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This is the second Wildview we chose to review. This was
done purely because the first WV-EZ cam turned in a trigger time of
just over one second. We began to wonder if maybe they had re
engineered all the Wildview cams so that we could expect a decent
trigger time coming from each. Out of the box and loaded with new C
cells we hit the trigger time testing station for a quick
evaluation. We had decided that if it came in with one of those 4.5
second times like their Sniper cam we would just close the review at
that point and place on the 100 yard line target for a little
practice. Well it did not come in like its little brother but did
turn in a 2.5 second time without flash which is at the upper limit
of what most would consider acceptable and a 3.5 second time with
flash which is unacceptable. So now we are going to go ahead and see
what this $100 feeder camera has to offer this year. It comes in the
same case as all its predecessors which is OD green and measures 6X
7x2 ½ inches. In the bottom of the box was a nice big wide strap for
mounting and on the rear of the cam is loops to accommodate the
strap for mounting. Across the top front of the camera is the PIR
sensor and below that there is the LCD window and test/function
indicators next to the main camera lens. Just below that is the 24
count IR array which is advertised as having a 30 ft flash range.
Most of the cams tested with this count will illuminate past that
limit. The bottom half of the front is the door to the inside of the
cam. The door has a full gasket to keep weather out. At the bottom
of the camera is the external battery port. There is security
devices included in the package so the new owner will have to make
their own. We use the locking bar through the strap loops which when
used with a chain or Python cable provided a degree of security.
Keeping with past Xtreme models they have chosen switch programming
which makes everything simple in the programming department. You
still have to use the three buttons under the LCD to set the time
date information that is displayed on each picture. Do not forget to
hold down the set button for a while to get into this operation and
again to get back out. I still have every Wildview that we ever
tested and they all still work just fine. I have always liked this
simple to use camera and it was the first on the market to nudge
toward the mini cam style. Being the trigger times are slow we will
just grab the flash range pictures and a few sample pictures and
call it quits on this review and just log this camera out as a
feeder cam. 07-29-2009 update:
White out city is what this cam seems to be about. During the
transition from day to night and night to day this cam has a severe
whiteout issue until the light sensor finally makes up its mind that
it is day time.
07-30-2009 update: The whiteout
issue followed us into the video mode but after the transition the
videos were very clear and good color day and good illumination and
very readable at night. This will make a very good feeder/lick cam
when set up at about 20 feet during the cool weather and maybe a
little closer for the heat of the summer.
08-08-2009 update: We have not
bothered this cam for a few days except we grabbed the card out and
took a quick look at the pictures. The day color pictures are very
good and we have gotten attached to its simple operation. The white
out thing is still bothering is for ¾ hour morning and evening when
the cam is trying to figure out if it is day or night. The light
sensor needs to be tweaked by a firmware change I would think to
eliminate this problem, or I could move it out into the open. Over
all this is a functional camera but still has that feeder cam
trigger time and the need to be placed in areas where there is
sufficient light.
08-18-2009 update: This camera
has surprised us with its battery life. It was started along with
other cameras that have since died and this camera is still grabbing
pictures. Just move this camera to the well lighted areas and let
her go and gather pictures. We do not have a day count or a picture
count yet but it is going to be pretty good.
08-28-2009 update: Another ten
days and the picture count has gone over 3000, but is sliding a
little in the flash department. Very good battery life and
expectable picture quality makes this camera look better and better.
Just keep it out in the open where there is plenty of light and you
should get fairly good service out of this camera.
08-31-2009 update: We squeezed 38
days out of these batteries the final picture count ended up at 3134
pictures and 29 videos. I would not call this as being too shabby
battery life. That is over five weeks and the picture count was
nearly 700 a week. Just watch where you deploy this cam to ensure it
gets a good dose of light during the morning and evening times to
help prevent having all those white out and black out pictures.
09-07-2009 update: We have just
about ran the course with this cam so we will close for now and
maybe later on this fall we will pull it back out for our research
on scrapes and rub lines.
Trigger Time
without flash - 2.5 seconds
  
with flash - 3.5 seconds
  
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Flash Range
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Nighttime Sample Photos 1
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Movie Samples - These are close, but the originals should have better quality but you should get the flavor of the videos which are fairly nice
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