A monumental effort is underway in Florida to sift through millions of wildlife photos captured by trail cameras across the southern US state, in a bid to help conservationists manage and protect native ecosystems.

Launched on May 26, the Florida Wildlife Watch is a “citizen science” project organized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). It is encouraging the public to help biologists identify and classify animals snapped on trail cameras across six million acres of Wildlife Management Areas.

“Florida Wildlife Watch connects people at home to nature while having a real impact on conservation,” said Graysen Boehning, FWC statewide participatory science coordinator.

“Even just a few classifications can be incredibly important in helping us understand the incredible ecosystems and wildlife we have here in Florida.”

Animals captured by the trail cams include great blue herons, red-shouldered hawks, gopher tortoises and Florida panthers. To date, 1,009 volunteers have made 229,021 classifications, with over 83,000 of these completed on the second day of the project alone.

The project administrators said participants “flew through” the first lot of images, thanking them for their “amazing work”. The FWC hasn’t stated how many images in total need sorting, but has previously said that its trail cams capture “millions of wildlife images every year.”

Scientists actively began placing trail cams across Florida in spring 2024 for the Everglades Wildlife Watch, a project that focused heavily on monitoring South Florida's unique ecosystems.

While the previous project covered a 1.6 million-acre zone, this latest research covers the entire area under the FWC’s custodianship statewide.

Anyone can take part in the project and view the trail cam images by clicking the “Classify” button in the project hub, which is hosted on the Zooniverse website – a platform developed by the universities of Oxford and Minnesota housing several “people-powered” research initiatives.

There’s no formal end date and the project will wrap up once all images have been sorted.

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Document your own local animal life with the best trail cameras, or take a look at the best cameras for wildlife photography and the best lenses for bird and wildlife photography.

Over the past 15 years, only five jaguars have been spotted in southern Arizona and one of those individuals has just been recorded by a trail camera. The footage, captured by the University of Arizona’s Wild Cat Research & Conservation Center, shows the fifth male Jaguar, appropriately dubbed ‘Cinco’, leisurely drinking from a water source at night. This is one of over 240 encounters with the five individuals. According to the center’s Instagram post, the team of citizen scientists monitor the big cats in a “long-term” and “non-invasive” manner, which means no lures.

According to the Northern Jaguar Project, the species can grow up to eight feet in length, making it the third-largest big cat in the world and the largest that’s native to North America. Sadly, it’s now endangered in the United States and Mexico, but once existed as far north as the Grand Canyon.

The Wild Cat Research & Conservation Center highlights that these big cats are an umbrella species, meaning that they act as a barometer for the health of an ecosystem. To find out more about the center and for details on how you can help support its work, make sure you visit its website.

Camera traps are used all over the world, on land and beneath the waves, to monitor endangered species. Digital Camera World has reported on a number of exciting instances recently, including an underwater camera that filmed a world-first encounter, as well as camera trap footage of a critically endangered orangutan.

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Are you an animal lover? Check out the best cameras for wildlife photography as well as my 10 tips for wildlife photography. If you’re looking for a cheap, one-and-done camera for casual wildlife snaps, take a look at the Nikon Coolpix P1100.

Every so often a story comes along that truly melts hearts and a news post from the Sumatran Orangutan Society has done just that. A camera trap has filmed a Sumatran orangutan using a canopy bridge crossing for the very first time. This a landmark occasion for the conservation group, which began installing canopy bridges in West Toba over two years ago, alongside TaHuKah, in a bid to provide safe passage across busy roads for orangutans and other wildlife species.

The camera trap captured the young male in the Pakpak Bharat district of North Sumatra, along with a huge variety of other species including a plantain squirrel, black giant squirrel, black Sumatran langur, and agile gibbon. What makes the video so charming is the way that the orangutan pauses for a rest before looking back towards the camera and then carrying on his merry way across the canopy bridge.

According to the SOS, the Lagan-Sibagindar road was widened in 2023, making it impossible for wildlife to cross via the forest’s canopy, trapping 350 Orangutans in a genetic bottleneck that could cause functional extinction due to inbreeding. By March 2024, five canopy bridges had been installed at strategic crossing points along the road, raising hopes that they would be used to cross between the neighbouring canopies.

Camera traps have been vital in documenting successes, with the first primate, a long-tailed macaque, captured on a bridge in August 2024 and subsequent species filmed crossing since, culminating in the first video evidence of a Sumatran Orangutan, using one of the bridges. CEO of the SOS, Helen Buckland, said: “For two years, we have watched and waited for this moment (...) a huge milestone for conservation – proving that it is possible to stitch this fragmented landscape together.”

But the society’s work isn’t done. It currently estimates that 750 orangutans are in a similar position, forced into small islands via surrounding roads. With help from donations, the SOS is hoping to bridge more gaps and provide further safe passage for one of the world’s most delightful primates.

To find out more about the SOS, visit its website. If you’d like to make a simple everyday change that will benefit orangutans, try to avoid products that contain palm oil. Less demand could help to reduce deforestation in these gentle primates’ habitats.

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Trail cameras - or camera traps, as they're sometimes called - are very handy gadgets if you want to record passing wildlife, day or night. Gone is the need to physically park yourself in a hide, waiting in silence for hours on end for the creature you're stalking to hopefully break cover. And heaven forbid nature should call in a less photogenic form while you're holed up...

In the UK, trail cams are usually used to record passing deer, foxes or badgers, but recently they've been employed in the hope of recording a runaway capybara. Yes, the world's largest rodent, native to South America, has become a surprising attraction in recent years in the UK, with examples being included in zoos and wildlife parks across the country.

However two of these overgrown guinea pigs have tried to make a break for freedom, escaping from Marwell Zoo near Winchester in southern England. Named Tango and Samba, the daring duo escaped only a day after arriving at Marwell, having just been transferred from a wildlife park in eastern England. Tango was swiftly recaptured, but Samba's escape effort has been far more accomplished and the 9-month old capybara has been missing since March 17th. By now the rodent could well be half way across the South Atlantic en route to Peru, but working under the assumption that Samba may not be homesick and is still happily exploring Britain's verdant countryside, various methods of capture have been employed by the zoo.

Drones equipped with thermal cameras have been flown over villages near the zoo after local residents spotted Samba, and even a sniffer dog has been enlisted, but evidently it was no match for Samba's cunning. So with the trail getting colder, trail cameras are being used to try and record this expert escapologist. However, even this method isn't quite going to plan, as it's been reported that two of the trail cams have been stolen. But stolen by who, or what? It's a whodunit worthy of Agatha Christie, but could it be that the last images recorded by each camera were of a capybara's face filling the frame, right before the signal abruptly cut out and the cameras were never to be seen again...

Trail cameras are meant to capture what happens in the forest when no humans are there to witness it – but one camera has captured visuals of what it’s like to be immersed in a wildfire.

Last week, multiple wildfires burned through sections of central and western Nebraska. As of March 14, officials estimated around 600,000 acres have been affected, making the wildfire one of the biggest in the state’s history.

Trail camera owner Jordan Adams knew the wildfires had gone through the rural Brady, Nebraska area where his trail camera was, and so he went out to see what was left. He found his non-cellular Tasco trail camera had melted.

However, when Adams brought what was left of the camera home and peeled it apart, he was surprised to find the memory card intact inside.

The trail camera managed to capture several fiery photographs before its demise. Adams described his reaction as “utter amazement and excitement to see just what the camera had caught.”

Adams shared the photos with the Trail Camera Junkies Facebook group, where several users described similar experiences in catching a wildfire on a trail camera – and even some trail cameras that were high enough on the tree to survive.

The wildfire that melted Adam’s camera was one of three wildfires in the region that began on March 12 – one of those fires is now being described as the largest in Nebraska’s history. As of Sunday, March 15, firefighters were still working to contain the fires.

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An endangered marsupial that went missing from an Australian wildlife sanctuary for 80 years has suddenly popped up again on a trail camera.

The reserve, jointly owned by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and The Tony & Lisette Lewis Foundation, announced in January that it had photographed a northern quoll on the 164,850 hectares of land, despite ecologists concluding that the squirrel-like mammals had abandoned the plains.

The little critter was photographed using a motion-sensor trail camera on the eastern side of the reserve. Northern quolls once occupied northern and eastern Australia, but invasive species and habitat loss have had a damning effect on the animal’s numbers.

According to the reserve’s website, a quoll was photographed by a trail camera in the nearby Pascoe River IPA in 2017, but they haven’t been spotted within the boundaries of the AWC’s reserve for 80 years.

What is perhaps most amazing about this story is that the camera trap didn’t photograph a quoll by accident. It was little more than a hunch, after sighting a rocky outcrop from a helicopter, that prompted sanctuary manager Nick Stock to set up a camera trap. Only a few days later, Nick’s hunch was proven right.

The sanctuary quoted AWC Wildlife Ecologist, Dr Helena Stokes, as stating: “This record gives us a roadmap. We now have a clear starting point for future surveys and research.”

If you’re interested in camera traps and how they’re used in conservation, I’d implore you to watch The Wild Ones on Apple TV+, where camera trap expert Declan Burley lays hundreds of traps in a bid to film and photograph some of the world’s rarest animals.

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Camera traps are having a bit of a moment! Underwater camera films shark in Antarctic Ocean, thought to be a world first. Perhaps you're interested in wildlife photography and would like to check out the best wildlife cameras. Plus, my 'Big Three’ camera brands for serious wildlife photography. Do you agree?

Trail cameras can capture photos of backyard wildlife – but a new tiny backyard camera wants to level up wildlife scouting by tracking data on how often and when different species visit. Behold Cam-1 is a small outdoor camera that tracks wildlife, discards footage of people for privacy and lasts for weeks on one charge.

Like many Wi-Fi-connected wildlife cameras, the Behold Cam-1 will send footage of backyard wildlife to a smartphone. But the upcoming camera will also track those visits, keeping note of statistics like how often an animal visits and whether those visits are more or fewer than the previous week.

Those backyard statistics remind me a bit of data from a smart watch, only for tallying the number of creatures rather than calories.

The Behold Cam-1 is able to track that data using on-device AI-based species recognition. The camera is capable of recognizing more than 2,000 different species that are common in North America and Europe.

While Wi-Fi is required for that footage and insight to be sent directly to a smartphone, the camera is also capable of storing footage locally, enabling it to be used outside Wi-Fi range or during an internet outage.

The Behold Cam-1 itself is a 2K camera with a 60° field of view packaged inside an orange camera body. It captures videos at up to 60fps and also includes infrared night vision and a mic for capturing sound. The device shares 15-second clips of the wildlife and can crop in to track the creature’s motion in portrait format.

That orange color of the camera is intentional, designed to make it easy to see by humans, but not as obvious to animals. The camera measures 80mm / 3.15 inches on its longest sides, with a built-in kickstand that also doubles as a handle. The camera also comes bundled with a cone-shaped stand and a bungee cord, allowing the device to move around the yard without tools.

The camera is IP65 rated to withstand the weather. Battery life will vary based on the number of animal sightings, but the company says most users will get between two to four weeks on one charge. The camera still works when plugged in via USB-C, so a wired setup is also possible.

Along with sending data to a smartphone, Cam-1 users can also opt in to anonymously share data on the backyard visitors with ecologists and researchers by adding the data to an open biodiversity database. The app will also have a sharing option to invite friends to watch the backyard wildlife.

Using the camera won’t require a subscription, the company says, but users can unlock deeper insights with a Behold Pro subscription.

The Behold Cam-1 is launching on Kickstarter, where the campaign has already exceeded its initial goal in a matter of hours. Early backers can pick up the Cam-1 for $227 / £170 / AU$349, pending successful completion of the campaign and final stages of development and manufacturing. That’s a 35 percent discount from the expected retail price.

The startup estimates that the camera will begin shipping to backers in June 2026, with shipping available to the US, UK, Canada, and the EU.

Editor's note: As with all crowdfunding projects, there is no guarantee that the final product will match the early depictions in the campaign – or that the final product will be completed or delivered at all. DCW does not endorse this or any other crowdfunding campaign. 

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I had been meaning to buy a digital trail camera for ages. We live in an apartment on the edge of town – and although the garden is small, we are surrounded by a park and allotments. So I suspected that there is nocturnal wildlife that visits after dark.

But it was watching the latest series of Springwatch on the BBC that made me realize that I didn't need a trail camera at all. What I actually needed was lots of trail cameras to do the job properly.

Springwatch, for those not in the know, is an annual miniseries that presents nightly programs showing all the wildlife the hosts can find in a location. They set up cameras in multiple nests and bird boxes so that you can see dozens of avian species hatch and fledge.

This year the team, fronted by Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan, was based at a country estate on the edge of the Peak District National Park in England. But as one of the segments of the program, they ventured to the nearby industrial city of Sheffield.

Here, in a row of terraced houses, the camera teams installed multiple cameras in the gardens of the residents who had been doing their best to attract wildlife for their backyards.

The results were outstanding. A delighted woman was given visible proof that there were foxes, badgers and hedgehogs active behind her home. The BBC crew had recorded some 12,000 clips in the couple of months before the show aired.

Spurred on, I ended up buying two trail cameras in the Amazon Prime Day sale to get the ball rolling in my own little green space (I could always add more later).

I chose a pair of Wolfang WT02, which were discounted to under $40 / £40 apiece. I could have spent more, but the BBC had taught me that they use trail cameras to prove the existence of nightly visitors and to identify the paths they use. I could always enhance my setup if I needed better quality later on.

Mind you, I was impressed with the specs of these camera traps. A 48MP sensor is at the heart, with a built-in color screen for set-up. But what I really liked is that they had built-in solar panels and rechargeable power packs – so I didn't need to fork out for batteries. When summer ends, I have the option to put in a set of AAs to keep it running through darker days.

So, how has my filming gone so far? It has been less than a week since the cameras were installed, but already we too have decent footage of foxes and badgers – showing us the existence of wildlife we had never seen at the bottom of our garden before.

Check out our guide to the best trail cameras – and if you want to watch the footage remotely, also see our rundown of the best cellular trail cameras

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation recently shared some exciting news on Facebook. On March 4, they reported that a rare pheasant known as the great argus was spotted walking through the forests of Kaeng Krung National Park in southern Thailand. This sighting took place back in January, and was recorded thanks to previously installed trail cameras.

The great argus is a shy bird that loves to hide in thick forests, making it a challenge to observe in the wild. What makes this sighting even more special is that the great argus is considered an at-risk species. To help us learn more about elusive creatures without disturbing them, researchers use camera traps which catches the wildlife in their natural settings.

In their post, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation mentioned that a series of trail cameras were set up as part of a collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). We didn’t find out exactly which camera models they used, but 7 clips captured a great argus pecking around before disappearing into the forest. Next to a male bird sighting, there was also a clip of a female bird wandering around.

These trail camera recordings are not just fun to watch; they give valuable insights into the great argus' population, behavior, and habitat. All of this supports conservationists in planning strategies to protect the rare species, as the Department noted on Facebook.

The camera recordings also provide vital information about the ecosystem’s health in Kaeng Krung National Park. This data will help wildlife officials now to develop new strategies for future conservation efforts.

Residents of Canmore, Alberta, Canada have been left disturbed after a female cougar with kittens was shot – after living peacefully alongside them for years.

Wildlife photographer John Marriott had been tracking the cougar for four years using trail cameras.

"She's like this ghost neighbour and she's a perfect example of a cat that is wonderful at coexisting and respecting humans, and living right beside us without us really knowing it," he told Canada’s Global News.

However, after recently discovering fresh tracks during a stakeout, Marriott was shocked to see a group of cougar hunters emerging from the bushes.

"That was the moment of shock where I suddenly thought, 'Is this the Canmore cougar – and they have killed her and orphaned some kittens?'" he said.

According to Marriott, the hunters had separated the cougar from her kittens using dogs, chased her up a tree and shot her. Marriott also said that the most upsetting aspect is that the hunters would have known she had kittens because there were "cougar kitten tracks everywhere.”

Several residents of Canmore have suggested that the hunters have violated cougar hunting laws, as the kittens were not old enough to survive without their mother. Laws in the region state that mothers of young kittens cannot be killed, but whether or not their actions are deemed illegal, “without a doubt, there’s been something unethical,” said Marriott.

He added, "It's so important to keep these mature older females on the landscape because they teach their kittens how to interact with people and how to avoid them.”

It’s unclear if the hunters will be convicted of breaching hunting laws, however, Fish and Wildlife was able to safely capture the cubs, and they're currently being cared for at the Calgary Zoo. Sadly, due to the death of their mother, they'll never be able to live in the wild again.

Take a look at our guides to the best trail cameras, and the best cameras for wildlife photography.

A lone tiger, often spotted on camera traps in the protected Gautala Autramghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra state India, has been thought to have been killed by poachers after disappearing from footage.

The only tiger in the park, known as Walker II, was often spotted on camera traps placed near water holes in the sanctuary, and was last seen on February 27. A couple of days after Walker II was last spotted, forest department officials caught a group of poachers with the remains of multiple wild animals.

The lack of any fresh sighting of the tiger, even near the water holes – which are the only source of drinking water for wild animals – on the camera traps has sparked concern among conservationists.

Rajesh Thombare, the honorary wildlife warden for Jalgaon district, said a thorough investigation is needed to expose the poaching threat. “It is suspected that the poachers also killed a tiger and a leopard along with other wild animals. They smuggled the tiger and leopard’s body parts with the help of a woman accomplice. However, no woman has been made an accused in the poaching case so far.”

When contacted by The Times of India, forest department authorities refuted the claims of tiger poaching in the sanctuary. “Going by past experiences, trap cameras may or may not spot the tiger,” said a senior forest department official. “We are waiting for reports from a Nagpur-based lab where body parts and carcasses of wild animals hunted by poachers are sent for analysis.”

