnivores such as wildcats, foxes, and coyotes.
The Primos Truth Cam 35 and Bushnell Trophy Cam are two of my favorite cameras.
I haven’t had the chance to try these cameras yet, but the Bushnell Aggressor No Glow and the Browning Dark Ops Elite are highly rated by TrailCamPro.com as the lowest priced of the higher quality cameras on the market. The Browning in particular has a feature that adjusts the strength of the flash based on how close the animal is to the camera. A too bright flash that whites out the animal in the photo is a common problem with many wildlife cameras.
If you can afford them, Reconyx supposedly sells the best quality trail cameras on the market. They also have a high resale value on Ebay or Amazon.com, so you could resell yours after you get your lost dog or cat back home.
Some of the trail camera ads and test sites give a detection range for their cameras which is perhaps a bit too optimistic. For example: the camera I recently bought claims a detection range of 45-feet or so. The problem is that this is apparently based on a deer sized animal.
I’m trying to use my trail camera to detect house cats at about 24-feet and it’s not detecting them at that range at all. I’m not implying that the ads are misleading but this is a caveat to be taken into consideration if you are hoping to detect small stray house pets and you need to keep the camera indoors to prevent its’ theft.
Thanks for your interesting site.
I still think that the Bushnell Trophy Cam is the best camera though I am frustrated with the high incidence of technical issues. This summer 3 of my 5 Bushnell cameras were malfunctioning. However, as long as you hold onto your receipt Bushnell should fix or replace any defective cameras up to two years from purchase.
However, if you are not comfortable using technical gadgets (like many of my clients), then I would not recommend this camera. The menu can be confusing with its many options and difficult to navigate with its tiny screen. The other cameras that I like are the Primos Truth Cam 35 and the SpyPoint IR-5. These are both good cameras, and they have much more user friendly menus and are cheaper than Bushnell.
I recently visited Cabela’s to check out the newest line-up of trail cameras available. Cabela’s has display models out so you can get a close look at the set-up and mounting options. Security options are an often overlooked factor when selecting a trail camera. The cameras are expensive and having one stolen, especially when you are looking for your lost pet, can be truly heart-breaking. The most secure cameras are those that allow you to thread a thick python cable lock through the camera. The Primos, SpyPoint Reconyx, and some Bushnell cameras offer this feature. With some of the smaller cameras, you can also purchase a separate security box, but this does cost an additional $25-$35. Some of the cameras did not appear to offer any easy way to securely lock them including the Moultrie, Wildgame Innovations, and the Stealthcam cameras.
How do you set up the cameras in the field? How do you prevent it from being stolen? There are ways to camouflage the cameras but then at night they give themselves away when the flash work. Thanks
If you follow the links in the above article: “Trail Camera Checklist” on TrailCamPro and “Getting Started” on Chasing Game, you will find useful information on setting up the cameras. The Chasing Game site also provides useful info on security. If you are concerned about the flash (even the glowing red of the infrared flash) giving away the location of the camera, then you should look into “black flash” cameras, which do not show any light to the human eye.
How long do the batteries work in these trail cameras?: http://www.shoppingblox.com/trailcameras
Bushnell Trophy Cam 8MP is one option you can try. 6mp (720x480p videos)
range 45feet, trigger speed of 0.8 seconds. this camera comes with 8aa batteries
As far as I Know, Bushnell Trophy Cam 8MP is one of the best. I am using one even for security reasons( not only for this reason). Thank you for the interesting post.
Danielle, since technology advances so quickly with these cameras I was wondering if you have any done any updated research on game cameras in 2016. Any new recommendations?
Personally I have also been a fan of Bushnell trail cameras, but Spypoint solar trail cameras will soon become a real threat and I might start replacing these cams in some of my spots.