Best night image quality and flash distance on no/low-glow cam

[BSK]

The company that made my favorite trail-cameras has gone out of business. As my old cams die one by one, I'm looking for a new brand of no-glow or low-glow camera for monitoring large open areas, like food plots. I switched to a new brand of camera this year because of advertised claims of long flash distance and quality night images, but I'm disappointed in the night still images (although I'm beyond thrilled with the day and night video, but more about that in another post).

I use my cameras for monitoring herd composition (season-long photo census) so I need images with the clarity to see buck antler configuration. However, most no or low-glow cams have very poor illumination distances at night. Anyone using a camera where they are very pleased with night-time illumination distance and picture quality?

 

[TNTreeman]

My buddy has bragged on Apeman cameras. My 4 cameras arrived today and the 32 gb cards come Saturday . I'll post a review when I put them into service. They say they give no illumination to alert those being photographed , that's important to me. They also come with a strap and a nice gadget to attach them and angle the direction you need.

 

[BSK]

Thanks TNTreeman. I look forward to the review.

 

[Mr.Bro]

Was hoping for more recommendations. Also looking for better night pics.
Not low glows. Just true black flash

 

[TNTreeman]

Just put two of the apeman cameras out. I'll report ASAP . Weren't very expensive so I have low expectations. I really like there simplicity bc I'm very low tech. Simple setup even for me. I'm going to use one as a security camera so it can't show any lights whatsoever in the dark.

 

[puppy]

This is a still taken from a video using a Bushnell DS Core low glow, tree line is 35 yds away, video quality is great but couldn't figure out how to post the video. I used Covert No Glow for several years but got tired of the grainy night photos/videos.
My Tactacam Reveal has sharp clear images but limited flash range. 2nd pic.

 

[ADR]

Very curious as well.
I don't know if I would classify the tacticam reveal cams as low glo. I like a lot about them but not the fairly bright red light. For where I put these, I'd trade stealth for night image brightness at a distance.

on a side note, love seeing you back on here Bryan. You were missed

 

[megalomaniac]

I've not found any no glow cameras to have excellent pic quality at night past 40 ft. If you are willing to go with low glow but visible to deer and humans, there are several that will reach out to 55 to 60ft, cheapest is WGI.

I prefer saturating an area with cheap no glow cameras, as many mature bucks learn to avoid the low glow ones.

 

[Safari Hunt]

puppy, the top photo is a familiar one. Seen more of that end than the other.
Would love to have a trail cam but don't have access to private property. Afraid that WMA land will result in missing cameras.

 

[holstonangler]

Browning dark ops is pretty decent no glow camera, I've ran them for three years

 

[Shed Hunter]

I usually recommend Covert, but with that said I use them on narrower viewing ranges so flash/clarity at distance doesn't usually matter for me. In your case, I'd avoid Covert.

I've not used them but I hear good things about Exodus

 

[BSK]

puppy, thanks for the review and examples. The Bushnell Core DS No-Glow and Low-Glow are two of the cameras I'm considering. They seem to have darn good night images (as many of the dual lens cameras coming out now do). I also like the flash distance. Thanks again!

 

[BSK]

Browning dark ops is pretty decent no glow camera, I've ran them for three years

holstonangler,

I've been buying the Browning Dark Ops Pro XD and Patriot cameras (both have dual lenses, one for night and one for day pictures). The video on these cameras are jaw-droppingly good, both night and day. They are now my "goto" cameras for monitoring scrapes. But despite many reviews that said they took great night still images, I'm a bit disappointed with the night stills, especially when trying to monitor big open areas, like food plots (daytime stills are phenomenally good).

 

[BSK]

I've not found any no glow cameras to have excellent pic quality at night past 40 ft. If you are willing to go with low glow but visible to deer and humans, there are several that will reach out to 55 to 60ft, cheapest is WGI.

That's the problem mega, trying to get something deer won't notice that will "reach out" into a food plot. However, much about no-glow versus low-glow depends on who gives that camera that classification! A manufacturer calling their camera a "low-glow" means it's a red flash. A review site calling a camera low-glow because someone with great eyes can see a faint glow in a dark closet may not mean deer can see it. I've been using Browning cameras that Browning calls no glow, but review sites sometimes call low-glow because someone can see a faint glow, yet after hundreds of night-time videos of deer right up against the camera and not one deer reacting to the flash turning on in video mode suggests to me the deer can't see it.