Walker II wandered into the sanctuary in March 2021, and had almost no contact with humans, but had regularly been captured on the many camera traps that monitor the wildlife in the park.

Take a look at our guides to the best trail cameras, and the best cameras for wildlife photography.

Vincent Losasso, writer at The Tico Times newspaper had a literal field day recently when he managed to capture a menagerie of wildlife on his camera traps in the Costa Rican jungle.

As well as his writing work, Losasso, founder of Guanacaste Wildlife Monitoring, is a biologist who works with camera traps throughout Costa Rica.

While hiking in the tropical dry forests of Guanacaste on a series of trails, Losasso was trying to find suitable places for his seven camera traps.

“I was trying my very best to listen to the forest’s clues about where to place the cameras and after a few hours I think I had done a pretty good job. There were a series of rocks across a stream where the forest said, ‘Hey, wildlife is probably going to cross here’. There was a large tree leaning on an angle across a pond that said, ‘If I were a monkey, I’d use this as a bridge’,” he writes in The Tico Times.

“I retrieved the camera from the edge of the pond, hiked back up to the streambed, and stuck the SD card into my laptop... There was a video of a tapir walking into the pool and swimming around. There were videos of a spectacled owl splashing at the water’s edge, taking a bath.

“There was even a video of a jaguar walking along the edge of the pond away from the camera with something in its mouth. We played back the video, scrunched our noses, and peered even closer at the laptop screen to see what it was. We were able to determine that there was a turtle in the jaguar’s mouth, most likely the same one I had frightened months earlier.”

Inspired? Take a look at our guides to the best trail cameras, the best underwater drones, and the best cameras for wildlife photography.

Wildlife cameras hidden on the Somerset Levels, England, had captured incredible footage of a very rare bird, once thought to be extinct.

Three bitterns, thickset members of the heron family, were spotted together on the Somerset Levels by a hidden wildlife camera, the Somerset Leveller reported. This secretive species of bird had disappeared from the United Kingdom in the 1870s, and have made an inspiring comeback.

The birds are very difficult to see, preferring to stay among reedbeds next to water looking for fish. The males make an incredible far-carrying, booming sound every spring. It is illegal to intentionally or recklessly disturb them.

The Somerset Wildlife Trust shared its excitement about the remarkable video.

"We can't quite believe this incredible footage captured earlier this month — not one, not two, but three bitterns are all on camera together," a spokesperson said.

"Bitterns are elusive birds, and to see three all together in one place is such a rare sight. "Although it's difficult to say for sure, we believe these birds are likely all young males, sizing each other up and getting ready to compete for mates in the spring."

This wildlife success story shows what can happen when you restore natural spaces, and employ cutting edge technology to further conservation efforts.

Equipment like hidden cameras, the best trail cameras, and the best camera drones offer a unique way to collect data on rare and endangered species, to aid conservation without any disturbance to the animals themselves.

After vanishing due to habitat loss and hunting, bitterns have now bounced back thanks to wetland protection efforts. Today, more than 50 nesting pairs live in the Avalon Marshes area in Glastonbury alone, attracting bird enthusiasts from across Britain. Turtle dove populations have also grown in recent years, increasing by 25% across Western Europe after a ban on hunting them was put in place.

Feel like getting in touch with nature? Check out our guides to the best trail cameras, the best cameras for wildlife photography, and the best cheap drones.

Last month, residents of Bath, Somerset, flocked to the city center to get a glimpse of reported otters along the River Avon, and near the famous Pultney Bridge.

Now, a nature enthusiast has managed to capture sightings of the rare mammals in Oxfordshire along the River Windrush, showing hope of a resurgence of the animals in the area despite the polluted waterways.

The River Windrush winds through Witney, a known conservation area for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). The charity conducts surveys for otters along the middle and lower areas of the river every three years covering 95 sections.

Out of these 95 sections, 49 of them (51%) were found to have conclusive evidence of otters.

Lucy Stoddart, BBOWT’s Mammal Project Field Officer, said: “Otters have been doing well in the area in recent years, however sightings are rare due to their elusive nature and largely nocturnal or crepuscular habits.

“Otters are apex predators (living at the top of the aquatic food chain), and therefore their presence is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem, including enough prey. Along the River Windrush, otters seem to have a particular penchant for the American signal crayfish, helping to keep the numbers of this non-native species in check.

“Otters are highly charismatic and inquisitive animals, often appearing to play for the sheer fun of it, including sliding down banks and playing tag. If you manage to catch a glimpse of these delightful creatures you’re very lucky.”

Camera traps have become essential tools in the conservation fight, especially when it comes to hard to reach places or elusive species.

The World Wide Fund for Nature says of the technology: “Over the last decade, millions of people around the world have become aware of the camera trap. The candid images and videos that camera traps produce have been featured in countless documentaries, are widely shared on social media, and have been the focus of hugely popular citizen science projects.

“Less well known is the fact that the camera trap has a long history that extends back more than 100 years. Over this time, they have gone from being an experimental technology, used by just a handful of people, to a commercialised technology being used by many thousands of photographers, hobbyists, hunters and biologists.”

Otters all but disappeared from English waterways between the 1950s and 1970s due to the use of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which interfere with mammal’s hormones. These pesticides include DDT and dieldrin, and a group of industrial chemicals known as PCBs.

“Fortunately, the banning and restriction of EDCs, in combination with other conservation legislation, localised reintroductions in the 1980s and 90s, and water quality improvements have enabled otter populations to rebound in recent years, demonstrating the importance of effective regulations,” Ms Stoddart said.

Footage captured on trail cameras has been an essential part of social media campaigns to popularize and protect otters, and helped lead to a ban of these harmful chemicals.

Feel like getting in touch with nature? Check out our guides to the best trail cameras, the best cameras for wildlife photography, and the best cheap drones.

Two extremely rare black wolves have been spotted on trail cameras crossing a stream in a Polish forest, a conservation organization said on Sunday.

The trail camera footage, captured last year by SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund Poland coordinator Joanna Toczydłowska has provided enough evidence for the organization to take research further, collecting scat droppings in the hope of learning more about the genetic makeup of the black wolves.

Toczydłowska initially placed the cameras there to study beavers. When she noticed the camera had captured footage of the rare black wolves she kept the camera where it was in hopes of seeing more of them.

Black wolves in Poland are rare, with most of the 2,500 to 3,000 sporting gray fur with red or black accents. Those with black fur have experienced a genetic mutation likely originating in domesticated dogs thousands of years ago. While half the wolves in the Yellowstone National Park in the U.S., in Europe, it's rare due to a reduced genetic diversity.

Wolves were almost extinct in Poland by the 1950s but after major conservation efforts, the population has been reintroduced in the last 20 years.

“For people, it is a new phenomenon,” Roman Gula, head of the organization's wolf monitoring project, told the AP. "Education is one of our major, major goals."

The conservation organization has been monitoring wolves in the region for 13 years, and is not disclosing the forest’s location in order to save wolves from further poaching and prevent misinformation about them spreading.

The conservation fund announced the sighting last week on Facebook and asked for financial support to pay for the scat's genetic testing to learn more about the black-fur mutation.

With the increasing use of the best trail cameras to conserve wildlife, their inexpensive costs and ease of access have led to some worrying situations, and call for further legislation about when, when and who can use them.

In December I reported on a disturbing case of women in rural India being terrorized by drones and trail cameras, leading to deaths.

In the European Union there is a strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for safeguarding individuals.

In the U.S., the laws vary state by state and while use of them is legal, there are restrictions. For example in California, it is not illegal to use trail cameras during the hunting season, however, on land managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife equipment will be removed if left overnight.

Whereas in New Hampshire trail cameras have been restricted since 2015. Hunters can use them, but they are prohibited from hunting animals on the same day they take the photos.

Take a look at our guides to the best trail cameras, the best cameras for wildlife photography, and the best camera drones.

One million of the world’s estimated eight million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction, and trail cameras – also known as camera traps – are proving instrumental tools of conservation.

Globally, tropical rain forests are among the most species-rich habitats in the world – and one of the most vulnerable, with deforestation, poaching, climate change and wildfires all major threats.

As such, they are often prioritized in conservation efforts. And a team of scientists from Vietnam and Germany have now been able to prove that the diversity of ground-dwelling mammals and birds in Nui Chua National Park, Vietnam, is highest in semi-dry forest – the transitional habitat where dry and wet evergreen broadleaf forest habitats meet.

These findings, achieved using trail cameras, highlight the conservation importance of these habitat transition zones, the scientists write in a paper published in the journal, Biotropica.

Nui Chua National Park is located in the south of Vietnam, and is the only national park with coastal dry forest landscape in the country. The area is unique for its habitat diversity, with dry forest at low elevations, semi-dry forest in a transitional area and wet evergreen forest at high elevations. It gained attention in 2018 when the silver-backed chevrotain (Tragulus versicolor) – a type of mouse deer – was rediscovered by scientists there.

To gather the baseline data on the new species, the scientists conducted 5 camera trap surveys between 2018 and 2022.

"While searching for the silver-backed chevrotain in the park, I was surprised by the high number of records of other species in the forest area where we rediscovered this endemic species," says An Nguyen, doctoral student in the Department of Ecological Dynamics at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW). "This inspired us to look beyond the species level and investigate the ground-dwelling mammal and bird community in Nui Chua NP."

The team set up a total of 145 camera traps stations across the park to survey the ground-dwelling mammals and birds. The remote nature of the trail cameras meant conservation efforts could continue throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic.

"The highest diversity was found in the semi-dry transition areas between the coastal dry forest and the high-elevation rainforest," says Tran Van Tiep, director of Nui Chua National Park.

"Detailed insights into the occurrence and distribution of wildlife can help conservation planning and the prioritization of limited conservation resources."

The trail camera footage provided evidence that the highly threatened silver-backed chevrotain has its largest population in the semi-dry forests of Nui Chua, proving to the global community that these ecosystems must be studied, and protected.

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Feel like getting in touch with nature? Check out our guides to the best trail cameras, the best cameras for wildlife photography, and the best cheap drones.

Zeiss has just unveiled the latest addition to its cellular trail camera lineup – the Secacam 3. This model is the most affordable in the series, yet it delivers an impressive range of features, making it an exciting prospect for nature enthusiasts and conservationists alike.

Zeiss is an industry-leading manufacturer in all things optics, from binoculars and monoculars to photography lenses, each is designed to offer the very pinnacle of optical quality, the same is true for its trail cameras. Sitting beneath the Secacam 5 and Secacam 7 in the lineup, which cater to more professional needs, the Secacam 3 strikes an ideal balance between advanced functionality and accessibility.

With a 3-megapixel sensor, a standout feature of the Secacam 3 is its exceptional low-light performance, achieved through Zeiss’s IR Boost technology. Designed for discreet observation, the camera uses 940 nm invisible infrared light to deliver crisp, detailed images even in complete darkness. Whether capturing nocturnal wildlife or subtle movements at dawn, it ensures clarity without encroaching on natural behaviors.

Product Developer at Zeiss Carsten Hess states, "With the new Zeiss Secacam 3, we offer a new trail camera for impressive nature recordings, whether during the day or at night. A modern chipset enables optimized image processing and compression, for faster transmission times and detailed images even at night or in shaded areas".

The camera’s user-friendly design further enhances its appeal. A tilting 1.9-inch display allows for easy setup, enabling users to frame their shots with precision before leaving the device in position. Additionally, the battery magazine cartridge makes power replacement straightforward and convenient as there is no need to adjust or reposition the camera to swap out batteries conserving optimal and consistent camera positioning.

Built for adaptability, the Secacam 3 combines innovative motion detection with practicality. Its PIR Fresnel lens ensures sensitivity to even the smallest movements, while a fast trigger speed of under half a second minimizes blur, ensuring sharp, well-timed captures.

The USB-C data transfer system moves away from traditional SD cards, streamlining the process of retrieving footage, and LTE (Long Term Evolution) cellular connectivity across 35 countries keeps users updated with real-time notifications via the Zeiss app. The app also includes practical features like AI-based animal recognition and night-image recoloring, adding further layers of functionality for users.

As is vital for trail cameras, durability is at the heart of the Secacam 3’s design, and with an IP66 rating, it withstands tough environmental conditions, whether exposed to rain, snow, or heat. Compact and robust, it’s equally suited for backyard enthusiasts and those venturing deep into remote wilderness.

The Zeiss Secacam 3 is available to preorder now for its scheduled release on January 28, priced at just £119 / €129.99 (Australian and US availablility and pricing yet to be confirmed). The Secacam 3 is a highly accessible option within the Zeiss trail camera lineup, while the higher-end Secacam 5 and Secacam 7 offer more specialized tools for professional use, the Secacam 3 caters to a broader audience without sacrificing quality.

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Nature cam company Wonder has announced a new Petal remote camera to monitor the wildlife in your garden, as well as a companion product, Wonder Blocks, to provide a habitat for all manner of creepy-crawlies, and which should help encourage them into the range of the camera.

Wonder is the company behind Bird Buddy, a smart AI-powered bird feeder with a built-in camera that captures and identifies visiting avians, and is among the best bird feeder cameras for your backyard. The new products were announced at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, and are currently in the development stage, due to launch as Kickstarter projects later this year.

The Petal builds upon the Bird Buddy's AI capabilities so that it not only captures images of insect life but can also identify and catalog the minibeasts. It has a flexible stem that can be thrust into soil or wrapped around a branch to enable the camera to be easily positioned to best capture small subjects. It can be set to automatically photograph visiting invertebrates or live stream video to smartphones or other devices.

The Petal can be fitted with interchangeable lenses of different focal lengths to shoot close-ups or a wider view. The device can also be powered by an optional solar cell for remote operation without trailing cables from your home.

The companion Wonder Blocks enable you to build an insect hotel and are ideal for attracting wildlife within the range of the Petal camera. The modular system includes a plant base, seed tray, bee hotel, butterfly feeder and bug hotel, so you can custom-build mini-ecosystems for wildlife to inhabit.

Trail cameras, also known as camera traps, have proven themselves an essential tool in wildlife conservation over the last 20 years, as the technology has become better and cheaper.

Now, the best trail cameras have done it again, and provided scientists and researchers with essential information they needed in the fight to save the Iberian lynx.

An incredibly rare sight, the Iberian lynx is just short of 39 inches in length, and 18 inches in height, however, there are now more than 2,000 in the wild across Spain and Portugal – so they’ve become a much more common sight than 20 years ago.

At its lowest number, there were fewer than 100 lynxes left in the two countries, and the different populations did not interact, and only 25 of them were females of a reproductive age.

"The Iberian lynx was very, very close to extinction," says Rodrigo Serra, who runs the reproduction programme across Spain and Portugal.

"The only feline species that was threatened at this level was the sabre tooth tiger thousands of years ago,” he added.

The lynx were extinct in Portugal by 2005, but it was also the year that Spain saw its first litter born in captivity.

Pedro Sarmento is the man responsible for reintroducing the lynx in Portugal, and has studied the Iberian lynx for 30 years.

He said he saw the lynx disappearing, however, “It's surreal that we're in a place where we can see lynxes in nature or through camera trapping almost daily."

With this great success, also comes challenges as the lynx numbers continue to climb. Lynxes are often released onto private land in Portugal, which means the reproduction programme needs to reach an agreement with the owners first.

The released lynxes go wherever they want, and sometimes attack chicken coops, “which can lead to uneasiness with the locals,” says Sarmento, who combats this by monitoring the cats with trail cameras and radio collars, and scaring them off if need be.

Trail cameras have been used to great success when it comes to conservation, even in recent months. A recent study argued that trail cameras are sorely missed in the areas that need them most, and in 2025, trail cameras proved essential tool for protecting jaguars in Ecuador.

Three decades after Spain decided to save the lynx the wild cats are no longer endangered, and Sarmento hopes that by 2035 their numbers will be between 5,000 and 6,000 in the wild, and the species will be out of immediate danger.

Interested in catching some wildlife footage or images? Why not check out our guides to the best trail cameras, the best cheap drones, and the best camera for wildlife photography.

Every time I experience an unusual backyard visitor – like the time I watched a bald eagle pick a squirrel off my bird feeder – I wonder just how much I miss when I’m not outside or near a window. The Wonder Petal, a flower-shaped backyard camera by the creator of the Bird Buddy, may be just what my garden needs to avoid missing unusual backyard visitors.

Teased at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, the Petal is an upcoming outdoor camera that works with Bird Buddy’s AI to help recognize the creatures visiting the area. TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff says the camera can look a bit like a large orange flower. The Petal has a 1/1.9-inch camera sensor that shoots 12MP still photos as well as 4K video. The camera then sends the footage to the Wonder app to identify birds and even bugs.

The flower-inspired camera sits on a bendable stem. That stem can be stuck in the ground or wrapped around a tree branch. The camera can also be paired with an add-on solar panel to help extend the little camera’s battery life.

Like the Bird Buddy bird feeder camera, the Petal will send the images to an app, where it can send real-time alerts or a daily digest of which creatures visited the backyard. The company also says that optional lens attachments will adjust the camera’s view for close-up or wide angle uses.

During CES, the company also announced Wonder Blocks, a modular system designed for bug watching, including a bug hotel and seed tray. Of course, the Petal camera can be used to monitor which bugs visit the modular system.

The Wonder Petal isn’t for sale just yet, but the company expects it to ship sometime this spring, with a list price of around $99, which roughly converts to £79 / AU$158.

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Here's proof yet again that trail cameras are an essential tool in the conservation of endangered species around the world.

