best cell cameras??

Who has used these and which brand is the best - cost is not an issue - Thanks

Based on other people reviews, Spartan might be the best. I personally use Stealth Cam and do not have any issues (except you must use Lithium batteries when used on a feeder). I have (6) of these cameras and I subscribed to the unlimited plan on all cameras. $79/month for all 6 cameras.
Tactacam Reveal is another that has good reviews.

Had good luck with browning and surprisingly Moultrie

Have 3 Tactacams. 1 good, 1 dead, and 1 has quit taking pictures for the 2nd time in 6 months. Ready to try something different.

I use Brownings and have been pleased.

I have browning regular cameras and a moultrie cell cam

Wise Eye

Love my RidgeTec. Been in the field since 2020 (including the "great freeze" and it captured pics at -9 degreess) and nary a hiccup. None are perfect, but I know the RidgeTec hasn't stopped working and takes lots of pics. Comes with AT&T and Verizon SIMs.

No dealers in Texas and online they have one model...that's "sold out."

Dang, I was ready to try one. Looks like the Canucks use 'em.

I posted this reply in another thread but i think it works on this one too.

I am currently using three Tactacam Reveal Pros, an Exodus Render and an Exodus Rival, along with two Spartan Golive 2s and one Spartan Gocam. In my opinion, the tactacams are not as good as the others. I have not had any problems with them but they app functionality is not quite as good of an interface as the other two brands. I think the Spartans take the best pics and videos but the exodus app is slightly better. I run solar packs on all so I have not had any battery issues with any of the brands. Exodus has had the best customer support and the only problem I have really had was a SIM card go bad on one. The owners manuals suck for all of them for any advance settings or suggestions. I don’t really have time to watch 6000 YouTube videos to find out how to work my damn cameras. Data plans are a toss up. I probably give Spartan a slight edge but exodus is close behind. Tactacams aren’t bad. They are a little cheaper than exodus and a good bit cheaper that Spartan and functionally wise it shows. They would probably be fine for anyone who hasn’t used any of the more premium brands because they won’t know what they are missing out on and they may not need anything more fancy anyway. Again, this is only my opinion based on actually using all three brands and your mileage may vary…..

Wow, have you tried contacting customer support. I begin with one just to see if I like it and now have 5 Tactacams for over 2 years and they all work great but I have needed customer support twice and they more
than were helpful and solved my problem. One time and I thought it was just BS, they said to take out the simcard and wipe it off and blow in the slot to try to remove dust. It started working again right away.
Cost is $8 per month per camera for unlimited photos. Camera's that I use cost $119 each. I have no connection with them at all, I just think they are the best cell camera's on the market.
Here is a photo that I got two weeks ago off the oldest camera I have and it was the one where I wiped off the simcard.

I've got to gather up the one that quit and the one that's dead and see if I can send them back to Tactacam and have them check them out, even if I have to pay. The one that quit started acting fine when I replaced the batteries, even they showed to have plenty of juice. I spent time on the phone with customer service, and they were VERY willing to spend time on the phone with me, but it just quit again a couple of days ago. I may run some alfalfa out there tomorrow to try and keep these two devils around. This is the camera that's still working.



I hate having a data plan on something that quits. Also, all their different models are confusing as heck to me and others on here.

I have tried a few and keep coming back to the Tactacam reveals

We have a dozen Spartans going. They aren’t perfect but I doubt any are. It seems any issues are related to poor signal strength. I’m not real tech savvy but they are real easy to navigate imo. We use Dropbox to save the pics of interest to and spartan syncs with them and it’s SUPER easy to save pics to Dropbox from spartan and Dropbox is good once pics in there.
Also, no way we get alerted every time we get a pic. That would be insane for us. They immediately go to a website and anyone you want to setup in the site can look anytime you want.
Tlk, holler at me before make a decision.

Sorry about that, sir, I know that's not helpful. I did a search and found one online in Canada but that's not a very realistic option. Maybe they're just recovering from the season rush, but I'll try to reach out to see what gives.

Edit, found this on their website. Again, not very helpful, but I do hope the same or better quality remains when the new one comes online.

No problem! I'll try to get on their email list.

Been using 3 tactacams for the last 2 years. No issues other than one corrupted SD card. The battery drains fast if you set it to send every time it detects motion but you can remedy that by using the solar battery pack.

Don't think you do the FB thing but they seem to have a pretty good page with lots of customer-submitted pics and vids. Might be able to get a better feel for the cam.

We run stealth cams, have over 30 cameras across 4 properties.

I started using the Stealth Cam WILDVIEW cellular cameras about 3 years ago. I have been very happy with them except for the battery usage; due to lots of activity, they run thru batteries, so I have just opted to try The DECPTOR with their SOLAR PAK. Pictures are very crisp and the controller app is very easy to use.

Will see how it goes this month with the new model. I am using the unlimited ATT plan @ $15/mo

I'm really surprised that no one has mentioned Spypoint. I've got four with the built-in solar charger and am really happy with them.

I use Covert and it works well but a friend of mine runs 15 wise eyes and they’ll be my next. Great customer service and great pictures.

