Tactacam users

[SRShunter]

Yall still happy with the reveals? How is the battery life without solar panels and external batteries? How many pics do yall get with just double A batteries? Do you think the cameras will last a couple of months with taking and sending pics every 10 min? That's normally how I leave my settings until hunting season then I'll go to every minute and let them them click off. My settings have changed a lot especially since the cameras are 5 hours away. Lol

 

[mtclev5651]

Yall still happy with the reveals? How is the battery life without solar panels and external batteries? How many pics do yall get with just double A batteries? Do you think the cameras will last a couple of months with taking and sending pics every 10 min? That's normally how I leave my settings until hunting season then I'll go to every minute and let them them click off. My settings have changed a lot especially since the cameras are 5 hours away. Lol

I have four and I love mine. Trigger speed could be faster but for the price, you expect that. As far as double as run, I get a couple of months out of mine

 

[oconeejacket]

Very happy with mine also.
In the summer, batteries will last a couple of months with no issue. But that is just sending pictures daily. I don’t know why you need to see them more frequently during the off season. Plus your options are either daily, twice daily, or timely (instantly). If you use instantly, battery life will be reduced dramatically.

 

[kmckinnie]

I have one.back yard. It take pics all night. Batteries have been going a couple months. Lots of pic. Can’t remember when I changed them. Solar is the way to go tho. I have one line that.
We have 6 all together.

 

[SRShunter]

Very happy with mine also.
In the summer, batteries will last a couple of months with no issue. But that is just sending pictures daily. I don’t know why you need to see them more frequently during the off season. Plus your options are either daily, twice daily, or timely (instantly). If you use instantly, battery life will be reduced dramatically.

They serve a double purpose. Had someone break into our camp thats 5 hours away. That's one reason for the instant. Got a couple neighbors on hot standby willing to deal with the situation. I know it's not season but I see like to see the wildlife in somewhat real time

 

[SRShunter]

Are the reveals as easy to setup as the spypoints? Take a pic on phone to register them through the app and you're rolling or do you have to have a computer to do so?

 

[Buford_Dawg]

I give my Reveals a 10 out of 10. Zero complaints, increased my number of Reveals to 7 with latest 2 for 199.00 deal

 

[kmckinnie]

Are the reveals as easy to setup as the spypoints? Take a pic on phone to register them through the app and you're rolling or do you have to have a computer to do so?

They have some little thing inside u scan with your phone. Fallow instructions with phone and your on your way.

 

[dawg]

I have 4 and pleased with the results!

 

[rosewood]

Have solar charger and lead acid battery on both of mine. They run year round and stay 100% charged on instant. Nice to let them be during the summer months. On occasion, you might have an issue with solar charger or the like, but for the most part, they are maintenance free. I do turn off the video during the off season so the SD cards don't fill up so quick.

Rosewood

 

[CarolinaDawg]

Yall still happy with the reveals? How is the battery life without solar panels and external batteries? How many pics do yall get with just double A batteries? Do you think the cameras will last a couple of months with taking and sending pics every 10 min? That's normally how I leave my settings until hunting season then I'll go to every minute and let them them click off. My settings have changed a lot especially since the cameras are 5 hours away. Lol

Very happy with mine. Lithium batteries lasted me 2 months and about 3,200 pics.

 

[benellisbe]

Very happy with mine. Lithium batteries lasted me 2 months and about 3,200 pics.

Same here. I have 6 Tactacams and 4 Spartans. I like the Spartans a bit better for picture quality, but the tactacams have been great and I can buy 3+ tactacams for the price of 1 spartan. I do run lithiums and get about 3k pictures on a set (which is usually several months). If you setup on a feeder, expect hundreds of pictures every 24 hours, so you will definitely be changing batteries more often.

 

[Deerhead]

I am running alkaline batteries in my Tactacam. I put my camera out on a food plot the end of January. It is still running. Sends pictures every time motion is detected. I get several pictures a day & night. Now when I put my camera on a feeder and it constantly sends pictures the batteries only worked for 30 - 45 days.