In early 2024, NGOs (non-profit, non-governmental organizations) Ecoforensics and DECOIN (Defensa y Conservacion Ecologica de Intag) set up trail cameras in Junín Community Forest, in northwestern Ecuador, where the cameras managed to capture footage of a jaguar – the first spotted in the area in 15 years.

Previously, in 2023, the first trail camera survey in the Río Manduriacu Reserve from the Central University of Ecuador – in collaboration with the EcoMinga Foundation and the Andean Condor Foundation (also in northwestern Ecuador’s Andean region) – filmed a jaguar, the first time in seven years that one had been seen in the reserve.

The teams then compared their footage, and through careful analysis of the trail camera data, including the animals’ fur patterns, showed that it was the same jaguar.

Study co-author Javier Torres, a professor at the Central University of Ecuador, told conservation news site Mongabay in an email that ongoing habitat loss in the lowland habitats that jaguars prefer, such as the Chocó forests, could be pushing them to higher-elevation areas, such as the Río Manduriacu reserve, “as they search for new territories.

“This shift is particularly concerning for the Critically Endangered western population of jaguars, which faces greater threats compared to the eastern population,” he said.

A few months before the jaguar was spotted in Junín, a court had ordered that mining activity be stopped in the area. “This may suggest that jaguars may have avoided the area previously due to disturbances from mining and other human activities,” the study says.

This also suggests that the evidence only obtainable on trail cameras of jaguars returning to the area after mining ceased has proven a direct link between mining and detrimental effects on local wildlife.

Jaguars are endangered in Ecuador, as are Andean bears that were also filmed during the trail camera studies. Torres said the evidence of the two species gathered by the trail cameras means they will now conduct extensive biodiversity monitoring across the Imbabura province which covers both forests.

The researchers also suggest that local authorities provide education for communities in the areas, as jaguars are among the species most targeted in retaliatory killings in the Americas.

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Feel like getting in touch with nature? Check out our guides to the best trail cameras, the best cameras for wildlife photography, and the best cheap drones.

Sir David Attenborough’s ‘Asia’ dropped on the BBC this week, bringing us some of the best wildlife filmmaking to be seen.

Filmed over four years, the seven-part series explores the natural wonders of our planet's largest continent, the filmmakers bring us a lone wolf on the Tibetan Plateau, red pandas in the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal, and take viewers everywhere from Borneo to Siberia.

One of the most incredible stories in the series was that of Hana Raza, an Iraqi Kurdish conservation biologist who first discovered that there were Persian leopards living in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, and brothers and conservationists Nabaz and Bahez Horeni.

It’s thought that there are no more than two dozen leopards in the entire country, and finding them on the steep mountainside forests was a serious challenge for the filmmakers.

And there’s another obstacle - millions of decades old, unexploded mines.

This is where the trail cameras become an essential resource in the conservation of these critically endangered animals.

Raza has been camera trapping the leopards in the area for 12 years, however, it was only when setting camera traps for ‘Asia’ have the first images of female leopards, and leopard cubs ever been captured.

Raza first found Persian leopards in the area in 2012, and in a paper written by Raza and other researchers at the time they write that the discovery was made “in particular thanks to a camera trap.”

They used two models, the Stealth Cam STC-1540IR, and the Keep Guard KG 550 model.

In the program Raza said:

“I did not think in a million years I would be looking at an amazing shot of a family of Persian leopards, no.”

In an interview with Earth Island Journal Raza said:

“The leopard is crucial to conserve because, as an apex predator, it is at the top of the food chain, and the food chain works like a game of domino: if one piece is removed, the entire system falls.

“These efforts aren’t just for the leopard’s protection. The leopard serves as an umbrella species under which vast essential ecosystems and endangered animals and plants are protected.”

Interesting in capturing your own wildlife footage? Take a look at our guides to the best trail cameras, the best cellular trail cameras and the best camera drones.

David Attenborough has a lot to answer for. 

Making the world fall in love with the world’s flora and fauna, bringing the natural world into our homes and classrooms, and inspiring people of all ages to explore and respect the natural world.

Sometimes though, we can get a little carried away. 

We recently reported on a man in Swansea being fined for getting too close to an endangered honey buzzard nest, and more recently a film company and its drone pilot were fined for illegally filming orcas in Canada.  

An abundance of personal trail cameras have been discovered at Mashpee River and Pickerel Cove in the town of Mashpee, Massachusetts, US.

Mashpee acquired the land around Pickerel Cove in 2008 to preserve the natural space for conservation and habitat protection, as well as public recreation.

The land is part of the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge, and there are multiple beautiful trails available to walkers. 

Conservation agent Andrew NcManus and assistant conservation agent Daniel Kent were forced to notify the Mashpee Conservation Commission at the beginning of August about a number of personal trail cameras found along public walkways, about two per month.  

“I’m getting a very large amount of calls from residents who are beyond creeped out,” Kent told the Conservation Commission on August 8. “Between kids, dogs and everything.”

Designed to be camouflage and inconspicuous so as not to spook wildlife, the trail cameras could look sinister to those not in the know. 

Kent explained that the situation escalated when he removed a trail camera and returned it to its owner. 

“He was agitated saying that this violated his civil rights,” Kent said. “We had multiple discussions with him and the town manager, who also got involved in this.”

While there are no specific laws prohibiting the placing of personal trail cameras, conservation commission chairman Paul Colombo argued this issue fell under Regulation 1 of Chapter 173 bylaw, regarding conservation land. 

He said: 

“The regulation did not specifically say [no] trail cameras, but it does allude to activities you want to conduct on conservation land. You must come before the commission or at least supply the commission with a written request for the activity.”

Speaking to local newspaper The Enterprise, Kent added: 

“What triggered this was that [the owner of the camera] said it was a violation of his constitutional rights. We don’t believe that to be the case at all. He was putting private structures on conservation land.”

The conservation agents are working to revise the legislation to specifically include trail cameras in the bylaws list of prohibited activities, requiring people to seek specific permission. 

Despite the need for action, the conservation agents said the motives for the cameras are not sinister.

He provided the example of a camera he removed and returned to a father, who explained he had placed it there so his children could see if their chickens walked along the trail.

“I don’t want to be destroying cameras if we don’t have to,” Kent said. “I’d rather the person come and pick it up, and then that gives me the opportunity to talk to them and have an educational lesson.”

If you would like to (responsibly) set up some trail cameras to get a good view of your local wildlife, take a look at our guide to the best trail cameras, the best cellular trail cameras, and the best cameras for wildlife photography. 

Watching or tracking wildlife used to be incredibly time-consuming, requiring days or even months of constant observation before you glimpsed the creatures you were hoping to see. Not so with the best trail cameras to help you in your wildlife-watching quest. 

These camera traps lie dormant and spring into action when triggered by a passing animal (or family member, or dog walker, depending on where you leave it), either with motion or heat detection. They’re designed to be hardy and well-built against the elements so you can leave them in damp, cold environments and continue to monitor the areas from miles away.

The Zeiss Secacam 7 is one of two new models from the well-known manufacturer (along with the Secacam 5), released after it acquired the German trail camera brand Secacam in 2023. It’s the company's first trail camera, and one I was keen to try. Its major selling point is the ability to send images straight to your phone, meaning it can be set up and left untouched for as long as the batteries or storage lasts. You can monitor the footage without regularly trekking back and forth to check the card – ideal if you plan to set up several cameras across a wide area or to position it somewhere remote.

Of course, the cellular connection isn't unique to the Secacam 7, and plenty of non-4G models like the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow can provide you with higher-res stills and 4K footage. I started using trail cameras a decade ago during my university course in wildlife photography, and I'm testing the Secacam 7 to see how it fares as a relatively new model to the market. 

On paper, it builds on Zeiss' pedigree for spotting scopes, binoculars, and nature-watching imaging products, boasting a 'best in class’ build quality and light sensitivity for nighttime imagery. But what about in the wild? Read on to discover whether it earns a place among the best cellular trail cameras.

Zeiss Secacam 7: Specifications

Zeiss Secacam 7: Price

The Secacam 7 is currently available in the UK and Europe, with American supplies set to land later in 2024. It has a recommended retail price of around £249/€279, which is at the more premium end of the market but certainly not overpriced. The upfront cost includes 8 x AA batteries, a multi-roaming SIM card, and a Zeiss-branded 32GB SD card, which adds value to the package.

By comparison, the Spypoint LINK-MICRO-S costs slightly more but offers a solar panel for charging. The SpyPoint FORCE-PRO is cheaper, with 4K footage and 32MP stills, but there's no cellular functionality.

You also have to factor in the cost of Zeiss' Secacam "Service Plans", which allow you to unlock the camera's smart features and image storage. There are three tiers – Basic, Premium, and Professional – depending on how many photos you want to send across the cellular connection per month. The basic plan starts at £2.69 monthly, while the professional plan is £13.49.

Zeiss Secacam 7: Design & Handling

Trail cameras are meant to be left out in all weather, so it follows that they need a rugged build. The Secacam 7 is made from a solid plastic housing, with an incredibly robust clip to open up the casing and seal it shut again. The IP-66 rating offers reassuring protection against rain and dirt, and having left it outside for a week in substantial wind and rain, I was pleased to find the inside of the camera’s case totally dry when I picked it back up.

The Secam 7 is 120g heavier than the Secacam 5 (440g), but it feels solid rather than unwieldy. Its bigger size improves handling too, as the lens is above the front flap rather than on it so you can check the capture area on the screen. It sounds like a simple difference, but it's much easier to find the right position and height, where stray branches don’t ruin your view.

Given that it had been a while since I last used a trail camera, I found operating the Secacam 7 incredibly easy. The batteries come pre-installed, as do the 32GB SD card and SIM, and there's an eject button to pop out the battery magazine, and a depress for the cards. All are easy to remove and change should you want to, but you can basically start shooting as soon as you get the camera out of its box. Epic.

Handling is straightforward, too. The big, backlit rubber buttons allow you to see what you're doing in low light, and the 2.4-inch LCD screen (bigger than most traditional camera traps) allows super quick menu navigation and clear image playback.

So much of the failure or success of a trail camera comes down to where you mount it, and there are several options with the Secacam 7 - either with the included camouflaged strap, tripod mount or by using cable locks. The strap has a claw that holds it tightly around trees, and while I’d have liked it to be a little longer for chunkier trunks, I could see it becoming grotty – especially if left out in the wet.

You'll get the most out of this trail camera when you pair it with the Secacam app. I was dubious about Zeiss' offering given how glitchy and slow some manufacturer's remote apps have historically been, but immediately pleased with just how clear, navigable and detailed the Secacam app was.

Among the four main sections along the bottom of the screen, the most important are the Gallery – where images are stored – and Cameras, where you can check the status of your subscribed cameras, and tap in to change its settings via the Remote control menu. The app is responsive, and there's even a choice of Light or Dark Mode to change the overall appearance, showing that Zeiss has put real effort into its design.

Zeiss Secacam 7: Performance

Above: Video clips show with the Zeiss Secacam 7

Although you don't expect the images from a trail camera to be of a professional quality, they should be detailed enough for clear identification – especially if you want to monitor specific animals by their markings, for example. The Secacam has three capture modes; Photo, Video, and Photo + Video, and out of the box the camera defaults to capture images in 5MP resolution, while 8 or 12MP stills are also available. 

These sizes are saved onto the SD card, while the size sent to a phone is smaller and maxes out at 1920 x 1440. In Video mode, the resolution can be set to 480p, 720p, or 1080p, and between 5 and 59 seconds of footage, which is great for balancing storage space and your use case for clips.

The Secacam is designed to handle all of the exposure and focus settings automatically for you, and overall it does a great job of this, with a vibrant color rendition in the day that tends a little towards the cooler side. When the flash came into play at night, the results were sharp enough to tell the difference between several foxes who regularly visit the garden. 

But its still images aren't as crisp as models with upwards of 30MP sensors. Zeiss claims that the infrared flash (60 black LEDs so as not to disturb animals) can reach up to 30 meters away, and I found this to be accurate. Foxes very close to the flash were overexposed, but it's not often that subjects will be within touching distance of the camera!

What I really liked about the Secacam is its ability to fire a burst of up to five shots in quick succession after being triggered, and while only the second image is sent to your phone by default, you can change this within the app. With it activated, I was more likely to have at least one frame with the animal in focus and centralized in the frame, especially when it was running fast.

There are also three sensitivity levels, which give you some control over how many images the camera will take. I set it to the medium level for the optimum chance of triggering sightings, while avoiding misfires of trees moving in the wind. It’s a trial-and-error approach that requires a few weeks of use to get the most usable results.

The Secacam 7's trigger time (< 0.35 ~ 0.45 seconds) is slower than some competitors – almost double that of the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow at 0.2 seconds for photos. It's fractions of a second, which might not sound significant, but it meant I only caught the tail end (literally) of a deer passing the camera in a darkened woodland.

Video is more exciting than stills for trail cameras, as it allows you to see where the animals are coming from, and observe behavior. So what of footage? Zeiss recommends that you record in 720p resolution over 1080p, given that the quality is only partially better, yet the size fills up memory cards quickly. Being a pixel-peeper, and someone who hates being told what to do, I started testing the Secacam in full resolution. It looks great, but the Zeiss Secacam App is there should you change your mind about settings once the camera is in place.

It took minutes to download the Zeiss Secacam app to my phone and pair it with my camera using a unique code inside the box. There are status symbols to confirm whether the camera is online, plus its available memory, signal strength, and battery level – all of which are hugely helpful in letting you know how long you can leave your camera out, and if it's recording.

You get the most out of the Secacam 7 with one of Zeiss' paid Service Plans, which also unlock – depending on the level of payment – remote control capabilities, AI animal recognition, and even a theft replacement service. While I'm not sure I needed AI recognition to help me identify a squirrel or dog, I found it impressive that the camera could pick out tiny animals in the undergrowth of a woodland, or the behind of a deer when only a tiny portion of it was in the frame. You'll be given an ID within the app interface if you've turned it on.

Cellular function is the main reason to buy the Secacam 7 over cheaper rivals. Thanks to its LTE module and multi-roaming SIM card it can dial into networks from a wide range of providers and choose the best one automatically to give you a strong signal for accessing recordings. I found the connectivity consistently fantastic, and no sooner had I set up the camera than I started getting notifications on my phone for new sightings. It's exciting hearing the noise and brought back the magic of my first wildlife-watching trips.

That doesn't mean you have to maintain a constant connection, though. You can customize the communication frequency, with more frequent intervals draining the battery faster. If you change any camera settings during downtime, they'll be pending and remain orange in the app interface until communication can be made with the camera again.

I didn't get close to running down the AA batteries while testing the Secacam 7 in the wild, which is a testament to the camera's efficiency. Videos drain power more quickly than stills, but after a week of constant use, the battery level was barely depleted, and I'd imagine the camera to last for longer than a month with a few sightings a night. If you want to supply the camera with continuous power, I'd invest in Zeiss' solar panel with a built-in power bank.

Zeiss Secacam 7: Sample footage

Over a month or so, I tested the Zeiss Secacam 7 in my local woodlands and Cotswold countryside, to get a feel for how well it performed on location. I also captured some footage in my family garden, as I knew local wildlife including foxes would visit. 

I tested out the Zeiss Secacam app on my iPhone 15 Pro, using a free trial of the Premium subscription option so I was able to test all of the control options and download images over the cellular connection.

Zeiss Secacam 7: Verdict

I've been impressed with the Secacam 7, so much so I didn't want to give it back. Its ease of use stands out, thanks to the well-conceived Secacam app and bigger-than-most LCD screen. At times I was disappointed with its response times and image quality (at night), but tracking cameras like this are designed to be used over months, and a certain level of trial and error is par for the course. With the amount of customization that the Secacam 7 offers, and more time spent honing the camera's position based on wildlife sightings, I'm convinced I'd get even more out of the device.

With eight batteries, energy-saving features, and the ability to power the camera with Zeiss' Secacam solar panel (sold separately), it can provide true longevity in the wild. You could easily drop this camera off and return for it weeks later; ideal for photographers in hard-to-reach locations, or even gamekeepers with large areas of land to monitor.

The image and video resolution does lag behind similarly-priced competitors on paper, but the content is acceptably sharp and adapts well as the light changes. The camera's real draw is its network coverage, and my experience was almost flawless, with images accessible on my phone moments after being snapped.

Alternatives

Over the past three decades, trail cameras, also known as camera traps, have given us a rare and invaluable glimpse into the natural world, and they have proven essential tools in the conservation fight around the world. 

However, in a first–of–its–kind study published in Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation it would appear that camera traps are sorely missed in areas that need their vital data the most. 

The study, entitled, Global disparity of camera trap research allocation and defaunation risk of terrestrial mammals, highlights that there is a huge disparity between locations of trail cameras studies and regions with the highest risk of mammalian extinction.

Factors that influence the ability to conduct trail camera studies in almost two thirds of locations include income, accessibility, mammal diversity, and environmental factors.

Areas where trail camera studies have increased over the past two decades, which include Southeast Asia and India, 64.2% were placed outside areas with the highest animal extinction risks. 

Higher-income, and upper–middle–income countries such as the U.S, Australia, and China were involved in the highest amount of trail camera studies, while African nations such as Mauritania and Angola had fewer than five apiece. 

Angola is home to over 300 species of mammals, many of which are endangered due to intense deforestation. The black rhinoceros, for example, is a hard animal to approach, and is considered ‘critically endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. 

Earth’s biodiversity is under threat from human activities, from urban expansion and deforestation, to poaching, climate change, and mining. Trail cameras can keep tabs on species both endangered or otherwise, and make serious positive changes to the cause. 

