Covert camera sale!

[Stick'n'String]

I'll have to agree the Coverts are "the best bang for the money". But no one should expect Reconyx reliability and functionality from anything Chinese and costing a fraction as much as a Reconyx.

This past year I added two 2013 model Covert Black 60's to my dwindling (dying) assortment of trail cams. While I've had better "luck" with these Coverts than Bushnells and Uways, one of these two Coverts periodically just fails to record pics. I've ruled out any card issues. I suspect (based on what I've heard) that Covert would exchange it for another, but I've twice "thought" it might not happen again, then it did. Will go days without recording (while it "seems" to be working properly). I've found out I can "fix" it by re-setting everything to the factory defaults. In the meantime, I'm wondering if I wasted my time with the last time I placed that one. Time will tell.

I also have a 2012 model Covert Black 60 which has not given any problems, so by no means, am I trying to steer anyone away from giving Covert a chance. Over the past year, there was a surplus of 2012 models being sold at a considerable discount. However, those 2012 models will not take an SD card larger than 8gb, and, they are an 8.0 mp cam, while the 2013 Black 60 is a 12.0 mp cam capable of handling up to a 32gb card. (In retrospect, I wish I had just paid a little more and gotten another 2013 model instead of that single 2012 unit.)

Bottom line remains that 2 of my 3 Coverts seem to have made it about 6 months now without failing (which is a better success rate than I've experienced with most other brands).

And, Covert's daytime images are maybe the best I've seen coming from commercially offered cams (they're even better than Reconyx). But the Covert nighttime images are very comparable to most others, and you can simply ignore megapixel ratings for nighttime images. The Reconyx 3.1 mp cam typically produces superior nighttime images to any of the Coverts or Bushnells, the latter of which are often so blurry they have no value.

Just keep in mind what we're really "paying" for is the end product of pics, clear enough to be of value. A significant percentage of the nightime pics will be of little or no value with almost all brands of either "red" or "black" flash cams. And no matter how little money we spend on a particular cam, we have wasted all our money if it fails to deliver those pics, such as by either not working, having a slow trigger, or producing blurry images of no value.

I've had the same issues with cam failing to record images occasionally and did find Covert's customer service to be helpful in quickly replacing the unit. Thing I'm most impressed with is the battery life. I've had mine out for over a year and batteries are still going strong.

 

[BSK]

Let me say two things:

First, the website linked above (CAMO) is a GREAT place to buy trail-cams. I buy all my trail-cams from them.

Second, for those looking at Covert black-flash cams, although the MP6 Black is $50 cheaper than the Black 60, the MP6 Black only uses 40 LEDs for night-time flash, while the Black 60 uses 60 LEDs. With only 40 LEDs, the MP6 only advertises a 45-foot flash illumination distance. That's just 15 yards. "Advertised flash distance" is usually considerably more than you actually get in real-world applications. I would highly, highly recommend the Black 60, with 60 LED flash. It is worth the extra $50.

 

[BSK]

The Reconyx 3.1 mp cam typically produces superior nighttime images to any of the Coverts or Bushnells, the latter of which are often so blurry they have no value.

Wes,

In the past, I would have agreed with you. But with the 2013 models I've tested, I can now say Reconyx has fallen so far behind the Chinese brands in image quality, both night and day, that I'm having trouble justifying the continued use of my Reconyx cameras. They are reliable as heck, but considering what I use trail-cams for, the Reconyx cams can't hold up to the latest Chinese cams in image quality, and the difference is now so great, I'll probably be discontinuing the use of my Reconyx models.

In addition, although the Reconyx cams are FAR more reliable than the Chinese cams, the reliability of the Chinese cams has increased enough, and the price of the black-flash models have fallen far enough, that it is now more economical over the long-haul to run Chinese cams. They have a higher failure rate, but at a price approaching $150 per unit, I can replace the 20% that fail annually, and still come out way ahead over $600 Reconyx cams, AND get far superior day and night pictures.

 

[TheLBLman]

BSK,
I'm not particularly disagreeing with what you said, and do agree the Chinese cams have greatly improved on all fronts over just the past year or two. Who knows, Reconyx may be viewed in the future much like we view Cuddeback today. Once the "cat's meow", now made "junk" by being overpriced relative to their performance and the competition.

But, it's hard to compare a crisp nighttime image from a Reconyx to no image at all (from a slower trigger speed cam). Also, regarding nighttime images, one must set the Chinese cams to take at least a 3-pic burst, with very little time between bursts, just in hopes of maybe getting a single image of value (most will be blurry if the deer is just walking).

Some of my criticisms of all Chinese cams have much less validity when the cam is used over a salt lick. But I use mine often as a true "trail" cam, and the deer are walking. Often, 2 out of 3 pics are too blurry to be of value, and I spend much time regularly reviewing thousands of worthless pics. My issue is also one of my time.

Seriously, I'm re-considering the merits of traditional white flash and/or the new LED white flash. It was really nice to have most of the nighttime images clear & crisp, and in vivid color. Maybe by mounting units higher off the ground, this may be a better way to go?

