Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

Cellular Cameras.

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
I know a bunch of you guys use them. I used to own a spypoint that sent pics directly to my phone via SMS but they all seem app-managed today.

I'm setting up a spot over corn for the boys on my parents land 4 hours away and need a dependable cam.

What brands do you guys use and what is the monthly cost to include hidden cost like downloading high res pics.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5Cent

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Love my Browning cams. They rape you on the monthly prices. Should be giving cameras away for the monthly costs. Tactacam has delivered nice pics with a fair monthly price for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jackalope and 5Cent

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
Levi had to have one, so he got a Wildview. Made by Stealth. First month free. $15 a month for unlimited pics. 0.05 cents for each high definition picture. Can add unlimited amount of cams. Not awesome pics, but plenty good enough. I've never downloaded a high def
Screenshot_20221124_092307_COMMAND.jpg
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Love my Browning cams. They rape you on the monthly prices. Should be giving cameras away for the monthly costs. Tactacam has delivered nice pics with a fair monthly price for me.

That seems to be the rub from what I've seen. Pricing seems to be transitioning to a subscription model. The cams used to be $400+ and then you paid the cellular provider for the connection. Today the price of the cam is heavily subsidized by the cost of the monthly subscription to use their proprietary app. So you may be able to pick one up for $200 but it'll cost anywhere from $15-25 a month to operate.
 

Gern186

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,171
201
NW Ohio Tundra
I have 6 spypoint cams. Just purchased 3 of the new spypoint flex cameras. Im super happy with them. I joined the insiders club there last year I think for 99 bucks. That gives me 250 pictures per camera per month. A few of my cameras I have upgraded to 1000 pictures per month and the cost of that is around 10 dollars per camera. Its all operated thru the spypoint app. You can pick and choose settings on each camera very easily and quickly. I would recommend them.
 

Wildlife

Denny
Supporting Member
5,248
191
Ross County, Ohio
Very pleased that I made the jump this year to cell-cams. In fact, I was so satisfied with the Tactacam Reveal X by the end of the first week in use that I went ahead and purchased two more, but the REVEAL XB version instead, then placed them right here @home. Maybe a bit pricey when all said and done with everything together, but I have absolutely no regrets in making the move nor do I really care how much the cost is at this point because eventually I do believe it will save me money in the long run overall. I just know they're fairly competitive within the market.

I'm quite satisfied with the Tactacam products that I've been using over the past few years for nearly all my deer & coyote daytime hunts. The cell cams are super easy to maintain and I have an abundance amount of amazing photography captured by them over the past few months. So, you can say that I'm a solid fan-boy of the Tactacam products, goods & services today.

I'm personally addicted my to cellphone Tactacam application. The most convenient thing ever to happen in my hunting career as far as getting nearly realtime intelligence of whats goin on within my huntin areas. To say that 'I love it' would be putting it quite mildly!

I did mention and shared some of this information within an earlier thread of this year.


Tactacam Reveal Cell Trail Camera....

Tactacam Reveal Cell Trail Camera....

Tactacam Reveal Cell Trail Camera....


Good luck with whatever cell-cam solution you come up with!
 

Attachments

  • 20221124_110243.jpg
    20221124_110243.jpg
    129.9 KB · Views: 70
Last edited:

Outdoorsfellar

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
Any make will have an app. All of my cams have been reliable for the most part. I cannot tell any difference with Tactacam reg pics & HD. Moultrie takes the best pics & videos of all, but night time pics leave a bit to be desired. Tactacam takes the best night time pics & will send a video as soon as requested. Daytime pics & video leave a bit to be desired . If moultrie & tactacam had a baby, you'd have a winner. It's really hard to say what is best overall. All plans are pretty much the same, so that should not be of concern.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jackalope

Chancegriffis

Active Member
1,451
63
Salesville ohio
I second Giles with wildview or stealth. I have 2 ds4k stealths, 1 fusion x, one regular fusion and a reactor. It’s retarded expensive as I spend 15 dollars a month per camera but I rarely have issues with network and the quality is great. You can find the fusion x, stealths for under 85 dollars. Same with the fusions. The ds4k and the reactor are a bit more pricey but I would highly recommend them. I got rid of spy point after about 8 months. PLUS stealth cam customer service is quality. When you can get someone on the phone lol
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Jackalope

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Thanks guys. it's going to be over a feeder so I suspect we'll get quite a few pics. I don't really care about pic quality as I'm not expecting any monsters. You shoot a 130 inch buck there and you better call the paper. 😅. I'm setting it up for the boys so the most important info will be what time the deer show up and leave. Being 4 hours away and my oldest only being 6 i's going to take a surgical strike. 😅
 
  • Like
Reactions: Boarhead

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
You should just come over tomorrow evening and Levi will show you how it works. Being 4 hours away, I also suggest you take one of them old batteries out of your shitbox and use it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jackalope

Sgt Fury

Sgt. Spellchecker
I have both the tactacam and Spartan. The tactacam is cheaper for the original purchase but slightly higher to operate for the year. Spartan cams are more expensive up front but the picture quality is much better. Spartan cams will cost $36 per year (credit purchased from Spartan…$3 per credit and a credit lasts one month) you download Spartans app and it’ll send pics right to your phone. Verizon is $5 a month ($60 for the year)…total cost to run the camera is $96 a year. If you use lithium batteries (as a backup) and purchase their solar panel (they have a internal battery), you won’t have to visit the camera but once a year to change the lithium AA batteries. You can get a security box, and the camera has a GPS built into it and it’s pretty damn accurate. You can also manage all of your settings from your phone or iPad. The saying “you get what you pay for” is very true with cellular cams. I use the cheaper cellular cams (tactacam) near home and use the Spartan in Ohio as it is pretty self sufficient once set up. They also have a Spartan community on Facebook that people post questions/problems and they are answered pretty quick. Customer service is also pretty good. If I was to only have one trail cam, it would be a Spartan.
 

triple_duece

Ragin Cajun.
9,126
159
It’s a love hate thing w me. They all work great starting off, but like regular cams the issues start. Spypoint was good first year then went to shit. Tactacams are holding up on second year. My Bushnell are ok, they new so won’t know. There are others but I have no experience w them. I am hearing great things about wise eye cell cams. Made by some guys near Baton Rouge.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jackalope and 5Cent

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
I’m up to 8 Spypoints now. Keep the firmware updated and you’ll have no major issues. I have 2 of their new Flex cameras and I am super pleased with them. The Flex has the ability to download and install a firmware update while it is deployed, which is really convenient.