“You can think of a camera trap as an automatic and restless field assistant that sits in the field, rain or shine, day or night, [and] just captures [images or videos of] whatever walks in front of it,” says Jorge Ahumada, a tropical biologist who leads the largest camera trapping platform in the world, called Wildlife Insights, and reported by Mongabay. “It’s just collecting a lot of information in a standardized way, which will not be possible by humans.”

This is exactly why its essential to deploy trail cameras in the right places: biodiversity hotspots that face the biggest threats. 

“I think it is fair to say that we need more trail cameras proportionally to areas with higher biodiversity,” says study co-author Badru Mugerwa from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Germany. “The study is a good first start to look at relationships between the production of science in different parts of the world and factors that affect that [process].”

“What really jumped out from this research is that some of the areas that are currently being hammered by human activities — the Amazon and the Congo basins — received the least amount of camera-trap research in the past two decades,” Mugerwa adds, “There is something wrong going on here.”

Take a look at our guides to the best trail cameras, and the best cameras for wildlife photography. 

According to an update on their GoFundMe page yesterday, Jacob (Jake) Dalbey has now seen images of his lost dog Ullr, captured using trail cameras, after being separated for 11 months by an avalanche which struck them as they walked near Chair Mountain in the Rockies.

The dog Ullr apparently escaped but was separated by dangerous unstable and cracked snow, while Jake was not immediately able to return to the mountain owing to frostbite and surgery.

One of Jake's friends set up the page, looking for help for funds to help locate Ullr, saying that because of medical bills "Jake's funds [were] too low to pay for the tracker on his own." The page eventually achieved $36,552 of donations (a not inconsiderable number even since the good news came through – more on that below).

In his update to the GoFundMe page Dalbey comments on the photos received from the cameras they have been able to place and move around the hills:"the first time I've seen my precious boy since March 17th, 2023 - and he looks great! Healthy and more majestic than ever…."

He adds "Ullr looks really really good, especially for surviving an avalanche and for being on his own for almost a year. He is in an area that we have known or expected." He also notes appreciatively "the calls from helpful folks who were calm enough to contact me and send GPS locations, without being tempted to push Ullr away by yelling, following, or searching for him."

There were a number of avalanches reported by the tracking services, and CAIC report notes that of three caught up in the event one person was killed that day (and three that week in separate avalanches). The report also notes that dog tracks were seen, and that 'Skier 3' used an InReach, on of the best handheld GPS devices, to call for SOS.   

That's a lot of money...

Yes, yes it is. Enough for over 200 4K trail cameras. Interestingly Deborah Wieker, who set up the GoFundMe explicitly to cover the missing dog costs, noted that she asked the beneficiary, Jacob Dalbey, whether all the money was being spent on the hunt for the dog, and for evidence of that in July 2023 – she notes that she got a rather evasive answer. The most recent update was posted by him, not her.

Furthermore, there is a separate GoFundMe page to cover his medical costs.

While the story is a very encouraging one about the best trail cameras, I strongly suggest you read the full older updates and draw your own conclusions before donating yourself.

Looking for the best trail camera or the best thermal drone. We've got you covered!

Zeiss is a name long associated with optics, but the brand has only just launched its first two trail cameras, the Zeiss Secacam 5 and 7, following the company's acquisition of Secacam in June 2023.

Making a bid for our best trail cameras list, these are weather-resistant, and offer extensive network coverage using the European frequencies which are often harder to find for trail camera consumers. As such Zeiss is supplying an integrated multi-roaming SIM card which covers 35 European countries (including EU holdouts like the UK and Switzerland). That means the camera uses the best mobile network available where you place the camera.

The Zeiss Secacam 5 features 60 "black" LEDs which allow it to illuminate the scene in total darkness and capture video or photos. The camera features a 5-megapixel image sensor, and can interpolate images up to 12 megapixels. It is supplied with a 32GB memory card as well as the SIM and 8 AA (LR6) batteries are supplied, so it's ready to use from the box (Zeiss plan to make a solar panel available in 2024).

It has a triggering speed of less than 0.45 seconds and automatic flash strength adjustment to balance battery usage against bad exposure. Operation is via the controls and 2.4-inch display inside, or via the Zeiss Secacam App, which lets you remotely view images taken with the camera.

The Zeiss Secacam 7 is essentially the same camera, but built in a physically larger casing. That makes it a little less discrete – a little more difficult to camouflage – but on the other hand makes it easier to access in two ways. The door to the controls is beneath the lens, so the camera remains pointed in the final direction as you set it up – a composition benefit. Secondly, there is a removable battery magazine which is easier to change. Zeiss is simply offering you the choice.

The unit alone is £199 for the Zeiss Secacam 5 and £249 for the Secacam 7. The cameras will offer pay-as-you-go top-ups for photos and videos, or a monthly subscription to access the cellular services – some of these have AI options which will only show you the animals you want to see (e.g. deer, birds), and they can color the night images based on what it remembers from the daytime.

Hunting fans will not only want the best trail cameras but should check out guides to the best monoculars and best night vision goggles.

Trail cams are a great way to learn about the movements of wildlife in any chosen location. You can identify paths that help with wildlife photography or hunting (if that's your thing) or maybe you're just curious what goes on in and around any given place.

There are hundreds of trail cams from all kinds of vendors at all kinds of price points but the ability to monitor remotely via a mobile network, and with night vision, is maybe the biggest feature to make or break any trail cams reputation. 

The pricing for trail cams is all over the place too, it's hard to figure out how a $300+ trail cam is really any better than a sub $200 trail cam, and quite often the case is it's not. So let’s take a look at the SEHMUA 4G LTE 3rd Gen Cellular Trail Camera and see how it stacks up. 

Sehmua 4G LTE 3rd Trail Cam: Features

The major item I look for in a trail cam is its battery life, however, since I live in the cold and (mostly wet and breezy) part of New York state I also need the camera to be waterproof and well-sealed. 

Thankfully this SEHMUA 4G LTE 3rd Gen Cellular Trail Camera does just that, with a great combo of features (on paper) and for a great price but does it really deliver what is promised in its marketing jargon ?

Finding a spot for any trail cam is maybe the most important first step, maybe you already know where wildlife is present but some trial and error will mean the trail cam might need to move a few times until you find a great place. 

The supplied strap is great for placing the camera on a tree or post, and once you find somewhere I would prefer cable ties, even if that means “daisy chaining” them together to reach around an exceptionally large tree. 

Just a heads up at this point the supplied instructions will ask you to place your camera and THEN ask for the QR code on the back, which means removing the camera again. This is a very small quip but it's highly annoying. Apart from that, the setup is straightforward (think mobile phone app, etc, etc), and once you activate the supplied SIM (around $14.99 pm depending on the data plan) and cloud storage ($3.99 pm) you should be all set. 

When looking at SIM plans, just make sure you have a decent signal on any of the big three networks here in the US, (T-Mobile, AT&T, or Verizon). I only get Verizon signal here in rural NY, and had to “chat” with the SIM provider to change networks from T-Mobile, thankfully this didn't take long to do and a reset and reboot got me going. Again you might need to test out where you can get a signal, if you're in a rural location you might experience some choppy performance if/when you want to connect live and you “only” have 2 bars of signal. Just like a mobile phone the fewer bars you have the more power will be required to keep the connection up. 

The attached 4W solar panel is just enough to keep the lights on, but again if you're in a great location with a perfect view of sunrise and or sunset you should see this trail cam powered nicely. The location of your trail cam will make or break your experience, and in my case, I needed a much bigger solar panel to keep the trail cam going. Using the standard 4W solar panel I barely got 22 hours of power. 

This is a huge disappointment when for the same money I can get a trail cam that can last almost 2 years with 8 x AA batteries and an SD card only option. I was kindly supplied with a USB-C 20W solar panel which seems to have improved the power supply somewhat but the power feed is low given I'm testing this trail cam with 6 hours a day of light in December. 

I do often wonder if the IOT SIM solution is the way to go, mostly because of A) the additional cost, and B) signals can be hard to get if you are not close to a city or town: after all, we are looking for wildlife here. If you're living in a city you would probably just grab a Google Nest Outdoor cam and attach it to your wifi and it would do a grand job with excellent battery life. 

Sehmua 4G LTE 3rd Trail Cam: Design & Handling

Almost all the casing is plastic, it seems the lens is also plastic, which is standard for this price bracket of trail cams. One advantage is the weight saving, however, they do tend to start showing wear after a few seasons of extreme temps in both directions depending on the quality of plastics used. 

As I mentioned before the strap eyelets can also be a great place to stress test the plastics and of course, they do break kinda easy, this SEHMUA 4G LTE 3rd Gen Cellular Trail Camera does have separate eyelets for cable ties (zip ties) and works great and the bite of the cable tie does seem to grip way better than the strap anyway. 

The two slots inside the camera for the SD card and micro sim slot are a little fiddly and some supplied tweezers are helpful for getting the sim card in place, although getting it out is a bit of a horror show. 

There are two clamps on the right side, the hinge is on the left as you look at the device and the seal didn't give me much hope for it, BUT after 2 snow storms and some rain, the trail cam held up and inside was bone dry. 

Sehmua 4G LTE 3rd Trail Cam: Performance

The actual cam performs as described when you ignore the SIM and remote connection issues as I mentioned earlier. You can see some sample footage below.

The triggering of 0.2 seconds is a bit tough to figure out if that's true or not but the video captured did seem to record about 10 seconds of useful footage, and you can change the video capture setting to up to 30 seconds (you can select 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds only). 

Handy options like the ability to flip the image if you are hanging the camera upside down, auto night mode. However, one very annoying “feature” is that you can not record videos and pictures at the same time, so you have to choose which one you want. With wildlife you want to know their direction, images don't always tell the story but I guess it has its uses. 

Sensitivity can be changed from High, Medium, or Low and you will need to decode the English used to describe them and make up your own mind on which one is best for you. I chose the high option and seemed to trigger as needed. 

The app is a bit of a hot mess, and the UX could do with some thought behind it, for example, you can ONLY change the camera options once you have a live connection with it. You can also toggle between “High Def” and “Standard Def” although no actual information on what SD means and this option is hidden away in the top right of the live display screen, same with the settings, hidden away in the top right behind a cog wheel which seems to be dynamic between whatever screen you are looking at the time. 

My biggest grumble is the connectivity issues and the standard 4W solar panel. I can’t think of either working well if you live in the boonies and/or in northern parts of the northern hemisphere in the case of the solar panel. The upgraded 20w solar panel did charge the camera to full nicely after a day of good sun.

Sehmua 4G LTE 3rd Trail Cam: Final Verdict

It’s hard to recommend this product given its shortfalls with SIM and solar panel issues I experienced, while it does deliver great video for the price range the additional features are kinda useless for where I live in not-so-sunny upstate New York. The upgraded panel does fix that issue but that comes at an extra cost. Maybe the vendor could sell an upgraded package with larger communication antennas and a larger solar panel. I haven't tried, but I do wonder if some aftermarket antennas would do the trick and help with that. 

The app needs LOTS of work to make it flow well, saying that it does do the job once you figure out where everything is hidden. 

For a sub $200 trail cam there are better options out there if you just want SD card video or picture images of wildlife or activity, if you live in a sunny or warmer climate (think Texas) then I'm sure this trail cam will knock it out of the park. 

With its misshapen molded fascia resembling a strip of tree bark, the Stealth Cam Fusion Global, like the same manufacturer’s DS4K Ultimate model, has been fashioned to blend seamlessly with natural surroundings, the screw-on black antenna than fixes to its top right-hand side notwithstanding. 

The whole point of a trail camera is being able to remotely capture images that we wouldn’t be able to achieve if our subject was aware of our presence or that of our camera, so it makes perfect sense that this isn’t a sleek, shiny device that we’d want to sit next to our iMac.

As well as incorporating a built-in sensor that will automatically prompt the camera to begin remotely recording when a subject is within its vicinity, with imagery saved to an optional SD card, this one ups the ante by adding the ability to access and transmit whatever it captures via a mobile device and an app.

That means in theory we don’t have to wait and retrieve our media card from the Stealth Cam Fusion Global before we can see whether we’ve successfully got anything – or indeed get the card back to our card reader and PC or laptop before we can begin viewing or sharing images.

The sales pitch here suggests that thanks to a theoretically quick and easy setup process via the scanning of a QR code – once we’ve first downloaded a dedicated app – users of the Stealth Cam Fusion Global will be able to be up and running and receiving and sharing images from the device in a matter of minutes. Indicating that this particular trail camera is going to be best suited to those who are using it regularly for their hobby, rather than every now and again, its remote accessibility and connectivity are tied into a chargeable data plan, although the first 30 days are free of charge.

Of course, all the connectivity options in the world are for nothing if the images we’re looking at aren’t clear, or of usable quality in the first place. The Stealth Cam Fusion offers the choice of very respectable 26MP, 16MP, 8MP, or 4MP still photo resolutions, along with low-ish resolution HD video (640x360 pixels), which, if we’re just viewing it on our phone screen, is adequate.

The built-in sensor has the ability to detect subjects up to an adequate 80ft range. By contrast, the same manufacturer’s recent Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate model, which granted doesn’t offer the Fusion’s remote wireless connectivity, delivers up to 32MP stills, plus 4K video recording and boasts a 100ft range. So while we get hands-free remote access here, there are alternatives with better specs.

The Stealth Cam Fusion Global requires slightly fewer batteries to power it, however – 8xAAs compared to its sibling’s weighty 12xAAs requirement, which, as before, aren’t included out of the box. Unusually, the bare bones hard copy manual provided cautions against using rechargeable batteries in the camera, as these can muddy the waters and cause the app to display the battery percentage incorrectly. 

While the necessary batteries aren’t supplied, neither is the essential SD card for the storage of the imagery it captures. Up to 32GB capacity cards are compatible with this device. A slot is provided at the side of the camera, which is otherwise hidden and protected when the backplate is clamped shut.

While a media card slots into place with a definite click, retrieving the card is slightly fiddly as it doesn’t pop out sufficiently far to be able to get any more than a fingernail purchase on it. This requires us to drag it out with a fingertip until it’s free of the housing. Luckily the point of this camera is that we don’t need to retrieve it all that often.

Other standard features to note include the built-in infrared flash and, here, a 0.8-second trigger speed with the ability to capture between one and six images per each triggering of the device. With stills from trail cameras typically resembling video grabs, the image aspect ratio provided is a widescreen 16:9.

For those seeking to keep a record of their visual surveillance, images have the further ability to be stamped with time, date, and even moon phase.

Stealth Cam Fusion Global: Design & Handling

Remote operation of the Stealth Cam Fusion Global is achieved by first downloading the Command Pro remote app from the Google Play store to our Android phone, as we did, while, alternatively as expected, compatibility with Apple iOS is also offered. When this is downloaded and installed and we’ve registered and logged into the app, we’re prompted to pair the app with our device via an ‘Add Your Device’ request. 

This is where things got tricky for us, as, with the app open, it didn’t appear to recognize the QR code printed on the camera’s interior that requires scanning by our phone. When this was unsuccessful, we instead tried manually entering the ‘IMEI’ code likewise printed on the camera’s interior as prompted, but this wasn’t recognized either. 

We noticed the version of the app we were using had only been updated mere days before, and since we weren’t doing anything obviously incorrect ourselves, we assumed it might be a bit bug-y. Frustrated, we decided to leave things for a while – a few weeks in fact. Happily, when we returned to both camera and app they appeared to have finally recognised each other and were finally in sync.

Once we have everything up and working, the Stealth Cam Command app installed on our smartphone or digital device in turn allows for camera settings to be adjusted, shots to be sorted through in terms of defining subject matter, and imagery to be previewed before downloading to our camera roll. Provided there are no technical glitches this in theory offers much more flexibility and control than most trail cameras. Alternatively, as with alternative models, we can still retrieve the inserted SD card and view, store, and catalog our images that way.

Stealth Cam Fusion: Performance

Our usual experience is that stealth/trail cameras provide just a small LCD window and a few tiny buttons on the camera itself with which to affect menu or operational changes before the unit is sealed and placed in situ. Here there’s no screen at all, as we’re expected to use our smartphone and the Command app instead. 

The only operational buttons on the Stealth Cam Fusion Global are a tiny on/off switch and a button marked ‘sync’; a press of the latter allows us to manually take a shot and check things are working. We also get a trio of tiny bulbs indicating battery life (or lack of), network, and user account.

Generally, the build of the unit matches previous examples we’ve handled, with a hard plastic outer shell protecting the interior tech, battery tray, and card. Obviously installing 8x AA batteries adds further to the heft of the unit, lending a more substantial, almost brick-like feel. 

Strap mounts are visible at the back of the unit when shut, and a strap for tying the device to a tree trunk, branch – or whatever we choose to keep the device upright and in place – is provided out of the box. A screw thread for tripod attachment is also found at the base of the unit, as is a port for 12-volt auxiliary power.

As with other trail cameras, we’d describe the widescreen ratio visuals it provides as resembling video grabs, with information and data provided across the bottom of each shot to usefully relay when and where each was recorded. As this is a surveillance tool rather than something from Leica, Nikon, or Sony purporting to deliver gallery-quality results, the Stealth Cam Fusion Global fulfills its purpose, and for the features and the price that is all we can ask of it.

On a practical note, it’s worth noting that the manufacturer recommends Class 10 SD cards are used, and up to a maximum capacity of 32GB are supported. Recommended operating conditions are between minus 10°C and +40°C, which until recent years we’d have regarded as extreme in the UK at least.

Stealth Cam Fusion: Final Verdict

Although we had some issues setting this camera up and getting it working, which we’ll charitably put down to a recently updated and perhaps somewhat bug-y Command app, construction quality is as commendably rugged as we’ve found with its less tech-festooned predecessors, providing us with reassurance that it’ll survive being left out in the open for long periods.