I like the connectivity ability, but all the other stuff on the app is above my head, e.g. wind speed, etcetera. Does sound neat about being able to recognize a particular buck and put pics in folders.

Tuesday a friend of mine told me they use these on their place. I have a high point that I think would be ideal, but I just don't know if I'm capable enough to set it all up. I get frustrated at the drop of a hat on this kinda stuff. His cousin's grown son set it all up. Only $10.00 (total) a month for up to 24 cameras sure is appealing though.

Link>>Cudde Link Cell Home

Has anyone on here tried this?

They’ve been mentioned on here a good bit(or similar cudde link). We used to use but timber so thick they wouldn’t connect good with each other. Connecting is the key and will depend on terrain and cover and distance.
Good friend has about 20 in Shackleford county and I think doing good. I’m not sure why but I don’t think his is just $10.

I went to their website and it says that it's $15 per month for up to 750 photos and goes up to $40 per month
for unlimited. I could not tell if there was a limit on number of camera's.
https://www.cuddeback.com/CellManagement/CuddelinkCellPlans

The older ones weren't great (having to manually update firmware, batteries not lasting long, etc), but the newer models seem to be doing pretty well.

I like the 'shareability' of images with Tactacam; we have 5 owned by different leasemates and all get to see each others pics. Solar packs were added to supplement batteries and it worked quite well this season. Will be adding another 4 or 5 this year.

Have two Tactacams that have been in use for a year. Have been pleased with them.

The unbelievable things is they both went under water with the rains a few weeks ago. One of them after being under water for 6 days sent a picture of water receding.

Picked it up last week let it dry out put batteries in and it seems to be working. Have not tried the other one yet.

No, I did not get any underwater pictures.

In my ignorance, it took me until this past week to realize that a weak signal will drain the batteries quickly. However, the one Tactacam that just "keeps on ticking" shows "weak signal" when you look. I guess there's different levels of "weak." That's what she said. But I digress...

'Realized I have enough Cabela's points to at least order a solar charger and lithium cartridge for another one and try it out. 'Just want something to tell me when to drop the cell signal gate on a pig corral.

I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on a data plan for the old, 3rd one, if, in fact, it was just a weak signal draining that one. I just don't need that much instant information.

We have the lithium batteries with solar charger, 4 days clouds and rain we took a charge pack out and plugged in the cameras for a couple hours got it back u to normal.

The extended range antenna might be worth it for you, improved one of ours 1 to 2 bars and get pics from it timely now.

Extended range antenna ordered. Thank you! 'Had just enough Cabela's points.

Been using stealth cams with great results….one lesson learned….don’t put cams on border pen fencing so that cows don’t chew antenna off.

Probably because that’s the only positive comment I’ve ever seen/heard from anyone about Spypoint

Cows will also knock solar panels off if they can get to them.

I have used just about every cell camera made by a trail camera company. There a few newer companies that brand themselves as more of a security camera company than a trail camera, but are the same thing. I haven't used the Vosker, Barn Owl, etc. but I have used Browning, Bushnell, Covert, Spartan, Reconyx, Tactacam, Spypoint, Stealth Cam and maybe one or two others. I ran Coverts exclusively for years, then tried Spartan and ran those primarily for a couple years. Reconyx is for sure the best and lasts the longest, but they start at $600 and will eventually start to degrade over time. I have reliably gotten 2 really good years out of them with the 3rd year being decent.

Except for Spypoint and some of the cheaper Bushnells (neither worked well, and a couple of each wouldn't work at all when brand new), they all seem to work pretty well for a season. Some of the Bushnells are decent, but there are better options. I have switched to primarily running Tactacams because the quality is solid for a year and they're cheap. Now I just replace them about every year, or if I'm lucky, some make it for two full seasons. I have 50-60 cell cams and run them on multiple properties. Some of them have different uses; new cameras start out at deer feeders then the next year if they still work, I move them to a less important spot like a pig feeder or near a gate, on a road, etc. to keep eyes on the places.

I would rank them as follows:

Reconyx
Spartan
Covert
Tactacam - takes great night pics, but the daylight photos are just ok. Good thing about the Tactacam account is you can pay for an unlimited plan that allows you to request high res photos and they end up being decent.
Stealth Cam
Higher end Bushnell
Browning - was disappointed because they have some good trail cameras, but the cell cams didn't work well for me. Maybe they have improved since I used them.
Would never buy a Spypoint again.

Good report, especially since you have used so many. Im surprised nothing of yours ever lasts more than a year. Ive never had anything that bad. Im glad you rank Spartan high.

I have 5 tactacams and they have been really good, but I bought a Reolink Keen Ranger PT this last season. It has been awesome having the live view and PTZ functionality. It cost a little more upfront than a tactacam, but for 1GB of data for $10 is cheaper monthly. It stays pretty much fully charged at all times. A few days of heavy cloud cover it will dip down, but with in a day or two of good sun it is back 100%.

Wise eye mini or newer one?

Has anybody tried the Exodus brand?

I've been using Tactacam for past several years, but this year will be going with Moultrie. I've had the Edge Pro set out for a couple of months and liking it. I have 7 new Moultrie Edge that got on a trade, and will probably use one of those and not sure what I will do with the rest just yet.