 

[Son]

I may be going to tactacam. bought spypoint when this type stuff came out. First cameras worked so good, I bought another one a year later. The second camera has always had a problem communicating with Spypoint servers. Spypoint has been polite, but they refuse to admit the camera has a problem. So, I put both cameras in the same location, everything the same, batterys at 46 percent today. Second camera still says no signal. Original camera says 50 percent. In my opinion that proves it's a camera problem. Guy said change locations, I have already several times. In the current location, the camera sent two photos before it quit. The last location, it sent several photos then quit. Camera number one continues to work in all locations in our woods. I'm thinking they don't want to replace the camera, or have it sent in for repair.

 

[rosewood]

I may be going to tactacam. bought spypoint when this type stuff came out. First cameras worked so good, I bought another one a year later. The second camera has always had a problem communicating with Spypoint servers. Spypoint has been polite, but they refuse to admit the camera has a problem. So, I put both cameras in the same location, everything the same, batterys at 46 percent today. Second camera still says no signal. Original camera says 50 percent. In my opinion that proves it's a camera problem. Guy said change locations, I have already several times. In the current location, the camera sent two photos before it quit. The last location, it sent several photos then quit. Camera number one continues to work in all locations in our woods. I'm thinking they don't want to replace the camera, or have it sent in for repair.

You are exactly right, they give you a hard time about replacing bad cams. It took me 9 months or so to get one replaced and then they wouldn't make my lost time good (I paid for a year). The first replacement they sent me never worked.

If you send one in, be sure to put your account on hold or seasonal disconnect or something so you don't lose anytime you paid for. Don't believe them when they say they will adjust it once you get the new cam running.

Rosewood

 

[TarponStalker]

I just bought the XB series. I set it up in my yard just to learn how to use it. So far I’m happy. The night pics are not clear if subject is moving but a bit fuzzy. The daytime pics are good. Trigger speed seems good as I set it up by the road near my house. Moving car pics during the day are stopped in motion perfectly framed. 15-25 mph.
I have it set up to text an alert in real time. That works great. However Ive not gotten any email pics yet and I have that in my setup too. But this could be operator error. Still learning. I called the reps at Tactacam twice. Both times they were very helpful with setup. They told me it’s very important to use correct SD card.

 

[cephus91]

Have solar charger and lead acid battery on both of mine. They run year round and stay 100% charged on instant. Nice to let them be during the summer months. On occasion, you might have an issue with solar charger or the like, but for the most part, they are maintenance free. I do turn off the video during the off season so the SD cards don't fill up so quick.

Rosewood

What solar panel and battery are you using? The integrated one Tacticam sells? I have four Xs that have been running great. Recently got one of the SK units with the built in small solar panel and it will not stay charged for a full week, even in full sun. I am reaching out to Tacticam on that, but may try a bigger solar panel. It looks like the SK unit is no longer on their website.

 

[rosewood]

What solar panel and battery are you using? The integrated one Tacticam sells? I have four Xs that have been running great. Recently got one of the SK units with the built in small solar panel and it will not stay charged for a full week, even in full sun. I am reaching out to Tacticam on that, but may try a bigger solar panel. It looks like the SK unit is no longer on their website.

Home brew.

Bought the 12 Volt solar panel from Academy. Ordered a plastic box from Home Depot for auto trailers batteries(those that have winches). Wired it myself. The other one, I repurposed an old camera case to house the battery. Use a UB1250 battery in both.

There must be a power diode built into the solar panels. If not, at night, the panels will drain your battery. Both of them started draining the battery, so I ordered a pack of power diodes and put in line on the + lead. Fixed the issue. They stay at 100% all the time.

I posted the build, will have to find it.

Rosewood

 

[cowhornedspike]

I have it set up to text an alert in real time. That works great. However Ive not gotten any email pics yet and I have that in my setup too. But this could be operator error.

These cams do not email pics. The email option it simply for you to get email notices when your battery gets real low or your SD card is almost full.

 

[SRShunter]

What about the firmware updates? Do they uodate automatically or do you have to do them yourself with a computer ?