TRAIL CAMERA USERS 

For those folks who are thinking about buying/building a scouting camera. Two things come into mind. These are picture quality verses picture quality. There has been a big push to sell cameras with high MP ratings. Those who really cherish their pictures for photographic value and those who need enough detail to determine the quality of game that is visiting a particular area. I spent a lot of time comparing the detail in a 1.3 MP photo to a 6.0 MP photo and found that even though the higher MP provided a more vibrant picture the 1.3 told me every thing that I wanted to know about the game animal. With the MP rating going up so does the price and should be a strong consideration when trying to pick out that perfect camera for your area. Our recent test proved that those cameras that have the great trigger time sometimes do not have the greatest sensing. Those cameras took somewhat less pictures that other cameras having the slower trigger time. All the cameras having the identical MP rating but manufactured by different companies will not produce the same quality of picture. Having a review which shows test pictures is also somewhat deceptive because we have tested three like models from the same manufacture and there was a distinct difference in picture quality between these cameras. All of these pictures were good but some were just a little better than others. Keeping the choice between 1.3 and 3 MP is more in line with what I feel is needed for a scouting camera. Having the smaller file size is also a plus when it comes to storing and sending these photos using ones computer computer. I had an E mail today rejected because it contained five 5 MP pictures because the file size was too large. The smaller MP rated cameras also have a much quicker recovery time (delay). Yesterday I received the new Cabelas Archery catalog and it had cameras with the 5+ MP ratings and a big + price to go along with it. We will be testing these but it is my feeling that the industry should be working on the instant trigger, great flash, and super sensing 1.3 to 3.0 MP super cam that sells for a reasonable price. Maybe we will find one of these in the new crop of cameras being sent out to us this year. It would be great if all the companies producing these cameras would regulate there production so that we would be receiving them in October or November instead of May June when it is going into summer and testing is limited due to heat.

09-24-06 Update: Now we have been able to look at some of the new crop of cameras and we have found that the push for the ultra MP (megapixel) rated camera to be somewhat defeating. Our means of viewing these gems we have captured is normally on a computer screen and by printing. Lets take some of the average sized monitors which run from 14 inch on up to 20+ inches. On an average these monitors are probably running at 1024X768 which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.3 MP. If we choose to view the 6+ MP pictures, good old Windows XP just automatically down sizes them to fit the screen. For you young folks with the 20/20 + eye site, you may be running your monitor on a little higher setting thus you may be able to view the higher 2.1 MP pictures before good old XP down sizes it.

Now lets think about trying to print a full sized 6+ MP picture. If you are using a standard printer, here again our computer software is going to down size this picture in order to make it fit on the page. If you wish to print the full 6+ mp picture you are going to need a lot of room on your desk to handle a printer this wide and some very big paper. If you also wish to view this same picture on your computer monitor with out the operating software shrinking it you are going to be out some serious bucks not only for the monitor but the wall to hang it on.

To put this in perspective, the advantage to the higher MP pictures is being able to zoom to a particular area on that picture (provided your monitor and printer are good enough) and view it and/or print it as needed. Again we must stress, not all 1.3, 2.1, 3.0, 6.3, MP cameras are created equal. As mentioned above, we tested 3 of the same cameras set at the same resolution and did not get the same picture quality on all three. Picture quality is all about light and if the light is not just right the picture will suffer even though the camera has the capability. Doing your setup in such a manor that you take advantage of the camera's flash capabilities and available natural light, even the great 1.3 MP cameras can turn out that picture that could be put on the wall and easily E mailed to your friends.