There are trail cameras out there with better operational range and image quality and which don’t require the setting up of accounts and service plans that may be more suited to infrequent users, but as we live in a world that increasingly puts our phone’s handset at the center of operations, it makes sense that the Stealth Cam brand is offering up a trail camera that is more or less completely controlled and monitored that way. The future of trail cameras has arrived.

Alternatives

Though the Stealth Cam Fusion Global sets itself apart from the pack of very similarly specified and functioning trail cameras by virtue of its extra connectivity features, it’s otherwise our available budget that will inform a purchase decision.

If it’s higher resolution results we’re after, then an obvious alternative to consider is the same maker’s Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate or the very similar Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera. Both these options proffer a 32MP resolution. Bushnell’s device further distinguishes itself via its speedy 0.15-second trigger response, as opposed to the 0.8-second trigger response of the Stealth Cam Fusion Global. 

In terms of cameras boasting slightly more connectivity and even more potential for remote use, there’s the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, thereby making it a closer comparison with the Stealth Cam Fusion Global. 

Of course, such features always command a premium cost over more basic and therefore cheaper setups, so if budget is tight then we feel Bushnell’s Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera is another option worth recommending.

Other trail cameras previously reviewed by us include the Spypoint Force 20, which offers a slightly less impressive if still usable 70ft detection range when compared with the Stealth Cam Fusion’s 80ft reach. Ultimately with quite a few alternatives out there as outlined, you pay your money and you make your choice.

The Attenborough long-beaked echidna was thought to have been extinct, as no one has seen one alive for over 60 years. A trail camera solved that!

Deep in the Cyclops Mountains, Indonesia, a team of scientists were on a biological expedition throughout the mountain range when on the last day of the four-week expedition they found the remarkable footage of a creature not seen in over 60 years – Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna.

Named after the British naturalist, presenter, and all-round national treasure David Attenborough, this particular species of echidna was last photographed in 1961. It has only ever been seen in the Cyclops Mountains and was assumed to have been 'lost' due to being shy, nocturnal burrow-dwellers who are notoriously difficult to find.

Dr James Kempton, expedition lead and biologist from the University of Oxford says, “Attenborough's long-beaked echidna has the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater, and the feet of a mole. Because of its hybrid appearance, it shares its name with a creature of Greek mythology that is half human, half serpent. It appears so unlike other mammals because it is a member of the monotremes – an egg-laying group that separated from the rest of the mammal tree-of-life about 200 million years ago.”

Kempton was also the scientist who found the footage of the animal, on the very last memory card checked from 80 cameras, and on the last day of the expedition. This was a great payoff to what sounded like an otherwise treacherous expedition, with the team enduring an earthquake, malaria, and even a leech on an eyeball!

Trail cameras are a fantastic way to get a glimpse into the activity of the natural world, without interfering with it, and they can often produce surprising results, much like this case; as shown by this video produced by The Telegraph. It is not stated which particular trail cameras were used by the expedition team (perhaps it was one of the best trail cameras for wildlife), but it was able to produce exceptionally clear footage of the creature. See more information about the expedition and the official footage on the Expedition Cyclops webpage.

If trail cameras sound like something you wish to find out more about, we offer a guide on the best trail cameras that can give you more information as well as some examples of the capabilities.

 A new commentary and research study by conservation biologist, Zhengyang Wang, has revealed that gaming engines, such as the popular Unity and Unreal Engine, can in fact be used to render hyper-realistic wildlife and animal images that are good enough to pass as legit images when shown to specific AI software. 

These learning AIs use images – including these gaming engine-generated ones – as a basis for their training to recognize animals that might pass by and trigger a camera trap. Having extra images helps gradually improve the quality of what is referred to as rare-class categorization. 

• These are the best trail cameras in 2023

Plenty of wildlife and nature photographers will have at some point used or come across camera traps, also known as trail cameras. The purpose of these cameras is to be subtle, often camouflaged to match a certain surrounding. They can be remotely triggered to capture images of animals, or whatever else that might pass by the sensors, in isolated areas. 

Trail cameras are usually fitted with motion detectors, as well as night vision and infrared cameras, and sometimes even thermal imaging cameras. Animals that are naturally shy won't usually approach a camera trap, but can still be monitored by using this equipment intended to detect signs of life and movement.  

Zhengyang Wang, a conservation biologist, has shed some light on a known problem of trail cameras and identified a unique way in which the puzzle could be solved. Identifying common wildlife has become easy for most modern camera trap AI. Spotting rare animals, however, remains to be a struggle. 

In a recent commentary shared to Mongabay, Wang proposes that computer-generated images of animals that have been created by popular gaming software engines could be used to train camera trap AIs to detect rarer species that it otherwise wouldn't recognize without previous imagery. Images generated this way should not be confused with AI; this is the process of 3D graphics, so images would come from a digital model based on a real animal. 

"If a species is rarely seen in camera trap photos, there isn’t enough data for it to learn, and it won’t be very good at recognizing that rare species" Shares Wang. "AI is able to learn from the kind of game engine-generated, hyper-realistic animal images that feature in today’s highly advanced digital games."

Advancements in rendering capabilities of modern game engines have meant that virtual worlds, especially open-world games, are becoming more realistic and immersive by the second.  This is why plenty of virtual and in-game photographers are beginning to make a living and earn employment for their digital services.  

• These are the most picturesque videogames for virtual photographers

Wang observed during a chance meeting with some game studio developers, or as he calls them "a rakish horde of digital nomads" in a rainforest in Panama that these tools used by game developers are actually helping real-world conservationists, even if they appear to be cherishing biodiversity "for an alien reason" as Wang puts it.

Putting the Unity theory into practice

The bottom line is that conservation practitioners who use multiple camera traps for extensive mammal surveys have the painstaking and time-consuming job of identifying the animals captured in each shot. With the help of AI, this process is made much easier, although before an AI can tell the difference between a deer and a badger, it must be trained by annotated images. 

Wang explains that this is the problem of rare-class categorization, whereby computer systems struggle to categorize objects that are rarely seen during training, such as sightings of rare and endangered species, and collecting additional training examples is often an expensive feat. 

Luckily a colleague of Wang's, Sara Beery, and her team was able to put this theory into practice during an experiment to increase her AI’s ability to detect deer. They used developers to create images in a simulated forest with digital deer using the Unity game engine.

These virtual photos of deer were fed to AI, and its deer detection rate increased by 40%. The study, "Synthetic Examples Improve Generalization for Rare Classes,” was authored by Sara in May 2019 and explores different simulation methods and their effects on classification performance. 

Will conservation become reliant on gaming tech and hyper-realistic models of nature? Let us know what you think!

• You may also be interested in the best portable hides and camouflage gear for wildlife photography, as well as the best cameras for wildlife photography, and not forgetting the best lenses for landscapes too.

• Check out these 10 ultimate locations for wildlife photographers, and the 10 best games for virtual photographers.

If you make a point of calling your product the ‘ultimate’ version of anything, you’re immediately setting a very high bar in terms of the user’s expectations. So the Chinese-made Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate arrives from overseas with a lot to prove if it wants to be named one of the best trail cameras.

On initial inspection, the house brick-sized image capture device doesn’t appear massively different from its trail camera competitors. Except, unusually here, the grey-ish plastic faceplate is somewhat warped and misshapen, resembling a piece of rotting wood bark and therefore potentially better blending in with natural surroundings when left out in the wild to record whatever steps within its sensor’s range.

Deliberately or otherwise, it looks like something that fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Fortunately, a strap for securely mounting this stealth camera to a tree is included out of the box, so your product doesn’t suffer the same fate. Plus, for anyone nervous about potential theft when left out in the wild, a lockable brace is available as an optional accessory. 

As expected, batteries aren’t included out of the box with this one, and neither is the removable SD card required. But the same is true with rivals. So how does the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate fare as a standalone product?

Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate: Key Features

On paper at least, the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate’s feature set places it among the best in its class, offering a 32-megapixel resolution, 16:9 ratio images, 4K video recording at 30fps day or night, plus a 100ft range, even if the stated 0.2-second trigger speed is so-so. The SD card slot here can cope with capacities of up to 128GB, instead of the standard 32GB of some basic trail camera models. 

However, this still falls somewhat short of the 512GB capacity offered by the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera we recently reviewed, for those who really do want to leave the device out for long periods without having to change the media in use.

Like all trail cameras, the above features are all designed to work in combination and provide remote observation and the capture of still and video imagery of skittish subjects that would otherwise be near impossible without. Settings can be adjusted to allow for between one and nine images to be captured sequentially when the unit’s sensor is triggered. We can set up the camera to be always on, which is the default, or choose certain times of the day or night for it to be operational, as well as change the resolution of stills or tweak the duration of any video, as well as selecting capture with audio or without. 

Add in the ability for time-lapse operation and the automatic enhancement of images while reducing blur – an issue if capturing subjects in motion in complete darkness – and we have to say this is one of the most comprehensive feature sets to be currently found on a trail camera in its price bracket.

Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate: Handling

Like the rest of its trail camera ilk, the Stealth Cam’s operational controls are hidden beneath a hard plastic faceplate, secured in place via a plastic clamp to prevent accidental adjustment and the changing of settings when left by the user out in the wild. 

Reassuringly, neither of these aspects of the build is flimsy, although we still wouldn’t want to accidentally drop it onto a concrete surface. There is some degree of protection afforded to the actual camera unit, however, as it sits within a rubber surround, rather than being flush to the inner edges.

One surprise here is that the unit requires so many batteries – 12 in all for the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate, which is twice as many as most rivals demand, and obviously adds to the weight and bulk. Indeed, half the camera’s width is taken up by the battery compartment, which comprises a simple dual-sided plastic tray into which six cells are loaded on each side. 

Alternatively, if you’re not placing the camera out in the wild and utilizing it instead as a home or workplace security device, then you might want to take advantage of the provided 12V external power jack.

The base of the unit features a standard screw thread for attaching it to a tripod or similar mount if desired, while a strap can be threaded through the plastic loops positioned on the back to otherwise secure it in place.

Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate: Performance

Unlike some rivals, such as the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, the provided LCD on the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate doesn’t reveal whatever is in front of the lens to enable us to get our setup and potential framing spot on. This means, once again, it’s a case of point-and-hope regarding results, as to be fair, it is with the majority of trail cameras. However, we liked the fact that operational buttons were larger and more spongy, in fact resembling the keys on a ZX Spectrum of old, than most rivals. This meant selections were less fiddly to make, something particularly welcome in the wet and the cold.

Though a brief print manual is provided out of the box, we didn’t need to refer to it to ascertain which button did what, as they are self-explanatory to anyone who has used a basic point-and-shoot digital camera. Here we are gifted an on/off switch, a menu button, an enter/set button, plus a four-way control pad via which to navigate settings. A slim LCD window is provided above, which just gives a read-out of the various operational settings and their parameters.

Once the camera is switched on, the device counts down from 30 seconds to give the user the chance to get out of the area and avoid its accidental activation. The same display also shows the number of shots remaining on the SD card inserted, plus an indication of remaining battery life; all pretty standard stuff.

To test its image-capturing mettle, and because it was winter at the time of testing, we left the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate outdoors overnight in sub-zero temperatures. The result was that the device had a layer of frost when we went to retrieve it. With the unit having first been activated and then clamped shut, fortunately, we found no dampness had penetrated its innards when we got it back in the warm, and we were impressed that after a very cold night indeed, the battery indicator was still displaying 100% capacity.

While widescreen ratio infrared images taken in pitch black are rendered in black and white – their shadowy sharpness on a par with the results from security cameras – during the day, we instead automatically get color results. The latter more closely resembles video grabs than shots taken from a dedicated digital camera. Expectedly, results aren’t on a par with what we’d expect from a 32-megapixel sensor DSLR; but in fairness, we wouldn’t leave a DSLR and wide-angle lens out overnight in the frost either – so it’s very much a case of horses for courses.

Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate: Rivals

As we’ve mentioned in previous trail camera reviews, the options currently out there on the market are essentially variations on the same theme, meaning similar features, size and performance. 

Similarly specified options to the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate include the almost identically named Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera, which also boasts a 32MP resolution, plus the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, which therefore provides even more options for remote use. In addition, if our pennies won’t quite stretch that far, the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera is a third alternative we feel is worth consideration.

As the closest alternative, we have experience with, the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera distinguishes itself, particularly when compared against both the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate and the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, by not only featuring the increasingly standard 4K video resolution, but also a speedy 0.15-second trigger response, as opposed to the 0.2-second trigger response of the others. 

Less well-specified trail cameras we’ve previously covered additionally include the Spypoint Force 20, which offers a less impressive but still usable 70ft detection range plus lower resolution 1080x720 pixels video clips, saved to an optional 32GB SD card. Another option is the GardePro E6 No Glow trail camera, with its 24MP stills resolution and 1080P video at 30fs.

Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate: Verdict

With a twisted tree bark / crushed Halloween mask-type outer design that seeks to blend in rather than win style awards, the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate aims for practicality first. Results are exactly as expected in resembling video grabs or the feed from a security camera, but the thrill of being able to achieve stolen moments with skittish creatures we might not have otherwise got is exclusively the appeal here. 

The ‘Ultimate’ is a pretty heady claim to make, however, and we’d also recommend comparing and contrasting features and prices with similarly performing models from Browning and Bushnell, against which this option, fortunately, holds its own.

You might also like the best cellular trail cameras, and if you're into wildlife, the best portable hides for photography and the best camera for wildlife.

The Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera is shorter in stature than the typical house brick sized alternatives; to get a rough idea of its size, imagine two cigarette packets, or packs of cards, placed back-to-back. Just like rivals, however, it still requires six AA batteries for power, which, as is typically the case, are not provided out of the box. The device looks the part though, thanks to its photo print camouflaged exterior, featuring a forest floor-like covering of tree roots and fallen leaves. 

What you'd potentially be buying this unit for is remote and covert surveillance and recording the movements of skittish animals that would otherwise be spooked by an obvious camera wielding human in the vicinity. So that’s the quick overview; what about the nitty-gritty?

Browning Strike Force HD Pro X: Key Features

One glance at the box and we’ll be zeroing in on the core features of the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, which include a 20-megapixel stills resolution, 1600x900 pixels video of between five seconds and two minutes in length, a 0.22 second trigger speed response time, a 0.6 second recovery time, plus a motion detection range of up to 80ft, upgrading the original camera’s more modest 55ft range. It also boasts an adjustable flash range of up to 120ft. 

To select and implement its various image capture functions and settings, including interval timed single shots or multi shots, we’re gifted a minimal array of operational buttons, which when the camera is in the field are otherwise hidden under the faceplate. Included here is a 1.5-inch LCD screen, used in conjunction with the buttons alongside it to make our selections. Browning claims that potential users can capture up to 10,000 images before the 6x AAs it requires for power, which requires an additional purchase, are depleted. Of course, we’ll need something to save all of those images on – and here that is offered courtesy of the ability to insert a removable SD card. The Browning device supports up to 512GB capacity cards; a fair degree higher than the usual 32GB maximum capacity SDs supported by alternative trail cameras in its class.

Another unusual feature on this model is a steel bracket at the back of the trail camera that can be loosened to let the device tilt forward if required. While a loop for a provided strap – itself a generous 6ft in length – is included as part of said bracket, another way of securing the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera is via the use of a tripod, with a standard screw thread provided at its base. Hidden under a rubber flap is also an alternative means of powering the camera via a 12-volt external power jack.

Browning Strike Force HD Pro X: Handling

Before we can begin using the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, we first need to source and insert 6x AA batteries, a tray for which is secreted away in the base of the model. This is ejected via a dedicated button hidden under a protective cover at the front of the device. When closed, the cover also shields the aforementioned postage stamp sized 1.5-inch LCD screen  that affords the implementation of settings via a minimal array of operational controls ranged to the right of it. 

Anyone who has operated a basic point-and-shoot digital camera will find the handling here fairly intuitive, although we still found ourselves consulting the manual as to how to initially set things up. Unusually for a budget trail camera, once settings have been made, the screen can display whatever is in front of the device, theoretically helping the user achieve optimum framing, or coverage of the area being marked out for surveillance. At the base of this cover protected control unit is a slot for the insertion and retrieval of an optional, yet essential, SD card. Once inserted, we just need to give the card a slight nudge to eject it; again, so reasonably intuitive.

While a strap is provided out of the box for threading through the metal tree mount bracket located at the rear of the unit, thereby attaching it to the trunk of a tree or suitable post, more unusually the angle of this bracket is adjustable – albeit to a limited extent. In practice we found that the trail camera can be angled forward so it’s pointing downwards instead of just directly ahead. Alternatively, if the trail camera is placed on a flat surface, the bracket acts as a makeshift tripod, allowing the device to be angled upwards.

The simple photographic print on the exterior of the unit also proves remarkably effective in practice, unobtrusively blending the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera in with natural backgrounds. The fallen leaves printed on its faceplate make this an ideal match for autumn.

Browning Strike Force HD Pro X: Performance

The overall build quality of the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera feels remarkably solid for the price, with only the likes of the removable battery tray feeling a tad vulnerable once removed from the interior of the unit. With six AA batteries inserted to power the device, it’s reassuringly weighty in the palm, with no discernable ‘give’ to the plastic exterior when squeezed. 

Though we have to assume some form of weatherproofing since this is primarily designed as an outdoor device, the manual warns the warranty is void if the unit is ‘neglected or abused’ and actually submerged. We left the unit out in heavy rain, as is unavoidable in the UK, and though there was moisture present along the rubber sealed edge of the flip-open cover when we retrieved it, the unit itself and card we’d inserted were still working and readable. At its reasonable price point however, there was a modicum of doubt in our mind over how much repeated exposure to a wet climate and monsoon-level rain it would withstand.

