How many times have you found your trail cam full of empty pictures that you have to delete? Earlier and cheaper models sometimes made it difficult to catch good photo evidence of animals in your backyard. This is due to sub-standard features. They would catch every moving branch and use up all the memory before an animal even passed by.
Fortunately, technology within the sports optics industry has quickly evolved. However, until recently, devices were on the expensive side. That said, we took a look at one of the more advanced devices on the market, the Bushnell Wireless Trail Camera, to see what kind of features gadgets like these offer these days.
Bushnell Wireless Trail Camera
Wireless connectivity means that you no longer have to trek back to the surveillance site to review and store or delete photos taken. Also available is better sensor tracking, more extensive field of motion detection, and clearer picture and video quality to allow for the capture of stunning wildlife images.
Whether you are in the market for a new device for security, wildlife spotting, or hunting, today’s models can be very useful in keeping track of who and exactly what is visiting your backyard. You can capture and store excellent quality images as well as learn more about visiting times and habits of local wildlife, in real time.
The Bushnell Company has been operating in the sports optics market for over 65 years and has an outstanding reputation for high-quality products, at affordable prices.
With a great customer service team backing them up, this device offers a picture resolution that is four times the quality of the previous model. It can also communicate movement patterns of wildlife in your backyard, in real time, to your phone or computer.
Who Is This Product For?
This product would be really useful to anyone wishing to learn more about the different wildlife that visits their backyard or woods.
Whether you want to capture good quality images of visiting wildlife for your own amusement and pleasure. Or, if you wish to study the times and habits of the animals visiting for hunting purposes, trail cameras can save you hours of sitting around waiting for wildlife to visit, sometimes with no results.
To view and manage the pictures from the Bushnell Wireless Trail Camera, you will need another device such as a smartphone or laptop. You also need to be a USA resident as the wireless connectivity and SIM card compatibility is for USA coverage only.
What’s Included?
The package includes the device itself, a strap and metal clasp to clip it securely to a tree. Plus, there is a SIM card for wireless connectivity to your phone or laptop. The package also comes with an instruction manual to help you get everything working.
Overview Of Features
To break down the features of the Bushnell Wireless Trail Camera, here’s what we found:
Construction
This trophy device is made from high-quality materials. It is fully weatherproof and can withstand temperatures from -5 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore it will be a great device in all seasons, no matter where you live.
Ease of Use
We love the fact that this device is super easy to set up and get to work right away. When you receive your package, you just need to insert batteries and the SIM card. Then follow the simple, three-step set-up instructions on your device and phone or laptop. Then, you’re ready to start taking pictures!
The 3G wireless connection will start sending pictures straight to your phone. This is so you can check what pictures the device has taken without physically going back to the device itself. You can view, manage, and store any of the images that you want from the comfort of your own home.
The expanded AT&T coverage means that this device will work and communicate wirelessly, almost anywhere in the USA.
Storage and Sharing
The SIM card comes loaded with data already. Moving forward, you can choose which data plan you want to be on via your registered account.
Depending on which data plan you choose, you can store several high definition high-resolution images from the device each month. This is great if you get some really good shots of wildlife that you want to keep and share straight away.
You can view the pictures in a free app available to download for both iOS and Android phones. In addition, the pictures you wish to keep can be sent directly to your email or Facebook to share with others.
Using an SD card as an additional storage option, you can also retrieve photos in bulk when you visit the surveillance site.
Image Capturing and Video Recording
This model takes full-color images and has been recently upgraded to 14 megapixels. Therefore, the picture quality is excellent. With a fast trigger speed of just 0.3 seconds, this device won’t miss a thing. The video quality is also fantastic. In other words, it is HD 1280 x 720 pixels and filming up to 60 seconds of footage at one time.
It’s great that everything can be managed from your phone. This includes everything from the number of pictures the device takes to the intervals between images.
This model has a good range on it and can detect and record movement from infrared sensors up to 60 feet away. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the sensor. This way if you are only interested in big game animals such as deer. For example, you can set the sensitivity of the sensor to suit you and avoid taking pictures of smaller animals and birds.
With a 0.5-second recovery rate, you can be alerted almost immediately if there are big game animals near the surveillance site. This gives you time to get out to them before they vanish.
Surveillance
The Bushnell Wireless Trail Camera offers completely undetectable surveillance. Whether it is day or night, the auto sensor and infrared function work alongside 48 no-glow black LEDs. This is especially great if you are hunting, as the game and other hunters won’t even realize that the device is there.
With two field scan time slots available, you can capture beautiful time-lapse images of both dusk and dawn. Simultaneously, the motion sensor can operate on standby to take extra photos if it detects movement.
Power Source
The device takes 12 batteries to operate which can be expensive initially. However, once operational, the batteries shouldn’t need replacing for around three months. This depends on the frequency of pictures taken and data transmission. This is especially handy if you have it placed in an awkward to get to spot!
Wireless Connectivity
The only drawback we can see is that the wireless connectivity requires a monthly data plan, so your budget will have to accommodate the extra outgoings.
How To Use It
Upon receiving the device and SIM card, the setup itself is very simple. Create an account online and download the free app in your play store. Once you login to your account via your camera and phone, the device will immediately send your phone a test picture. This is so that you can ensure everything is running smoothly straight away. You can find clear operating instructions as well.
Once you are happy with the angle and position of your device and the shots it is taking, everything else can be managed via your phone. This includes the frequency and intervals at which it takes pictures and videos, as well as the alerts you want to receive.
Bushnell also sends you an instruction manual that covers all of the setup steps, operation, and management guidelines. Additionally, the manual includes a troubleshooting guide to assist you should you run into any problems. Updates are easily available. This company is top notch when it comes to offering a great product.
Alternative On The Market
If you don’t want to spend a couple of hundred dollars on a trail cam but still want the excellent picture and video quality that the Bushnell Wireless Trail Camera offers, then Campark make a great alternative in a lower price bracket.
This gadget takes crystal clear photos at lightning speed and is sure to capture everything moving in your backyard. You have to check the device manually to retrieve images taken. However, with a removable SD card, you can take the photos back with you and study their contents, and make notes of times and dates of visits to easily plan your next hunt or wildlife spotting session.
Conclusion
The surveillance device from Campark is much more accessible price-wise than the one we’ve reviewed in this article. It offers the same excellent picture quality, sensor range, and advanced features found on the Bushnell Wireless Trail Camera bar the wireless connectivity.
For this one feature alone, we feel that the Bushnell is well worth the extra money and is a stand out winner overall. We absolutely love the fact that you can view and manage everything directly from your phone without having to trek back and forth to the surveillance site.
The Bushnell wireless trail camera makes a fantastic long-term investment. What’s more, daily monitoring of the site will no doubt be an entertaining addition to your smartphone features. This camera has superb quality with great technology and features that we are confident you will be happy with for years to come.
See more trail camera reviews here.
