Smart Scouter Camera

GrandSlamHunter · May 14, 2008

I'm buying a farm in Illinois and am looking for a way to keep track of game movement without making a lot of trips this summer. Is anyone familiar with the Smart Scouter camera and how good it works? Any info will be appreciated.

GSH

rhbama3 · May 15, 2008

i'd be very cautious about this camera. i did a google search and read up on it and there are several red flags:
- no mention is made anywhere about battery life other than there is an optional external battery jack.
- 1.3 megs seems kinda low for a camera that costs over $650.
- compact flash card? kind outdated isn't it?
- no mention is made of sensor range. Also, having 3 sensors has to be a huge battery drain.
- the quality of the pictures on their own website ain't the greatest
- the housing looks hideous with that brown/orange case.
-There is also a mandatory $15 per month fee for the satellite service, and a four cent fee for every photo that is uploaded.

I could not find a single independent review on this thing.
There are several camera's out there that will work on a battery charge for over a month(longer with external battery hookups) that cost a whole lot less. I would be inclined to buy a few of these and just go download every month or two. i'd also take battery operated feeders to put them on so you can portion control the amount of feed and make it last till you get up there. hth, Robert

jettman96 · May 15, 2008

Just want to counter one point that you made rhbama...

Compact flash is not necessarily outdated. it is not popular with the regular digital camera consumer or manufacturers because of size. They are in-fact used with professional grade cameras because they offer better data transfer speeds.

Compact Flash card = minimum 20MB/second
SD Card = 900KB/second

I just got educated on this when I purchased my wife's Rebel Xti Digital SLR.

But, yes everything else sounds kind of spendy... and low quality.

rhbama3 · May 15, 2008

thanks Nik!
I did not know that. Learned something new today. All of my camera's except the stealthcam use SD cards and the cf cards "seem" to be getting harder to find. But yes, that was my opinion only . Robert

jettman96 · May 15, 2008

Yeah until I got my wife's new camera I too thought that Compact flash was becoming antequated (big word for the day).

One other thing to keep in mind... Typically the larger the storage space on a card the lower the data transfer speed. It seems to really hit a wall at about 1 GB. So, if you check your cams on a regular basis and don't really have a need for an 8GB (for example) card use something smaller.

GrandSlamHunter · May 15, 2008

rhbama3 said:
i'd be very cautious about this camera. i did a google search and read up on it and there are several red flags:
- no mention is made anywhere about battery life other than there is an optional external battery jack.
- 1.3 megs seems kinda low for a camera that costs over $650.
- compact flash card? kind outdated isn't it?
- no mention is made of sensor range. Also, having 3 sensors has to be a huge battery drain.
- the quality of the pictures on their own website ain't the greatest
- the housing looks hideous with that brown/orange case.
-There is also a mandatory $15 per month fee for the satellite service, and a four cent fee for every photo that is uploaded.

I could not find a single independent review on this thing.
There are several camera's out there that will work on a battery charge for over a month(longer with external battery hookups) that cost a whole lot less. I would be inclined to buy a few of these and just go download every month or two. i'd also take battery operated feeders to put them on so you can portion control the amount of feed and make it last till you get up there. hth, Robert

I would definitely buy the external battery. It lasts 5-6 months.
I personally like the 3 sensors. The outside sensors only "wake" the camera up. The center one triggers the camera.
The monthly fees will run between $25-$35 on average. This is still a lot cheaper than gas to Illinois and back.
I really don't understand why the 1.3 mp camera. May have something to do with the size of files to be uploaded.

Thanks for your feedback.

GSH

rhbama3 · May 15, 2008

"I would definitely buy the external battery. It lasts 5-6 months."
GSH,
where did you see this info? i was unable to find anything on battery life (internal or external).
If you do get one, PLEASE let us know how it works out. I love the idea, just not sure about this particular model. Thanks, Robert

oops! i just went back and looked at their website again. Found it buried in the FAQ's. 30 days internal(6volt) and 90 days with external.

GrandSlamHunter · May 15, 2008

rhbama3,

Here ya go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhtpDHqvKU

GrandSlamHunter · May 28, 2008

I have bought 2 of the SmartScouters with the additional battery pack. I hope to get up to Illinois this weekend to put them out and get them transmitting pictures back to my computer. I'll give ya'll a report as soon as I get them going.

GSH

SteadyHoyt12's · May 29, 2008

Where did you buy them from?

GrandSlamHunter · May 29, 2008

I haven't seen them in stores yet. I guess the only way to buy them is online from their web site.

GSH

SteadyHoyt12's · May 30, 2008

Check Cableas

I know its in the new cabelas spring archery catalog. And yeah i know you can get them from there website im sure that they have or are getting dealers.

Smart Scouter Camera

GrandSlamHunter

Senior Member

rhbama3

Administrator

jettman96

Senior Member

rhbama3

Administrator

jettman96

Senior Member

GrandSlamHunter

Senior Member

rhbama3

Administrator

GrandSlamHunter

Senior Member

GrandSlamHunter

Senior Member

SteadyHoyt12's

Senior Member

GrandSlamHunter

Senior Member

SteadyHoyt12's

Senior Member

Similar threads

Latest posts

Share this page