Unsurprisingly, since the camera is infrared equipped, night-time images are rendered in black and white, whereas in daytime it’s color. Results resemble the kind of images we’re used to seeing from surveillance cameras on crime programs and even at full 20 megapixel resolution there is visible grain and soft edges to subjects, particularly anything in the frame that’s actually moving. So don’t expect pin-sharp results like we’re used to seeing from DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. 

Happily though, the built-in motion sensor and capture capabilities here actually do work. For those who want to keep track of their image captures, the option to add an info bar at the bottom of each image is available, which stamps each picture with the basics of temperature, time and date. As ever, use of trail cameras involves a degree of trial and error – we never know quite what we’re going to get in response when we set one up, which is part of the beauty and fun of it all. In these days of instant gratification it’s still nice to be occasionally, perhaps even pleasantly, surprised.

Browning Strike Force HD Pro X: Rivals

While there is a broad range of trail cameras currently available, in our experience they offer relatively similar operability, feature sets, and performance. So selection is perhaps more dependent on our budget. Other good value options to consider alongside the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera include the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera and its bigger brother in the 32MP resolution Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera. The latter distinguishes itself, particularly when compared against the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, by featuring a class-leading 4K video resolution, a relatively speedy 0.15-second trigger response, as opposed to the 0.2-second trigger response here, plus twin sensors variously optimized for use in both day and night.

Additional alternatives include the Spypoint Force 20, which offers a slightly lower 70ft detection range coupled with1080x720 pixels video clips, plus, like many others, the option for shooting to a removable SD card capacity that maxes out at a modest by comparison 32GB. Perhaps closer to the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, thanks to its 24MP stills resolution and 1080P video at 30fs, is the GardePro E6 No Glow trail camera. 

This one does up the ante further however by coming with its own phone app for remote operation and being Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled. This is all well and good, as long as we’re planning to remain within the range of the device itself; but if we’re not then we still feel that the Browning here offers a very keenly priced alternative for those looking to pick up their very first trail camera.

Browning Strike Force HD Pro X: Verdict

We’ll need to supply our own 6x AA batteries and removable SD media card to operate the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera, but at the price of ownership being asked here we’re not complaining. 

For that reason we feel it would make a great entry-level / starter option for anyone intrigued by the idea of a trail camera, or amateur nature watchers wanting a means of surveillance and, theoretically, of capturing images that couldn’t otherwise be achieved by simply standing in the same spot with a regular camera or smartphone. Further peace of mind comes via a one-year warranty.

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Over a decade of using trail cameras – from my university days in wildlife photography to tracking local fauna in the Cotswolds – I’ve watched these camera traps transform. With the best cellular trail cameras, what used to require a regular, scent-disturbing trek into the woods to pull SD cards is now a more seamless, real-time experience where wildlife sightings are beamed straight to your smartphone.

Cellular trail cameras help you see animals behaving naturally and get photos of shy wildlife that would otherwise be scared off. If you're a wildlife photographer trying to determine whether it's worthwhile setting up your main cameras for wildlife, scouting locations first with a trail camera is a great idea.

Some cameras come bundled with a SIM and a no-contract plan, so you don't have to stick with your regular phone network – though most require a monthly subscription to access images remotely. The cellular camera market is entangled with recurring plans, and a seemingly affordable camera trap can become an expensive ongoing habit if key features like remote setting adjustments or HD video downloads are locked behind a paywall.

I’ve done weeks of field testing (the Zeiss Secacam 7 is still my personal top pick) and also found that impressive specs mean nothing if the camera's trigger speed is too slow to snap a passing deer sharply, or if the night flash overexposes close-up subjects into a white blur.

Getting the right camera trap is about more than high megapixels. You need to balance network reliability, trigger efficiency, and the overall cost of ownership. Over the past few years, our expert team has been field-testing leading cellular models through rainy torrents, cold nights, and heavy woodland cover to monitor battery drain, solar efficiency, app responsiveness, and cellular availability.

Below, I’ve broken down the best cellular trail cameras on the market to help you choose the most reliable setup for your budget and location.

Top picks

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Best cellular trail cameras

Best cellular trail camera overall

The DS4K Transmit isn’t the cheapest trail camera, but it doesn’t disappoint in features either. Many cellular cameras take the view that 4K video is difficult to transmit over 4G/LTE connections, so the feature is left out entirely.

Here, the camera can still record them locally even though it only sends 720P GIFs via its cellular connection. Previews can be seen in the Command Pro app on your cellphone, and images are stamped with time, date, and moon data.

Setup isn’t a painful process either; all that is required is a QR code scan and the following steps. The camera’s 32MP stills can be caught in a burst of 9 images per triggering, and the device houses 42 850nm LEDs.

Placing it in a location for any length of time will need lithium batteries, and it’s worth remembering that the reliable sensing zone is closer to 60ft /20m.

Read more: Stealthcam DS4K Transmit

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Best budget cellular trail camera

At a significantly lower price point than others, the Link-Micro-LTE is a device well-suited for those who want to get several lenses in the same area and keep an eye on the movements of bigger animals for research or game management.

Spypoint’s app certainly doesn’t neglect location data coming from the cameras or taking advantage of other available data (like weather services), but ultimately, this is just as suited for strapping around trees and sending back images via a 4G LTE network. You’ll need to change the batteries more frequently than its solar-powered sibling, and note that you still lose out on video recording functionality.

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Best solar powered cellular trail camera

The Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE makes it easy to transmit photos of wildlife straight to your smartphone as they are being captured. The battery is long-lasting thanks to the solar panel, making it an independent trail camera you can leave alone for days while still enjoying the images it captures. You can also retrieve higher-resolution images from the camera’s memory card later.

With a 0.4-second trigger speed and 80-foot detection and flash range, this cellular trail camera offers good value for money. The major downside is that it doesn't capture video clips.

Read the full Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE review
Reviewed by George Cairns

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Best for Europe

The Zeiss Secacam 7 is the easiest trail camera I’ve used, and a great option for beginners. It comes out of the box with batteries and a 32GB SD card pre-installed, plus very robust weather-sealing that left me happy to dump it in a rainy wood for weeks. The 4G LTE connectivity is strong in the UK (some trail cameras perform best in the US), and through the responsive, well-designed app, I found it beams photos to your phone quickly from remote locations.

However, the native 5MP sensor (interpolated to 12MP) looks noticeably soft compared to newer alternatives like the Browning Defender Vision Pro LiveStream with its 46MP sensor. If you plan to record heavy 1080p video clips, you're also likely to fill the included card fast.

While I found that the night flash can occasionally blow out close-up subjects, I found image quality more than detailed enough for clear identification. This is such a well-made camera trap and gives you hassle-free remote tracking, but you do pay quite a premium price – and an ongoing subscription fee – for the cellular convenience, and Zeiss name rather than bleeding-edge camera specs.

Read my full Zeiss Secacam 7 review

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How to choose a cellular trail camera

Network compatibility: Unlike standard trail cameras, the cellular in our list need a strong and reliable local network coverage to send stills and video clips to your phone without a delay. Cameras with multi-roaming SIM cards can automatically switch between major networks (AT&T and Verizon are common in the US, or multiple regional European networks) to lock onto the strongest signal available at your specific location.

Subscription costs: Almost every cellular camera also involves a tiered monthly or annual subscription to beam data to your smartphone. Check whether the brand locks helpful features like remote adjustments, HD video downloads, or AI species recognition behind a premium tier.

Trigger speed: The trigger speed you need really depends on the animals you're targeting. A response time under 0.4 seconds is a good aim when monitoring fast-moving creatures, whereas a slower trigger should be perfectly fine for slower targets, for example, areas where you’ve set up food.

Power and longevity: Transmitting data over 4G LTE can drain batteries quickly, as can chilly weather. If you're planning to leave your trail camera in rugged or hard-to-reach terrain for long periods, look at models with efficient lithium batteries, integrated solar panels, or the ability to attach a separate power pack.

FAQs

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Trail cameras are becoming ever more popular. Unsurprising perhaps, as, once placed in a surreptitious position, they allow us to observe the wider world and the more skittish of creatures remotely from the comfort of our own home. 

For those looking for a fairly priced route into the trail camera world, the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow model looks to be an enticing option. Newcomers should think of it as a surveillance camera with extras, able to begin recording to a removable SD card – with the capability here of utilizing cards up to 32GB – when its built-in sensor detects movement in the vicinity. 

Inevitably, with the trail camera set up, fixed in position at a location, and then left to operate independently and automatically, the operation becomes more a case of ‘point and hope’ than point and shoot. While a degree of trial and error is inevitable, it also leaves room for happy accidents and us being pleasantly surprised too. So, what are the nuts and bolts we’re being presented with here, and how does it perform?

Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow: Key Features

Though Bushnell is best known for binoculars, the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow model is one of a number of ‘trail cam’ options produced by the manufacturer. Apart from an impressive array of LEDs on its fascia, the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera, fashioned from what looks like a single plastic mould, looks pretty bare bones at the outset. It sports a single-color khaki plastic exterior rather than any of the camouflage detailing sometimes found on models higher up the Bushnell range. That said, at roughly the size and weight of a house brick with batteries and card inserted, the unit is still fairly obtrusive if hidden and surrounded by natural foliage. 

One thing our review unit arrived missing was any strap via which to bind it to a tree trunk, branch or any other static vantage point, though a couple of hard plastic lugs are provided at the back for threading one through. A screw thread is alternatively provided at the base for a tripod attachment should we be keen to keep our horizons level, and are able to do so without drawing attention to the trail cam. That said, thanks to a flat base to the device, it can be propped up on its own.

Core features of any trail camera include the maximum range at which it is able to function, which for this particular model is around 80ft at night. Packed into its faceplate are 36 visible LEDs, which, with the lens and sensor located dead center, enable both Full HD 1080P resolution video recording at 30fps, plus a choice of either 3MP, 12MP, or full 20MP resolution still images.

Obviously, we want any camera we’re going to be leaving out in the wet and the wild to be waterproof, so fortunately the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera offers IPX6 levels of water tightness to protect it against rainfall.

A pop-out tray at the base of the unit snugly houses the six AA batteries that power the Bushnell, with a narrow LCD screen, operational buttons, and a vacant slot for the insertion of an SD card provided just above it. When the trail camera is in operation, these are hidden beneath a hard plastic cover that is clamped into place to prevent settings from being accidentally disturbed once implemented. Build quality feels sufficiently robust to withstand the odd careless knock or drop and, impressively, Bushnell claims that a set of batteries can last up to 12 months of use. Said power cells are an additional expense, obviously, as none arrived in the box with our review unit. 

Interestingly, as concerns power, the instructions that come with the unit state that a solar panel accessory is another optional purchase for this model, which attaches via the DC-in jack, protected by a tethered rubber cover, at the base of the unit.

Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow: Rivals

While obviously core features such as resolution, range and functionality differ, there are a bunch of competing devices that serve the exact same function as the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera. For example, there’s its bigger brother in the 32MP Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera, which distinguishes itself by featuring a class-leading 4K video resolution, a relatively speedy 0.15-second trigger response, as opposed to the 0.7-second trigger response here, plus twin sensors variously optimized for use in both day and night.

Options from rival manufacturers include the likes of the Spypoint Force 20, which offers a slightly lower specification, including a 70ft detection range, 1080x720 pixels video clips, plus yet again the option for shooting to a removable SD card at up to 32GB capacity. Similarly specified also to the Bushnell Prime L20 Low Glow trail camera, thanks to its 24MP stills resolution and 1080P video at 30fs, is the GardePro E6 No Glow trail camera. This one ups the ante further by coming with its own phone app for remote operation and being Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, which is fine as long as we’re planning to remain within range of the device itself – hiding in the conservatory perhaps while we place the unit in the garden.

For the money though, it feels like the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera still holds its own amidst rivals.

Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow: Handling

The hard plastic exterior of the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera has no noticeable give to it when squeezed in the palm and the build quality seems good and firm. We mentioned earlier about a tray for inserting 6x AA batteries being inserted within the unit’s baseplate and, just above, we also get a rudimentary selection of controls being ranged either side of a narrow slit-sized LCD window, that allows for the tabbing through of operational settings and choices, but not for the review or playback of any images. 

As we’ve noted, it’s a case of placing this one in position and hoping for the best, rather than trying to achieve accurate or artistic framing. While some competitors allow the entire inner camera module to be retrieved from the trail camera’s outer casing, here that element is fixed in place. So we have to flip open the front each time we want to retrieve our regular 32GB SD card and any recordings with it. It makes sense then to load as high a capacity up to that 32GB as possible to avoid having to swap cards in or out.

Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow: Performance

Selecting the ‘Aim’ mode on the three-setting slider switch alongside the narrow LCD screen allows for the camera to be set up, although the choices here are not extensive. In fact, it’s fair to say the on-screen menu is rudimentary, the selections required to get going from scratch involve setting up the camera with time and the date – favoring the US convention only of the month first, day second, and year third – and selecting the shooting of stills or video. 

Despite, or perhaps because of, the minimalism of the digital watch style controls, setting up the camera requires an initial read through the hard copy manual, then scrolling through and okaying of the limited options presented to us. Once the camera is switched to ‘On’ mode, which means it’s ready to start operating in earnest, there is a brief 10-second delay period during which we can quickly shut the camera cover and retreat from wherever we’ve set the Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow trail camera up, and thereby avoid accidentally triggering its recording.

Ten seconds is not long to fully get away from the setup position, however; so expect to get a few frames of yourself retreating into the distance included when retrieving the SD card later. The Resultant 4:3 ratio digital images come with a white border along the bottom helpfully displaying the date and time of capture along with the external temperature. While at the time of testing the camera detected a fairly balmy 23°C when we placed it outside in the early evening, we do wonder whether performance is affected by temperatures dropping, as the general rule of thumb is that cold batteries lose their efficiency. Happily, we left the camera in place overnight, a 12-hour period during which the Bushnell recorded temperatures had dropped to 7°C, and found it was still fully operational at 7am the next morning, even though the internal batteries were cold to the touch. 

In terms of end results, it’s worth pointing out that nighttime images are captured in black and white – think of slightly grainy surveillance footage we’re all used to seeing on TV – while daytime images are recorded in full colour, also with a slightly grainy look. Overall we’re getting imagery resembling a VHS video grab. Recall the look of the original ‘Blair Witch Project’ movie and you won’t be far off.

Here it’s about actually capturing an image of something we wouldn’t otherwise be able to record, rather than achieving a crystal clear DSLR quality result that we’ll want to hang on our wall.

Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow: Verdict

Like any trail camera, the remotely activated Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow involves a degree of trial and error ‘point and pray’, as regards both operation and results, but arguably that’s part of the fun and a large part of the appeal of devices such as this. 

Built for use in the great outdoors, obviously, the unit is sufficiently water resistant to withstand rain and comes with the added peace of mind of a two-year warranty. For those looking to capture surveillance-type imagery while they’re tucked up in bed or without actually having to be in the vicinity, this budget-priced Bushnell option is worthy of recommendation.

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The Link-Micro-S-LTE is one in a comprehensive collection of trail cameras from Spypoint, including the Spypoint Solar Dark and Force-20. Like the best trail cameras, it is designed to capture stills of any animals that pass by its motion detection sensor during day or night. Although the marketing of the camera targets hunters who need to know the location and behavior of animals, a trail camera can also give you a fascinating insight into the animal activities occurring in your own vicinity, and as such, it is the perfect tool for eager wildlife photographers. 

The Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE has two key advantages over some of the other trail cameras in the Spypoint range, and it can send images via cellular connection like the best cellular trail cameras. However, it also has several disadvantages. We’ll help you decide if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages as you read through this review…

Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE specifications

Transmission standard: LTE
Photo Type: Colour by day, infrared by night
Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.6 x 16.6cm 
External memory: microSD card
Photo Resolution: 10 MP
LEDs: 4
Detection sensor: 5-zone sensor (PIR)
Flash range: 24 meters 
Trigger speed: 0.4 sec
Thread: Standard 1/4 inch tripod thread
Power:  LIT-10 battery pack and solar panel

Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE features

As with all trail cameras, the Link-Micro-S-LTE has an LED that helps illuminate wildlife during the night. This helps it capture infrared monochrome photos of various creatures once they set off the camera’s motion detector. One of the disadvantages of other SPYPOINT trail cameras such as the Force-Pro or the Force-20 is that you need to replace their batteries every few days. The Link-Micro-S-LTE sports a handy solar panel that recharges the supplied Lithium battery pack, so you can leave the camera outside unattended for more days and nights than its siblings. 

The other advantage is the fact that the Link-Micro-S-LTE has a cellular aerial that can transmit photographs of wildlife to the Spypoint app so that you can view the shots them the comfort of your smartphone (instead of having to retrieve a memory card from the camera on a cold and wet morning). If you spend time flicking through social media feeds when you’re supposed to be watching a movie prepare yourself for the additional distraction of regularly checking your smartphone’s SPYPOINT app to see if it has captured new snaps of a nocturnal visitor. The SPYPOINT app also enables you to fine-tune the camera’s settings to make it more or less sensitive to movement. You can choose to shoot two consecutive photos instead of one which gives you a better chance of a well-composed shot. You can also change the interval between when it captures shots so that you don’t get dozens of snaps of the same animal. 

Because the Link-Micro-S-LTE transmits its photos via a cellular signal you need to set up a SPYPOINT account and register the camera’s serial number. This sets you up with a cellular transmission plan suitable to your part of the world.  This is quite a straightforward process and you only need to do it once. The camera ships with a built-in (and locked) sim card so there’s no need to worry about that side of things and you can transmit up to 100 photos per month for free (more on that later).

Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE Build & handling

In build, the Link-Micro-S-LTE feels like most other trail cameras in the SPYPOINT range. Due to its plastic body, it’s light and easy to carry (and it comes with a carry strap that can also be used to fix the camera to a tree).  It is decorated with a camouflage pattern to help it blend in with its natural surroundings. A sturdy clip enables you to open the water-resistant housing but unlike most other SPYPOINT trail cameras there is no LCD screen or menu buttons to interact with when you open the Link-Micro-S-LTE’s casing.

This is due to the fact that you can view its captured shots and change settings in the SPYPOINT app on your smartphone instead. You can also view the shots in a web browser when you log in to your SPYPOINT account. The lack of a screen allows the Link-Micro-S-LTE’s camera body to be more compact (and more discrete) than the similar SPYPOINT Solar-Dark.  The Link-Micro-S-LTE also has a handy tripod thread at the base so you can mount and angle it for the best view of your animal subjects.

Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE Hands-on

Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE Performance

The Link-Micro-S-LTE ’s strengths are its solar panel and cellular transmission abilities. However, the photos that it transmits to the SPYPOINT app are very small. They measure tiny 600 x 338 pixels which don’t even equate to the size produced by a 1 MP camera. You are also limited to 100 transmitted photos per month on the free plan. To transmit larger (full HD) shots straight to your smartphone you need to subscribe to a monthly or annual plan (such as $4 per month to transmit 250 photos). 

Fortunately, the photos captured directly onto the camera’s micro SD card are much larger. At 4096 x 2304, they equate to just under a 10-megapixel camera which will give you a decent-sized print. You can also shoot and capture as many images to the memory card as you like (until it’s full of course). If you want the convenience of solar power and the ability to capture video clips as well as stills then check out our review of the similar SPYPOINT Solar-Dark.

Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE Verdict

Initially, we were surprised that the Link-Micro-S-LTE would only capture photos and not video clips. However, we soon realized that as it’s designed to transmit low-resolution photos to a smartphone app the cellular data requirements for the video would be too high, hence the photo-only option. 

We loved the fact that we didn’t have to pay for a rolling supply of AA batteries thanks to the combination of the solar panel and Lithium power pack and the option to view animal photos from the comfort of a smartphone app is very attractive (and addictive) feature. However to see the high-resolution photos you still need to extract and download the contents of the micro SD card into your PC as you do with most other trail cameras.

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The best trail cameras – or camera traps, if you prefer – are motion-and heat-triggered units designed to live outdoors, quietly recording wildlife without human presence, day or night.

The top models are tough, weather-sealed, and built to shrug off rain, snow, and temperature swings. They should also have a robust construction and camo finishes that help them melt into the landscape. Hunters might call them game cameras, but the job is identical: to capture natural behavior without disturbance.

Where a wildlife photographer relies on long glass and quick reactions, a trail camera takes the slow, patient route. You set it, leave it for days or weeks, and let passing animals tell the story. They’re invaluable for photographers, conservationists, researchers, and anyone curious about what roams after dark.

Battery life is pivotal. Some cameras sip power from standard AAs, others use rechargeable packs, and a growing number support solar panels for near-set-and-forget operation. In this guide, you’ll find today’s standout picks, from affordable starters to the best cellular trail cameras that send images straight to your phone.

Our team of field testers – including Gavin Stoker, George Cairns, and Dan M Lee – spent weeks deploying these camera traps in the wild to see how they handle real weather and wildlife. I edited the final selection in this guide to make sure every recommendation holds up to professional standards and offers a balance between value for money and performance.

Best trail camera: our top 3 picks

The best trail cameras

The best trail camera overall

The Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow is the best trail camera overall for most people. The clever touch is the fact that it includes dual sensors, one for the day and one for the night. The day sensor prioritizes sharpness and vivid color, while the night sensor focuses on high-contrast clarity and promises clear images up to 110ft in the dark.

One issue when testing was that the screen could have been slightly bigger than 1.5 inches, but given our occasional use of the screen, it didn't prove a huge issue. One bigger issue is that the 32MP sensor rating is achieved via digital software interpolation, and the images appeared noticeably softer than we'd expect.

This trail camera is built to survive inclement weather, and its 'No Glow' LED lights are just that, meaning that wildlife won't be put off by them. It can capture 4K video (or Full HD video at up to 60p), with audio too, and having 32MP at your disposal with a trigger time of 0.2 seconds pretty much seals the deal. In short, this is everything you need a trail camera to be.

Read our Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera review
Reviewed by Gavin Stoker

The best budget trail camera

If you're getting started with trail cameras, you'll love this affordable entry-level model from US brand Stealth Cam. It offers a 10-megapixel stills option – you can also opt for 8MP, 4MP or 2MP shots from the unit – plus HD quality video with between and five and 180 seconds of audio.

With a respectable trigger response time of 0.5 seconds, there is a backlit LCD for making selections from the camera’s menu, plus a 16:9 image ratio. As with competitors, ‘no glo’ (hence the ‘NG’ suffix) infrared flash can illuminate subjects up to 100ft away, while this camera purports to offer advanced blur reduction.

Usefully, there is an external power jack for operation via a 12v battery; otherwise power comes courtesy of 8x AAs. Durable weatherproofed housing is a must, and thankfully included here.

We also appreciated that you can get double packs of this camera and save even more money.

The best trail camera for 4K night and day

The Spypoint Force-Pro might seem a bit pricey given the features, but it's worth every penny for the image quality. I've been able to capture stunning footage in glorious 4K resolution, not to mention some breathtaking 30 MP stills. Setting it up is a breeze with its straightforward LCD menu, and within minutes, I'm ready to record all the animal action, day or night.

During my testing, I noticed it doesn't come with a solar panel like the Solar Dark, which is in a similar price range. However, when it comes to the quality of clips, the Force-Pro blows the competition out of the water.

Sure, you'll need to grab some batteries for it, unlike the Solar Dark with its built-in rechargeable battery powered by solar energy. But trust me, the footage you get from the Force-Pro is leagues ahead, earning it an extra star in my book and a wholehearted recommendation. It's hands down the most powerful Spypoint trail camera out there. It's also true that solar doesn't work in every location!

Read our Spypoint Force-Pro trail camera review
Reviewed by George Cairns

Best with cellular

The Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE has some key advantages over some of the other trail cameras in the Spypoint range, as it can send images via cellular connection. It operates on a multi-carrier roaming setup that automatically connects to the strongest available mobile tower from major network providers from an integrated, non-removable SIM card.

You get a lifetime baseline tier of 100 free photo transmissions per month, and higher-volume plans are available through the Spypoint app, ranging from $5 per month for 250 photos to $15 per month for unlimited transmissions.

We loved being able to transmit photos of wildlife straight to our smartphones, moments after they were captured. Thanks to the solar panel, you also don’t have to keep relying on AA batteries, and this makes it an independent trail camera you can leave alone for days.

The main downside of the Link-Micro-S-LTE is that it can't capture video clips, so if you want to record video, this isn't the best trail camera for you. But it is a great choice if you want a trail camera you can leave without worrying about the battery, and you like the idea of having images sent straight to your phone via a cellular connection.

The little Spypoint LINK-MICRO-LTE is a much simpler proposition than many of the other trail cameras on this list. It doesn't shoot video, for example, just 10MP stills, though it can do so with an impressive trigger time of 0.5 seconds. You can also set the camera to trigger multiple photos once its infrared system detects motion, allowing you to get a series of images in quick succession.

Read our full review of the Spypoint Link Micro S LTE
Reviewed by George Cairns

The best solar powered trail camera

The biggest strength of the Sehmua 4G LTE 3rd Trail Camera is the fact that it has an internal battery that can be topped up by a solar panel, which theoretically saves the expense and time of buying and charging batteries and gives you a low-maintenance camera that will shoot for nights on end.

While marketed as a set-and-forget solar unit, our field tests revealed that heavy 4G cellular transmission quickly overwhelmed the 4-watt panel, draining the battery completely in just 22 hours under moderate cloud cover.

It has a multi-network firmware setup compatible with Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T signals in the US. Like the Spypoint Link-Micro-S-LTE, the built-in SIM card is tied to its proprietary app interface. You get 300 MB of complimentary trial data, after which you have to buy data renewals directly through the device's native app. Basic plans are around $15 for a 3GB, 30-day block, and unlimited tiers cost $20 per month or $169 annually.

A 4G connection is enough for checking images via your phone without having to visit the camera, but the more you do it, the more battery you'll use. And the worse the cellular signal, the more power the camera will draw too. It's a relatively expensive trail camera because of the solar element, and the cost of the camera doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the footage that it produces.

Still, the camera triggers in about 0.2 seconds, and you can choose to record 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds of HD video when activated. There are three sensitivity options, too, though the UX also offers only two camera choices – high and standard definition.

Read our Sehmua 4G LTE 3rd trail camera review
Reviewed by Dan M Lee

The best affordable trail camera with color screen

The Browning Strike Force HD Pro X is another brick-like trail camera designed for remote surveillance and observation, day and night. While the operational controls are bare bones and require an initial degree of familiarization, the provided screen is, unusually in this price bracket, a color one, which we much appreciated when we tested it.

You need your own SD card (we were impressed to see it can manage up to a 512GB capacity) and six AA batteries to power it. A nice touch is that the battery holder can be ejected from the base without changing the mounting position if needed. The screen can also be used to help with framing, as it is external – unusual but appreciated.

Overall, it's a good value option for those looking to take their initial steps in the trail camera / remote surveillance world – or those simply wanting an affordable, fuss-free device that will do the job.

Read our Browning Strike Force HD Pro X trail camera review
Reviewed by Gavin Stoker

The best for remote work trail camera

The Bushnell Prime L20 Low Glow is a sturdy plastic trail camera offering an easy-to-use option for those looking to get started with surveillance observation or wildlife watching. The camera offers IPX6 levels of water tightness to protect it against rainfall, and a set of batteries can last up to 12 months of use.

Our tester Gavin found that its black and white nighttime images were good but not astounding, while the daytime images recorded in full color were about the same level. That said, the trail camera can capture an image of something you wouldn’t otherwise be able to record, rather than achieving a crystal clear result that you'd want to hang on your wall.

The remotely activated Bushnell Prime L20 Tan Low Glow is built for use in the great outdoors and comes with the added peace of mind of a two-year warranty. This budget-priced Bushnell option is worthy of recommendation.

Read our Bushnell Prime L20 Low Glow trail camera review
Reviewed by Gavin Stoker

FAQs

How to choose the best trail camera

Sensor resolution: You’d think that trail cameras with higher megapixel counts would always give you higher-quality images with greater detail. However, megapixel ratings can sometimes be inflated. Budget and mid-range cameras have smaller sensors and then use software to upscale the image. But this artificial stretching doesn't add any optical detail, which is why a trail camera with a high-spec sensor like 32MP on paper can end up looking pixelated.

Look for models that state their native sensor resolution or those with dedicated dual-sensor systems (one for daylight color and an ultra-sensitive sensor for nighttime).

Optical field of view and focal length: Choosing the right FOV is a trade-off between the environment you're capturing and the amount of subject detail you want. Wider angles will obviously capture more of the frame – ideal for monitoring large areas or path openings.

But smaller animals need to be much closer to the lens for an identifiable picture. Narrower lenses risk missing wildlife snaps along the edges of the frame, but when they should be captured with more detail, they do reach the trigger point.

Trigger speed: Trail cameras have motion detectors designed to go off when an animal triggers an infrared sensor. Premium units can deliver trigger speeds between 0.07 and 0.2s.

Any slower than 0.5s and you might miss faster-moving creatures, leaving you with empty images or shots of an animal's back feet disappearing from the edge of the frame. Recovery time is also important. The faster this is, the faster the camera can clear its buffer and reset to take a second shot

Field monitoring: Trail cameras are designed to be left unattended and so don’t have high-quality, real-time viewfinders. Some ultra-budget models remove screens entirely to save money and preserve battery life, which I’ve found can make menu operation hard and prevent you from verifying your camera angles in the field.

If your budget allows, opt for models with an internal color LCD screen, so you can check your footage and framing when setting up.

Storage: Traditional cameras have a physical memory card slot inside, meaning you have to visit the cameras to check footage, which can be inconvenient and disturb sensitive animals.

Cellular trail cameras can run on a multi-carrier SIM card and broadcast compressed thumbnails to a smartphone app after a trigger event happens. If you’re only interested in checking your results frequently without physically visiting the camera, read our tried-and-tested cellular trail cameras guide.

Power: If you go with a traditional camera setup, you'll need to load anywhere from 6 to 8 standard AA batteries. Cheap alkaline batteries can drop voltage and freeze in cold temperatures, while lithium cells maintain a flatter, steadier power line.

Some cameras also offer solar panel charging, which may work beautifully in open clearings but less well under a dense forest canopy. If it's a power-hungry cellular model constantly broadcasting images, we’ve found that a small solar panel can deplete its internal battery reserves in a matter of days.

For deep-woods setups or high-traffic game trails where the shutter is constantly firing, your best bet is to skip the internal batteries and look for a unit with an external 12V power jack. You then have the option to run a weather-sealed external battery box.

How we test trail cameras

When testing and reviewing trail cameras, we don't just rely on manufacturer spec sheets; our team evaluates trail cameras through rigorous, hands-on field use in woodlands, back gardens, and public wild areas. Every camera trap we recommend undergoes a multi-week trial where we evaluate performance areas like the infrared trigger precision, color accuracy, dynamic range under dark forest canopies, and nighttime infrared exposure to ensure wildlife isn't lost to motion blur or flash whiteout.

For cellular cameras, we’ll also see how reliable the signal is and assess the value of ongoing subscriptions within the camera apps. We log the real battery depletion rates under uniform trigger frequencies across standard batteries, and how long the integrated solar-cell setups truly last.

Spypoint is a major manufacturer of trail cameras and the Force-Pro is just one member of a larger family. Motion-sensitive trail cameras such as the Spypoint Force-Pro are designed to let users capture video and photographic evidence of animal activity to detect their whereabouts.

The Spypoint Force-Pro trail camera is similar in build to the cheaper Spypoint Force-20, but as its name and heftier price suggest it packs more of a professional punch than its sibling when it comes to recording clips and stills of animals visiting your garden. The Force-20 can only capture small 720 HD clips whereas the Force-Pro records much larger 4K resolution footage. 4K clips are useful as you can choose the best frame of action and export it as a high-quality image using apps such as Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro. 

The best trail cameras should ideally have a long battery life, fast trigger speed, and offer decent – if not amazing – stills and video quality. The Spypoint ticks many of these boxes, but if you want to monitor and shoot wildlife remotely, rather than check the camera incrementally, look at cellular trail cameras.

We put the Spypoint Force-Pro through its paces – both day and night – to see how it fared for stills and video footage.

Spypoint Force-Pro specifications

Dimensions: 3.9” x 5.0” x 2.7”
External memory: SD card
Photo resolution: 30 MP
Video definition:  4K with sound
Motion sensor: Infrared
Detection range: 110 feet
Trigger speed: 0.2 sec
Power: 8 AA batteries (not included)

Spypoint Force-Pro features

Like other trail cameras in the Spypoint line, the Force-Pro has a water-resistant casing that enables the camera to shoot in all sorts of weather conditions.  This was particularly useful during our three-day (and night) test shoot when the rain was torrential. Although the batteries were protected from water damage the footage captured during the rain was very blurry due to liquid on the lens. Fortunately, the quality of the footage improved once the water evaporated. 

The Force-Pro has a basic monochrome LCD screen that enables you to set up various shooting modes and adjust the sensitivity of the motion sensor. Setting the sensor’s sensitivity is a balancing act. If the sensitivity is too high then the camera will record wind-blown branches (and drain the batteries). If the sensor sensitivity is too low then you might end up missing the arrival of an animal in a clip and only catch it leaving the scene. We kept our sensor sensitivity set to Auto (which worked better in daylight than at night).

The Force-Pro has two banks of LED lights (54 in total) to help it illuminate animals in low light. At night the infrared footage is a classic black and white while the clips and stills revert to color during daylight hours. The light from the LEDs reflects from the animal’s retina to create the classic glowing eye appearance of classic night vision clips.  Check out our supporting video to see the Force-Pro’s footage for yourself.

Spypoint Force-Pro Build & handling

In build, the Force-Pro feels like most other trail cameras in the Spypoint range. Due to its plastic body it’s light and easy to carry (and it comes with a carry strap that can also be used to fix the camera to a tree).  It is decorated with a camouflage pattern to help it blend in with its natural surroundings. We found that this camouflage worked well and animals tended to be oblivious to the camera’s presence. 

A sturdy clip enables you to open the water-resistant housing and access the greyscale LCD menu. Here you can use buttons to experiment with different shooting settings. The Force-Pro ships with a branded Spypoint 16 GB SD card which at a speed value of Class 10 is fast enough to write HD 4K video files. The camera also has a handy tripod thread at the base so you can mount and angle it for the best view of your subjects.

Spypoint Force-Pro Hands-on

Spypoint Force-Pro Performance

The  Spypoint Force-Pro may lack the solar panel of the similarly priced Solar Dark but it captures bigger (4K) and better-looking clips than its solar-powered sibling. Although we had to rely on batteries to power the Force-Pro during our test shoot they lasted three days and nights (and are still going strong as we type up this review).  

One useful touch is the inclusion of data at the bottom of each captured clip. You can view the time an event occurred, an icon displays the current phase of the moon and you can discover the temperature in Centigrade or Fahrenheit (depending on the menu setting that you chose). This data enables you to see what time your cat heads out to hunt and returns home, which can be an eye-opener. 

When shooting stills you run the risk of capturing part of the animal as it enters or leaves the frame. Fortunately, you can set the camera to capture six consecutive images to increase your chance of a perfect shot.

