1How Does A Cellular Trail Camera Work?
Are you looking for a cellular trail camera to get ready for the next hunting season? Maybe you want to upgrade your existing trail camera to get better photos on your phone. Whatever your reason for buying a new cellular trail camera, there’s no doubt this is an essential tool on the trail. This is the latest innovation in the game industry and allows you to track deer and other animals from a safe location. Before hitting the store, it is crucial to learn as much as you can about the new game cameras on the market to make your shopping experience easier.
The camera requires a data plan just like an ordinary phone to transmit data and, in this case, photos, through the wireless network. These cameras have a built-in transmitter that works with a SIM card from a cellular service provider. These wireless cameras come with sensitive sensors for motion detection, which enables them to capture motion around a hunting spot, with a range of 50-100 feet. When there’s any motion around their line of sight, the cameras immediately record the image and send it to your smartphone or email address.
2Wireless Vs. Cellular Trail Cameras?
When shopping for a trail camera, you’ll find many different models available. The most common among these are cellular and wireless trail cameras. These two cameras perform the same function of recording images and sending the photos to a pre-selected device or email.
Cellular trail cameras rely on US cellular plans, just like a smartphone, to transmit images to your phone or email. On the other hand, wireless trail cameras work with a Wi-Fi signal and send photos via this connection.
With a Wi-Fi game camera, it is possible to check real-time images from any location within the connection range, but you can’t do the same with a cellular trail camera. The downside of a wireless game camera is that the Wi-Fi connection will drain the battery much faster.
Many buyers don’t differentiate between cellular and wireless. The most important thing to remember is that a wireless camera with a Wi-Fi signal can only send images through a connection. On the other hand, cellular cameras can send photos to a phone via text or email by using a network and are stored on a SIM card.
3What Is The Best Cellular Trail Camera?
There are many innovative wireless hunting cameras on the market, and finding the best can be an overwhelming task. Here are some factors that can help you find the most reliable hunting or cellular security camera.
Water Resistance:
Game cameras face exposure to the elements throughout their life, and for this reason, you need to choose a water-resistant gadget for an extended lifespan. By selecting a waterproof camera, you’ll not only guarantee continuous, high-quality photos but reliability from your camera as well. To ensure any trail cameras you compare are waterproof, look at the IP rating, which evaluates the gadget’s solidness and water tightness.
You should look for cellular game trail cameras with a rating of IP65 or higher to work reliably in an outdoor environment. An IP66 live deer cam means it is water-resistant and weatherproof. Such a high IP rating also means your camera has stable housing to guarantee complete protection from the elements. This means it could withstand heavy rain, wind, and snow and will continue to capture images even in extreme weather conditions.
Cellular Signal For Wireless Cellular Trail Cameras:
A game camera or a security trail camera relies on a cellular signal to operate. Many people rush to buy the latest trail cameras only to discover they are not compatible in their areas. As such, you need to consider the following:
Is the mobile service provider compatible with your camera? Look at the mobile cellular network supported by the camera. You should only pick a device that can work with a dependable mobile service provider available in your area. This guarantees you will always receive reliable photos at any time of day or night and throughout the year. If you have multiple providers in your area, check the cellular service that has the strongest signal to get the best performance out of your camera.
Is your data plan reliable? Like with your smartphone, you need to choose the most reliable data plan for your cellular game camera. The best data plan will allow fast and dependable transmission of pictures to your phone or email. It is advisable to check out different US cellular plans offered by cellular companies around your area. While the most expensive data plan might promise reliability, you need to consider the rate of data consumption by your camera. If the trail camera is sensitive, it will capture many images and transmit them over the cellular network. This will deplete your data plan in no time. You should talk to representatives of different cellular providers and find the ones with reliable, customizable, and affordable data plans.
