OldBoys Outdoors Acorn 6210 Review

2012 Ltl Acorn Ltl 6210 MC 24 count red/black flash IR camera report

This is a two camera review with the main difference in the two cameras is the Array. One has the 940 nm array (black flash) and the other has the standard 850 nm red flash array. All sample pictures and videos will be marked as to which camera they pertain to. This is a new look for these cameras because there is no removable back pack. The main camera portion is much thicker than the previous model cameras. This is to accommodate the separate battery compartments that drive the camera and the separate cellular modem board. These cameras have a very clean what may be called a summer/fall green/brown camouflage color. There is a small front bottom latch to the bottom compartment which contains the battery compartments and different ports like SD and USB. There is also a SIM card slot under its associated battery compartment cover. The bottom compartment door has the view screen built in with its control buttons. There is also a feed through to the external battery port that has a rubber plug to keep it closed when not being utilized. The back of the cam has a light gage feed through for a python cable and the sides of the camera have small slots for a strap. The back is somewhat flat with small bark grabbers sticking out. The top of the camera has the external antenna connector.

The top resolution is 12 MP but can also go down to 2 MP. They recommend using 5 MP for most applications in order to keep file sizes to a minimum. With a price tag of approx $329 for the non wireless models and $549 for the wireless models these may solve a lot of problems for high gas prices and the new wrap around feature where oldest picture is deleted if card is full if that feature is selected. This feature coupled with one of the new proprietary small Li-Ion solar/battery supply (optional) can keep the camera in the field up to a year.

The documentation seems to be well written but my old one track mind has a hard time getting used to a new feature like the MMS mode. As I read through everything fits together until that portion comes up and I have to stop and slow down to grasp what is being said. These are HD capable cameras and have video with sound capabilities. The flash ranges are out to 75 feet for the red flash and 40 feet for the black flash. The feature of picture plus video is also a nice feature. Delay is only 1 minute but that is because of the cellular capabilities. Multi shot burst mode is from a half second to one second depending on file size. Without the optional solar panel this camera should be able to stay in the field for up to 6 months of reliable use if good alkaline cells are used. The PIR system is still three sections with the two outside units providing incoming wakeup. Time lapse function can be programmed for both day and night. Timer settings can control time lapse function start and stop times. Date/time, temperature, moon phase, and battery level is stamped on the picture so it is transmitted to user during cellular operations. The setup of the Cellular function is on a disk so it is a very easy task to accomplish. If you choose just the standard 2012 cameras and not the MMS cameras there is a optional cellular modem board that can be purchased that will upgrade a standard camera to the premium cellular MMS camera. These cameras also have password protection. These units come with Acorn Time Lapse software by Scouting Assistant.

01-22-2011 update: Trigger time testing came out at 1.5 seconds on average for both with and without flash on both units. The sensing range came out at 48 feet at 57 degrees. The black flash unit had a flash range was just past 25 feet but the red flash was past 50 feet.

02-29-2012 update: After running the cameras in non wireless mode for about a week to obtain both photo and video samples, we then turned our efforts to the wireless function. The programming using the camera only (in the field) and the software was straight forward. Testing however turned out to be a real head scratcher but we finally determined that the camera is picky on which SD cards are required for MMS function. All SD cards used worked in terms of saving the original photos but most would fail during the MMS send procedure. We finally found that the Sandisk 2GB Class 2 card would actually function and send us text messages to our phone and computer. Our class 4 and higher sd cards would not work in MMS mode with the exception of a Sandisk 4GB class 4 card which has function one night thus far. We did discover some inconsistencies in the detection of the tower and obtaining a signal sometimes requiring us to switch off, wait, then back on to get it to recognize the tower.

In our testing area we have 5 bars which should produce optimal results for the MMS function, however the red flash model is sending about 76% of the photos taken while the black flash model only sends around 9% using the same SD card both using a delay setting of 1 minute.

We have also uncovered another issue with the red flash model and this is where around 50% of night shots are taken without the IR flash. Twilight photos have some light so we know its an issue of the array not firing.

All of these issues have been reported to OldBoys Outdoors who has patiently listened and did their best to help us with the testing. It could be that there are problems with our particular units, and Oldboys has offered to replace them with new units. We have spent countless hours with these cameras had less success than with the 5210 MMS units we tested last year in the MMS area.

We plan to continue the wireless testing which may be with replacement units. We will continue to report as we have results.

03-11-2012 update: We were able to get a battery life test done on the red flash model. The Black Flash model had too many issues to complete a reliable battery life on. We ran the red flash cam until the batteries failed. It took a total of 103 video clips and 1597 photos and sent 748 photos. We used all 12 AA Rayovac batteries. Lithiums should perform better but we like to use the alkalines as a standard. Based on the recommendations of Old Boys outdoors, we are returning both cameras for a replacement.

03-25-2012 update: Old boys outdoors received our two cameras and replaced them with a single, tested, Red flash unit. We received the replacement on 03/19/2012. This unit began to send photos to our email fairly consistently then we had two days of hard rain. When we checked the camera today, water poured out when we opened it. We turned it off and pulled the card. The card was corrupted and windows would not read the contents so the only photos we got were in our email. We will send this camera back and close this review.

Trigger Tests - Red Flash
(with out flash 1.57s)

(with flash 1.53s)