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2010 Moultrie D55 white
flash 5mp Camera Review
We did not have this camera scheduled but after trying to review two
other Moultrie cameras and having to return them due to
function we finally gave up on getting a good one and
went ahead and picked this camera up to fill that hole.
This camera is in a grey textured case with a trace of
brown here and there. It measures about seven by nine
inches in size with a rounded front door. The front
layout is the same as the familiar D-50 and I suspect
the board is the same also. There are two small plastic
clips that hold the door closed against a flat rubber
gasket. Strap loops are on the back and a external
battery port is on the bottom. This is a camera in the
back and not in the door which is a better way of doing
things. There are two battery tubes that each hold three
C cells with snap in covers. The camera is down the
center of the front between the battery tubes and the
layout is the same as the D-50. Programming was simple
and standard Moultrie style with the L/R and up/down and
select in the center. The bottom edge has the SD card
slot (up to 116 gig) and the USB/TV out jacks.
The search for a good white flash camera by some
this year has seen the WGI and Spy Point cameras which
did very good. There is some hard core Moultrie users
that want this camera to fly, so we decided rather than
just get our money back we would go ahead and try one
more time to find them a suitable Moultrie to use. What
we have seen so far on the forums did not impress us
with this camera but as of today we see that there is a
down load for this camera from the factory so we will
see what that is all about. (http://www.moultriefeeders.com/softwareupdates/default)
We will start off as is and then do the update to see if
things change.
The specifications for the I-45 we just finished were exactly the same
except the I-45 were interpolated to 4 MP and this
camera is up to 5MP. The other two resolutions are 1.3
and 3.1 MPs. Video is 620X440 and 320X240 which is also
the same. Delay is one minute on the bottom so to catch
that buck following the doe you would have to use the 3
burst and hope you catch him. There is no security on
this camera and I found one questionable spot in the
rubber seal that looked weak but I could not get it to
leak so as of now it appears to seal out moisture. The
documentation is alright and readable. I played a little
around here and the trigger seemed pretty slow and the
color with flash appeared to be pretty weak. We have it
now on the Trigger Time table and will get some of the
preliminary work done so we can see just how good this
camera does as is then we will update and do it again.
08-21-2010 update:
Sha-zam, magic has happened and the wheels at
Moultrie
are turning again because the download for this camera
changed the delay times down to 15 and 30 seconds. Who
ever in
Moultrie
that made that happen let me be the first to say
Thank You it is one of the best changes you
could have made. This change is only for the D-55 and
the M-55 cameras so far, it would be nice if we see it
happening to some others as well. This puts a much
better light on this review and if the picture quality
is a little lacking then this improvement will ease some
of that pain and still give it a better chance against
its competition.
We got all lined up
and applied power and the data link to the Trigger/flash
analyzer so we could go ahead and knock out several cams
in a row. The trigger time came in at 2.45 seconds for
day and 3.43 seconds with flash. The day range pictures
were a little weak on color but fairly good contrast.
The eight plate zoom at 200% was sharp so distant
animals could be analyzed fairly well using this cameras
pictures. The application of the update took longer than
they said but we held our ground and it was completed
and now we have that wonderful 15 second delay
time. We now are going to put this in line to get sample
pictures.
08-22-2010 update:
I hate to say, this camera just fell apart with the next
three tests we put it through. First were the trigger
times, then the day/night color pictures. The day range
was not too bad but the night flash color pictures fell
apart and were very weak and grainy. We had High hopes
for this camera. One mistake we made is we did not
officially test the trigger times prior to the firmware
update so we do not know if there was any effect caused
by the download. Hate to say this but this is going to
be another very short
Moultrie
review. The modification to the delay was excellent but
the trigger times force this camera to the sidelines of
a feeder forever.
08-27-2010 update:
Captured a few more sample pictures and I will say that
they were a bit better than the previous pictures we had
gotten. They are still weak in color and still grainy
but acceptable for a hundred dollar camera. The two 55
series cameras seem to be the only two cameras that have
gained any following out of the 2010
Moultrie
line. They are still dedicated to feeder of fixed setups
because of trigger times. This year there has been some
hard competition in this cost area and it is a fight
that Moultrie
has lost so far. The new delay times will help but so
far that has not been enough.
08-30-2010 update:
We did get some videos and we do not like them. The
video quality is poor and very grainy. This camera just
plain needs work, there are competition cameras that out
shine the function for less money. We are now going to
close this review.
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Trigger Tests
(without flash 2.45 seconds)
(with flash
3.43 seconds)
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Flash Range |
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Movie sample
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