2012 Recon Viper HD RT1015R 2.1 MP 2 count red flash review

Sneaking in from the sidelines is a new offering from our old friends at Recon. This is an upgrade of the same camera. This time they chose to use the IR cut filter so that the day pictures come out with more real color. They also changed the array cover to a clear lens this time which is giving a few more feet of flash range over the early model. In general appearance this camera looks the same as the 2010 camera with the exception of the clear lens over the two emitters. This is a two piece camera with a mountable back pack that allows the camera to slide inside once mounted on the tree. The camera is only about six inches tall and three inches wide. The front has a fall camouflage color and the back pack mount is dark OD green. This US made camera company has been pumping out quality cameras for a while and we know that their customer service is first class. When you call the 866 number there is someone that answers the phone and will take prompt care of you. 

The front of the camera has a small bull’s eye type PIR sensor lens at the top and the camera lens just below that. Centered on the front are the LCD and the associated programming buttons. At the bottom front are the two little openings that allow the flash from the two count array to pass through. There are two small latches that hold the camera into the back pack and once removed there is the SD card slot on the side and the 8 AA battery holder compartment on the back. All this closes up tight with a full gasket to keep the moisture out once the two latches are snapped in place. 

The face of the camera has the buttons printed on it and the action is a bit stiff so it takes a small amount of extra pressure to activate the on/off and programming buttons. Once on and the mode button is pushed the programming is very easy and just scroll through and advance by hitting the mode button again. This camera is picture only but it has a very fast up to 15 count burst. Delay is also programmable all the way to zero but should be left at maybe 5 as a minimum to allow good write time for the card. Trigger on this camera is very fast and should test out to be much less than .5 seconds. There is also a selectable real laser aim. Date/time data is on file name and not printed on the pictures. 

This is not your full feeder area camera, but it is designed for those small areas out to about 20 feet. Good trails and areas like creek crossings and funnels would allow this camera to work well with the great trigger time. The night flash pictures were all satisfactory and day color was very good. Both day and night pictures were a bit fuzzy during the basic tests. With the small file size the battery life should be up to 20,000 pictures on a single set of good alkaline batteries. The back pack design will allow the use of a Python cable.

Trigger Tests
 

Flash Range
 

Day Range/8 Plate
 

Dead Pixel Test