Battery Life:
Battery life is one of the most important considerations when shopping for the best cell phone camera. A strong battery guarantees you continue getting excellent picture quality over a long time. Some of the things to consider when comparing the battery life of different products include:
Alkaline Vs. Lithium Batteries: While alkaline batteries are cheaper and more common, they don’t last long. Lithium batteries, on the other hand, are more expensive, but they last four times longer than alkaline batteries. A lithium battery can also last longer in the extreme conditions that you would expect outdoors. If you want to buy the best trail camera, look for one with lithium AA batteries for longer battery life.
Rechargeable Batteries: The best wireless cell phone camera or trail cam pros come with a rechargeable battery or solar charging capability. This means you can charge the gadget even when on the hunting trail. These cameras are not only more dependable but also more cost-friendly.
Camera Alerts/Notifications:
The best wireless trail cam will send notifications or alerts to your phone or PC whenever it captures something, so you can be aware of what is going on at your hunting spot and plan ahead. When comparing different trail cameras on the market, look for one with APPs on mobile devices or clients on PCs to get such notifications. This allows you to take in-time action. With this kind of camera, you always have more control of your hunting plan as you can monitor remotely without spooking game.
Night Vision:
Another important consideration when shopping for a cellular trail camera is night vision. If you want to monitor a hunting spot or boost security around your property, you need images day and night. The best night game trail cameras should come with night vision to capture quality images in low light conditions. There are sophisticated cameras that even record night time videos in actual color, which aids your game monitoring.
Adequate Photo Storage:
An excellent wireless Wi-Fi trail camera should offer sufficient storage for recorded images. You can choose between local storage in the form of a micro SD card or cloud storage. Using local storage is cheaper as there’s no subscription fee. However, you can quickly lose these images if your camera gets damaged. Cloud storage is more convenient and secure. You can access recorded images from any location as long as you have a good internet connection.
Megapixel Count:
If you have ever bought a camera, one of the primary considerations is always the megapixel count. If you want a high-definition video or a high-quality photo, you have to go for the highest megapixel count. However, this is not the only thing to consider as a high megapixel count trophy cam can produce low-quality pictures because it has cheap lenses. What’s more, some camera makers use interpolation to enhance the photo resolution of their cameras and achieve a higher megapixel count. To ensure you get the right megapixel count on your camera, compare some unedited images from several trail cams before choosing which one to buy.
Detection Zone:
How far can your camera detect? The detection zone determines how much activity the wireless game cams capture. This area includes the detection range and the detection width. A camera with a broader detection zone can detect motion and capture the photos.
A good game camera should have a long-range of detection for more useful photos. Look for the best long-range trail cameras if you want to increase the detection zone.
Consider The Flash:
Game cams work a lot during the night to capture the images of animals around a hunting spot. For this reason, you need to select the best camera flash for high-definition photos and videos. There are three types of flash you can choose for your cellular trail camera:
- Red-glow infrared flash: This type of flash produces a dim red glow while capturing images at night and will not scare away the animals you want to monitor. You will get black-and-white photos that are brighter and less grainy compared to a no-flash camera.
- White flash: This type of flash in a live deer cam captures colored photos in the night. While you might want such images from your wireless game camera, a white flash might also scare animals, which is a considerable disadvantage.
- No-glow infrared flash: This infrared flash produces high-quality images and will not scare animals away. It can work great with a trail camera or a security camera. The downside is that the black and white photos you get are darker and more grainy compared to those captured by a red-glow flash.
Trigger Speed:
When comparing different game cameras, one of the most important factors to consider is the time the camera takes to capture an image after detection. The quicker the camera captures an image means it has a better trigger time and it is crucial in gauging the efficiency of a cellular trail camera.
If a buck comes to your hunting ground and walks past it, a camera with a fast trigger time will capture the image. A slower camera, on the other hand, might send a blurred image of the buck leaving the spot.
4Find The Best Cellular Trail Camera For You
As you can see, there are many different options for cellular trail cameras. The best thing you can do is go to the store, look at the various specifications on the game camera, and test it out in the store to make sure it is the right fit for you. Once you have chosen which cellular trail camera to get, you can track and monitor the game at your hunting spot with ease.