Although, all that said, one of my brothers-in-law wanted to play around with cell cameras on our property, and he bought cheap Spypoint red glow cameras. We put these cameras on food plots back in August. At first, the deer ABSOLUTELY noticed them and would move away from them. But now, months later, the deer really ignore them. I've also noticed I can reduce deer's reaction to the visible flash cameras if I mount them high and pointing down into large open areas. Basically, I mount them as high on a tree as I can reach while standing on the rack of my ATV.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Let us know what you decide on Bryan. I am looking for cameras for the same objective. I have one Bushnell Trophy Cam HD that seems to take good night time images. Likewise, my go to is the Browning Dark Ops. Browning seems to be very well made - we have 5 or 6 of them and they have been running 3-4 years. One of them crapped out on us earlier this year. I sent it back and they gave me a list of cameras to choose from at basically 1/2 price. Not bad if you ask me. My customer service experience with them was great.

 

[TNTreeman]

Ok, I'm extremely low tech but have been putting out cameras since the old days of having to get the film developed. I got 4 of these Apeman h45 cameras for less than $200. They have only been out for a week so of course who knows about how they will hold up over time but so far they take great pics and are super user friendly. They are totally blacked out and the deer don't seem to pay any attention to them. You can view the pics on the small screen and erase easily if need be. Not sure about the distance they reach out to for surveying food plots just yet but I'll be mounting some tomorrow as security cameras high up in trees. It's been a short test run for a week but I like them enough I'll order some more next week. They may all mess up in a month but so far so good . I've gotten much more expensive cameras that didn't take as good pics and were much harder to figure out. Not much technical info here but I'm overall pleased and especially for the price it's not much of a risk.

 

[BSK]

Let us know what you decide on Bryan. I am looking for cameras for the same objective. I have one Bushnell Trophy Cam HD that seems to take good night time images. Likewise, my go to is the Browning Dark Ops. Browning seems to be very well made - we have 5 or 6 of them and they have been running 3-4 years. One of them crapped out on us earlier this year. I sent it back and they gave me a list of cameras to choose from at basically 1/2 price. Not bad if you ask me. My customer service experience with them was great.

This is my first year with the Brownings, so I have no idea about their longevity, but WOW am I impressed with their performance, at least in video mode and daylight still images. The Dark Ops Pro XD is their dual-lens model from 2018. The Patriot is their newest 2020 dual-lens model.

 

[megalomaniac]

Ok, I'm extremely low tech but have been putting out cameras since the old days of having to get the film developed. I got 4 of these Apeman h45 cameras for less than $200. They have only been out for a week so of course who knows about how they will hold up over time but so far they take great pics and are super user friendly. They are totally blacked out and the deer don't seem to pay any attention to them. You can view the pics on the small screen and erase easily if need be. Not sure about the distance they reach out to for surveying food plots just yet but I'll be mounting some tomorrow as security cameras high up in trees. It's been a short test run for a week but I like them enough I'll order some more next week. They may all mess up in a month but so far so good . I've gotten much more expensive cameras that didn't take as good pics and were much harder to figure out. Not much technical info here but I'm overall pleased and especially for the price it's not much of a risk.

Great cameras with way more features for the price of the competitors. That being said, with only 26 black flash LED bulbs, you won't get quality nighttime pics past 35ft or so. You really need closer to 40 black LEDs to have a chance of getting decent night time pics at 60ft.

 

[megalomaniac]

That's the problem mega, trying to get something deer won't notice that will "reach out" into a food plot. However, much about no-glow versus low-glow depends on who gives that camera that classification! A manufacturer calling their camera a "low-glow" means it's a red flash. A review site calling a camera low-glow because someone with great eyes can see a faint glow in a dark closet may not mean deer can see it. I've been using Browning cameras that Browning calls no glow, but review sites sometimes call low-glow because someone can see a faint glow, yet after hundreds of night-time videos of deer right up against the camera and not one deer reacting to the flash turning on in video mode suggests to me the deer can't see it.

Although, all that said, one of my brothers-in-law wanted to play around with cell cameras on our property, and he bought cheap Spypoint red glow cameras. We put these cameras on food plots back in August. At first, the deer ABSOLUTELY noticed them and would move away from them. But now, months later, the deer really ignore them. I've also noticed I can reduce deer's reaction to the visible flash cameras if I mount them high and pointing down into large open areas. Basically, I mount them as high on a tree as I can reach while standing on the rack of my ATV.

I think I may have learned it from you... at least from someone on this sight when the red glow cameras first came out and I started using them and realized it myself from my own experiences is the fact that some mature bucks would get their picture snapped once by the camera and then never again. Some mature bucks don't seem to mind them at all, however.

I actually had a 4.5 y/o buck come out mid November 15 yards from my stand. He hit a scrape and hung out at the woodline for 10 minutes. The interesting thing was he was less than 10 yards from an active scrape next to a salt lick with a red glow camera on it and never hit it, nor has he hit it before or since. I have gotten pics of him repeatedly on other scrapes with true black flash cameras a few hundred yards away. He was absolutely avoiding the site with the red glow camera.

 

[BSK]

What you said mega. I NEVER put visible light cameras on close-up set-ups, like scrapes. It's no-glow or nothing.