 

[Rick Dillard]

for those looking at Covert black-flash cams, although the MP6 Black is $50 cheaper than the Black 60, the MP6 Black only uses 40 LEDs for night-time flash, while the Black 60 uses 60 LEDs. With only 40 LEDs, the MP6 only advertises a 45-foot flash illumination distance. That's just 15 yards. "Advertised flash distance" is usually considerably more than you actually get in real-world applications. I would highly, highly recommend the Black 60, with 60 LED flash. It is worth the extra $50.

I agree 100%. I have both, and the Black 60 provides much greater night-time illumination than the MP6 Black. However, I am by no means bashing the MP6 Black because it is a great little camera for the money. When used on scrapes, or over bait it is very adequate.

 

[BSK]

for those looking at Covert black-flash cams, although the MP6 Black is $50 cheaper than the Black 60, the MP6 Black only uses 40 LEDs for night-time flash, while the Black 60 uses 60 LEDs. With only 40 LEDs, the MP6 only advertises a 45-foot flash illumination distance. That's just 15 yards. "Advertised flash distance" is usually considerably more than you actually get in real-world applications. I would highly, highly recommend the Black 60, with 60 LED flash. It is worth the extra $50.

I agree 100%. I have both, and the Black 60 provides much greater night-time illumination than the MP6 Black. However, I am by no means bashing the MP6 Black because it is a great little camera for the money. When used on scrapes, or over bait it is very adequate.

Agree complete Rick. The MP6 is a great little black-flash camera, especially for the price. And if you can control deer distance from the camera (bait site or scrape), they can be very useful. Just don't expect to be able to use them on food plots or "bottleneck" areas where you can't be sure the deer is going to be within 10 yards of the camera.

 

[BSK]

Wes,

Exposure times are shorter in the Reconyx, which produces less motion blur. And that's a BIG advantage. But for actual image clarity--the ability to zoom and see antler configuration--some of the Chinese cams have it all over Reconyx. I've never been pleased with Reconyx's image clarity, especially on daylight pictures, but also night images. Some of that is the small size of the images, but most of it is the imaging firmware they use. I've seen what really good image enhancement software can do for a Reconyx image, so the information is being collected by the imager, but the firmware used to produce the image from the digital data is very poor.

 

[Winchester]

I will have to agree the Chinese cams have gotten better in leaps and bounds the last 2 yrs! The gap is now much smaller in quality, yet the gap in price is still BIG!

 

[TheLBLman]

Homebrews have also made gains in terms of options and performance, and may still remain the best in terms of price, lasting value, and especially image quality.

Wasn't that long ago that 4mp Sony cams were producing better images than 8mp "commerical" cams. Now the homebrews are using huge megapixel "real" cameras, and even being put together with true black flash.

My take is competition from all of them helps us all get better cams and more for our money. And the Covert folks may be leading the pack to more for the money.

 

[BSK]

Wes,

The only problem with homebrews is black-flash. I have yet to see a true black-flash homebrew.

 

[TheLBLman]

I have yet to see a true black-flash homebrew.

Wouldn't a homebrew using one of those black-flash extenders you use become a true black flash cam?

That's what I'm talking about: Homebrew cam using a black-flash extender. (I just generally don't like the extra "footprint" of having a flash extender.)

Did you see this post over on the trail cam forum?

I need someone with a Blackflash Video unit to do some testing for me. I developed a Wireless LED Blackflash Extended and need someone to do the testing for me. As PAYMENT you can keep the extender unit after the testing is done. A $195.00 value. I will need to open up your camera unit to install the transmitter for the extender and I am sure this will void your warranty so you need to be aware of that. Anyone interested please contact me. Thanks....Jim

Necessity (Mother of Invention), Competition, and Free Enterprise are all working well together in the trail cam arena.
Will say again, imo, the Covert folks are putting out the current best overall value in that $100 to $200 pricing range.

 

[BSK]

Wes,

I want the homebrew market to be as vibrant as possible. As you mentioned, competition is the mother of invention. The more time homebrewers beat the commercial competition, the better.

 

[BSK]

The Covert has a much better daytime pic but the night time is not as good as my Bushnell at the same distance.

The Bushnell is IR, which produces far more night-time illumination than a 40 LED black-flash Covert will. That's just the nature of black-flash. However, getting a black-flash with more LEDs would help (Covert Black 60).

 

[TheLBLman]

In the coming months, I imagine the choices will continue to get better.
Perhaps Covert will come out with the new, the improved, the Black [size]80[/size].

 

[Ahuntin1]

I love mine. I bought 4 of the 2012 Black 60's last year. They all took thousands of pictures from August thru January. All had plenty of battery (2/3) showing on the screen. I never thought I would have the problem of deciding what to do about having so many half used AA batteries. The only problem I ever had was if the camera faced the sun in a field, I would get a bunch of false triggers. But even that didn't hurt the batteries.

 

[Nealmeally]

I love mine. I bought 4 of the 2012 Black 60's last year. They all took thousands of pictures from August thru January. All had plenty of battery (2/3) showing on the screen. I never thought I would have the problem of deciding what to do about having so many half used AA batteries. The only problem I ever had was if the camera faced the sun in a field, I would get a bunch of false triggers. But even that didn't hurt the batteries.

Never face one into the sun... It will ruin the camera overtime.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

BSK, are you goi g to sell your reconyx

 

[BSK]

BSK, are you goi g to sell your reconyx

Haven't decided yet. Depends on whether I feel like spending the money to replace them all (I need to have a specific number of cameras for my work).