The Not So Perfect Game Camera

Now days, I take more wildlife photos with my game camera than with my digital camera. At 4 am on a cold wintry morning my game camera is awake, I am not. What is the perfect game camera? The camera that takes the photos you want or need. It is the camera that is reliable, consistent, and inexpensive. Do you want a camera for surveillance with the occasional acceptable wildlife photo to show friends? Or do you want great photos the majority of the time for wildlife photography? Does the camera record video? If so, for how long?

Since all roads lead to Rome, I have a game camera on my driveway. I use my camera for surveillance. I have seen feral cats, stray dogs, foxes, coyotes, skunks, racoons, turkeys, deer, mountain lions, and bears. Also included would be bicycles, UPS trucks, and errant hunters.

Grizzly Bears! The pictures on the game camera alerted us to the possibility they were in the neighborhood. These ladies walked down the driveway before they walked into the yard.

Since bears are on the move and are in the general area, I am checking my camera daily for the presence of bears. Our lack of fruit has resulted in few bear sightings this fall. Trophy hunters are looking for the presence of antlers on deer. We have no regular sightings of antlers. A coyote has been hunting in the area. A feral cat carried a squirrel past the camera. Does are ever present.

A beautiful coyote poses for the camera.

While my old single lens reflex camera was serviceable for over 20 years, the life of a game camera is short. Game cameras are expected to perform in all types of weather. Amazingly they do take pictures in temperatures from 20 below to 100 degrees above and in rain or snow. Wildlife have damaged more of my cameras than adverse weather. A plastic camera with an electronic circuit board is no match for a careless deer.