Spypoint Force-Pro Verdict

As reflected in its price, the Spypoint Force-Pro is the most powerful Spypoint trail camera. This power is present in good quality 4K footage and 30 MP stills. On the downside, the monochrome LCD is fairly simplistic and you can’t view the SD card’s footage on the screen (like you can with the similarly priced Spypoint Solar-Dark’s color display). 

You also have to buy batteries for the Force-Pro (while the Solar-Dark can coast along on its built-in rechargeable battery which is topped up by a solar panel). However, the Force-Pro produces much better-looking footage than the Solar Dark so it gets an extra star and a much stronger recommendation.

If you're interested in spotting wildlife, then you might like our guide to the best portable hides for wildlife photography, plus binoculars for spotting faraway subjects.

Spypoint are a major manufacturer of trail cameras and the Solar-Dark is just one member of an extensive family. Motion-sensitive trail cameras such as the Solar-Dark are designed to let hunters (and photographers) capture video and photographic evidence of animal activity. 

The best trail cameras should ideally have a long battery life, fast trigger speed and offer decent – if not amazing – stills and video quality. The spypoint ticks many of these boxes, but if you want to monitor and shoot wildlife remotely, rather than just check the camera incrementally, you'll need a cellular trail camera.

We imagine that the readers of this review are more likely to want to capture shots and clips of local wildlife, so we’ll focus on how the camera captures video and photos of just that. We put the Spypoint Solar-Dark through its paces – both day and night – to see how it fared…

Spypoint SOLAR-DARK specifications

Dimensions: 18 cm x 9.6 cm x 8 cm
Screen: 2” LCD
External memory: SD card
Photo Resolution: 12 MP
Max video resolution:  HD 1080p
Motion sensor: Infrared
Detection range: 34 m
Trigger speed: 0.07 sec
Illumination range: 24 m

Spypoint SOLAR-DARK features

Like most trail cameras the Solar-Dark has a water-resistant casing to enable the camera to shoot in all sorts of weather conditions both night and day. The casing is camouflaged so that the camera blends in with a typical outdoor environment (such as woodlands). The Solar-Dark has two banks of LED lights to help it capture animal antics at night. A motion sensor triggers the recording of videos or photos (or both) when an animal wanders into shot.   

An LCD screen enables you to set up various shooting modes and also play back footage of the previous night’s outdoor action. What makes the Solar-Dark stand out from most other trap cameras is that you don’t need to worry too much about it running out of power during a shoot. The built-in solar panel on top of the camera charges up the internal battery by day so that it can shoot all night. It then soaks up the sun’s energy during the following day and is ready for another night’s shoot. You can put batteries in the camera as a backup but as rechargeable batteries are not recommended by Spypoint it’s just as well that the solar panel works so well. 

Spypoint SOLAR-DARK Build & handling

In build the the Solar-Dark feels like most other trail cameras. Due to its plastic body it’s light and easy to carry. A sturdy clip enables you to open the water-resistant housing and access the LCD menu. Here you can use the buttons to experiment with different shooting settings such as video length and the delay between capturing movement in a new clip.  If the delay between capturing clips is set to Instant then you will fill up the memory card more quickly.  

Talking of memory cards the Solar-Dark comes supplied with a branded Spypoint 16GB SD card. The card has a speed value of Class 10 which is fast enough to write video files at 1080 HD. You can also use the LCD menu change the sensitivity of the motion sensor which is a useful feature as we once captured a collection of clips featuring nothing more than leaves blowing on a tree. A 1/4 inch thread at the Botton of the Solar-Dark enables you to mount it on a mini tripod. This elevated position keeps the motion sensor at the bottom of the unit clear of obstacles.

Spypoint SOLAR-DARK Hands-on

Spypoint SOLAR-DARK Performance

To test the camera we spent several nights experimenting with different camera settings and initially we were disappointed by the quality of the clips and stills that the Solar-Dark captured. We were able to improve the quality by going to Settings and choosing High instead of Normal. We also chose Blur reduction in the Night Mode setting. The camera is designed to illuminate subjects up to 24m away, so when the subject is relatively distant it looks clear and correctly exposed. However, we found that if an animal such as a garden fox was too close to the camera at night then it would become over-exposed by the devices’s 42 LEDs and key details would become burnt out. 

At night the camera shoots in infrared mode, creating classic black and white night vision clips. In daylight footage reverts to color. Infrared exposure is adjusted automatically which can lead to jarring changes in exposure throughout a clip’s duration. Check out our supporting video to see footage and stills captured on the Solar-Dark, then you can make an informed purchasing decision. The infrared detection sensor only has a range of 40º so you may miss the animal walking into shot in your footage. 

Spypoint SOLAR-DARK Verdict

This trail cam’s biggest strength is the fact that it has an internal battery that can be topped up by a solar panel. This saves the expense and time of buying and charging batteries. However the solar panel also bumps up the price of the camera so you need to decide what’s more important – power or image quality. 

If you want a trail camera that has low maintenance in relation to power and will shoot for nights on end then this will do the trick. But the cost of the camera doesn’t reflect the quality of the footage that it produces so you might be better off with the cheaper Spypoint Force 20 which is almost half the price but produces similar results.

If you're interested in spotting wildlife, then you might like our guide to the best portable hides for wildlife photography, plus binoculars for spotting faraway subjects.

From its packaging and branding the Spypoint Force-20 looks like a trail camera that’s designed specifically to let a hunter discover the habits and activities of their prey so that they can track it down. The ‘O’ in the Spypoint logo is even shaped like the cross-hairs of a rifle. 

However, most of the readers of this review will not be game hunters, and there is plenty of non-lethal fun that you can have with the Force-20. You can use this motion-sensitive infrared trail camera to discover and document what type of animals visit your garden in the dead of night. You may capture clips and stills of foxes, hedgehogs and maybe even a badger or two depending on your location in the world (in this instance, the UK).

You can also use the Spypoint Force-20 to discover when your cat decides to go for a nocturnal wander and see and what time it returns home, learning new things about your feline family member. You can even use the Force-20 as an outdoor security camera, although that's not what it was designed for. By placing it in a flower bed or patch of vegetation it will discreetly record any visitors to your house while you’re on vacation.

The best trail cameras ideally have a decent battery life, reliable trigger and offer decent – if not amazing – stills and video quality. The Spypoint Force-20 ticks many of these boxes, and it's cheaper than the Spypoint Solar Dark – largely because it lacks the solar power pack and takes AA batteries. But let's see how it handles and performs in real-world use.

Spypoint Force-20 specifications

Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 9.6 cm x 5.1 cm
Screen: 1.5” LCD
External memory: SD card
Photo Resolution: 20 MP
Video definition:  HD 720
Motion sensor: Infrared
Detection range: 21 m
Trigger speed: 0.7 sec
Power: 8 alkaline AA batteries (not included)

Spypoint Force-20 features

Like other trail cameras in the Spypoint line the Force-20 has a water-resistant casing that enables the camera to shoot in all sorts of weather conditions. Indeed during our test shoot we had some heavy rain, but the internal batteries and memory card where completely protected.  The camera’s plastic casing isn’t adorned with the traditional camouflage patterning of other Spypoint models (such as the Solar-Dark) but its plain earthy brown coloring won’t stand out enough to scare off any animals that pass it by. 

The Force-20 has two banks of LED lights (84 in total) to help it illuminate animals in low light conditions. At night the LED  illuminated infrared footage is a classic black and white while the clips and stills revert to color during daylight hours. A motion sensor triggers the recording of videos or photos (or both) when an animal wanders into shot. A monochrome LCD screen enables you to set up various shooting modes (and adjust the sensitivity of the motion sensor so that you don’t end up capturing clips of wind-blown branches). 

The Force-20 ships with a strap so if you are a wildlife photographer you can carry it as part of your kit. For most of us, the carry strap will probably stay in the box as the camera won’t need to be transported further than the outer reaches of a back garden. There’s also a handy tripod thread at the base of the camera so you can mount and angle the camera for the best view of your subjects.

Spypoint Force-20 Build & handling

In build the the Force-20 feels like most other trail cameras in the Spypoint range. Due to its plastic body it’s light and easy to carry. A sturdy clip enables you to open the water-resistant housing and access the greyscale LCD menu. Here you can use the buttons to experiment with different shooting settings and the delay between capturing clips. If the delay is set to Instant then you will fill up the memory card more quickly.  

The Force-20 ships with a branded Spypoint 16 GB SD card and card reader. The card has a speed value of Class 10 which is fast enough to write HD video files.  Disappointingly you can’t capture the action as full 1080 HD clips. The Force-20 only captures the 720 HD size, but that’s adequate if you only need to share the files via social media to be viewed on a smartphone. The stills are a larger 20 MP but they may not feature the animal in the best position in the frame. 

Spypoint Force-20 Hands-on

Spypoint Force-20 Performance

For a budget entry-level trail camera we were impressed that the quality of the footage captured on the Force-20 was better than that recorded by the more expensive Solar-Dark. The footage from the Solar-Dark was often over-exposed when the subject got too close to the LEDs. The Force-20 managed to capture more detail in closer subjects without over-exposing them. The exposure of the Force-20 footage was nice and constant too, unlike the fluctuating exposure of the Solar-Dark.

Unlike the color screen of its more expensive Solar-Dark cousin you can’t play back recorded footage of on the Force-20’s monochrome screen. You need to pop the SD card into the card reader and via the footage on your PC. You’ll also need to keep the Force-20 supplied with batteries as it lacks the Solar-Dark’s solar panel and internal battery. 

Fortunately the Force-20 also lacks the Solar-Dark’s hefty price-tag (it’s early half the price), making it an attractive choice for those new to trail cameras. One nice touch is the inclusion of data on the footage. You can see the time an event occurred, an icon shows you the current phase of the moon and you can discover the temperature in Centigrade or Fahrenheit (depending on the menu setting that you choose).

Spypoint Force-20 Verdict

Despite its low budget price tag and limited choice of menu settings the Force-20 enables you to capture decent photos and clips of animals by night and day. Once you’ve chosen the shooting mode its a simple case of turning it on, placing it in a suitable location and then waiting overnight to see clips of animals in action (check out our accompanying video to see examples – such as foxes fighting!) This entry level device is an ideal choice for your first trail camera and it won’t blow your budget. 

If you're interested in wildlife watching, then you also might like our guide to the best portable hides for wildlife photography, plus binoculars for spotting faraway subjects. You can also get cellular trail cameras, which will help you to keep track of subjects from your smartphone.

In my ten years as a married man I’ve lived by the saying "Happy wife, happy life". So when my hedgehog-obsessed wife wondered how many spiky visitors were eating the biscuits that she put out every night, I decided to find out. This is how I discovered the addictive properties of trail cameras. 

If you want to find out more after reading this, check out our guide to best trail cameras – and if you want to do everything remotely, we have a guide to the best cellular trail cameras too!

What is a trail camera?

A trail camera is robust and waterproof camera that’s designed to be left outdoors to record stills and video clips of wildlife (both during the night and in daylight). Trail cameras are motion sensitive, so they only start snapping stills (or recording video) when an animal makes a move in front of the camera’s sensor. This selective shooting feature saves you the hassle of fast-forwarding through hours of footage and it also saves valuable space on the camera’s SD memory card.  

As a stranger to trail cameras I checked out Digital Camera World’s best trail camera buying guide and also shopped around on Amazon before purchasing a Crenova Trail Camera for £99 (about $120/AU$170). I was attracted to the fact that it could shoot 4K clips and came supplied with a 32GB SD card.

What can a trail camera capture?

Trail cameras will capture anything that moves within their area of sensitivity (which varies from camera to camera). Sometimes a wind-blown tree is enough to set off my Crenova but for the most part it rewards me with a clip of an animal in action. 

We bought a wooden igloo-shaped hedgehog feeding station, so this was the first location that we pointed our trail camera at. The next morning we excitedly whipped out the memory card and perused its contents. To our delight we had a several 30 second clips of various hedgehogs munching biscuits and lapping water from the bowls that we had put out. We were very surprised to see a couple of foxes attempting to get the heads inside the entrance to hedgehog’s wooden igloo in search of biscuits. Occasionally we’ve captured mice and squirrels.

After the success of the first night (and learning that foxes like hedgehog biscuits too) I decided to lay some bait at a new location. We have a trampoline in our garden that’s at ground level so I scattered biscuits on it in the hope of luring the foxes into shot. 

I placed the trail camera at the edge of the trampoline. When viewing the captured footage the next day I was astonished to see my cat Ebony standing his ground on the trampoline while a fox snarled and stalked around the edge. The stand-off was caught on camera but sadly some of the action occurred too close to the edge of the frame for a perfect shot (see the accompanying video). 

I always presumed that the cats and the foxes ignored each other so this confrontation surprised me. As our trail cam timestamps each recording this gave us a new insight into when our two cats leave the house via the catflap to go hunting (around 4:30am). 

What do trail cameras cost?

At £99/$120/AU$170, the Crenova trail camera that I bought was in the mid-range price bracket for the average trail camera on Amazon. My trail camera relies on a set of four (or eight) batteries which require recharging every few nights, but if you pay more you can buy trail cameras that are supported by solar panels (such as the Spypoint Solar-Dark which costs more than twice the price of my Crenova). Some more expensive models enable you to download and view the captured footage on your smartphone’s screen via WiFi or Bluetooth.

How do trail cameras work?

Trail cameras have a motion sensor that causes them to snap a still or record a preset amount of footage. The Crenova trial camera that I bought has a motion sensor with a 120º field of detection so it tends to capture the animal as soon as it arrives at the edge of the frame. The camera’s three motion sensors will spot animals from up to 64 feet but I usually place it closer to where animals tend to roam, such as by the hedgehog feeding station or near a hole in our garden fence. 

At night the trail camera uses LEDs and an infrared light filter to illuminate and capture the antics of any animal that crosses its path. This nocturnal IR footage has a distinctive monochromatic look and the LED causes animals eyes to glow. At dawn the footage switches to colour and the high ISO setting can create a noisy grainy look. In stronger daylight the full colour footage looks great.

How do you set up a trail camera?

Inexpensive trail cameras like the Crenova are quick easy to set up. After unclipping two locks on the side you can access the camera’s interior where the batteries are inserted. A small panel of switches enables you to choose a recording format such as Photos, Video or both. You can also choose the duration of your clips. 

The controls and menus inside a trail camera are no more difficult to set up than a digital timer or alarm clock. On mine, you flip the switch to 'active' and the camera will count down from 15 seconds, giving you time to clip the camera shut (to keep out moisture) and place it in a suitable part of your garden where it will lie in wait for its animal prey.

How do you view your trail cam photos and videos?

With my Crenova trail camera I can view the captured footage via the camera’s small built-in screen, but the small buttons are a bit fiddly to use when it comes to browsing and playing the clips. I prefer to pop the camera’s SD card into my PC’s card reader for a bigger screen experience. I can then import the stills and clips into video editing apps such as Final Cut Pro. 

Some trail cameras enable you to transfer the footage via WiFi straight to your smartphone so you can edit and share the best clips via social media. I don’t tend to shoot photos because the camera doesn’t always capture the creatures in the optimum position (they might be too close to the frame edge). By shooting in 4K I can choose the perfect frame and export it as a still which is big enough to look great on a social media feed or web page.

A final word of warning – trail cameras can be addictive! It’s a bit like fishing. You cast your net at night and then rush out first thing in the morning, eager to see what you have caught. Check out our accompanying video to see some example clips captured on our Crenova trail camera.

Read more:

• Best trail cameras
• Best cellular trail cameras
• Best night vision goggles
• Best cameras for wildlife photography

Want to get closer to nature, yet from the comfort, safety and warmth of your own home? We’re all aware of surveillance cameras, as a feature of everyday existence. Well, a ‘trail camera’ is a surveillance camera and more – its built-in sensors detecting movement and automatically triggering the taking of a photograph or recording of a video sequence when any subject approaches – which means the user doesn’t need to be anywhere in the vicinity at the time the images are being taken. In fact, as trail cameras are used to keep watch on and track skittish wildlife, the best results are going to be achievable when there’s no human around to disturb proceedings. 

Though the brand is best known for binoculars, the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow is one of a number of trail camera or ‘trail cam’ options produced by the manufacturer. It distinguishes itself from the pack, however, by featuring two sensors rather the usual one – the thinking being that with one sensor optimized for daylight capture and the other for nighttime capture, best results will be achievable around the clock. Well that’s the theory; how do things pan out in practice?

Key features

With a hard plastic exterior and camouflage print festooned fascia, the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow is very obviously a camera built for use in the great outdoors rather than in studio. Its moldy tree bark-like exterior signifies it’s designed to either be strapped unobtrusively to a tree trunk or tripod mounted and left out in the wild, to be trigged by the approach or proximity of wildlife, and left to cope self-sufficiently with varying weathers and lighting conditions. Its ‘no glow’ suffix signifies that it features a non-glowing LED light, so it won’t spook wildlife, particularly at night.

Offering a decent 120ft detection range, this particular trail camera sets itself apart from the pack by featuring an additional sensor over its competitors for both day and nighttime use. Its other headline features include 4K resolution video and a 32 megapixel image resolution, which is a step up from the 30MP resolution of the nearest comparable model in Bushnell’s range. 

It also beats most others that tend to offer a 32GB capacity by virtue of allowing use of a generous 512GB SD card, removable media onto which said footage and images are stored. For the purposes of set up, it’s also suggested that for optimum results, the trail camera should be placed 16-17ft away from whichever position is being monitored.

The rivals

There are a bunch of competing trail cameras that serve the same function, though obviously core features such as resolution, range and functionality differ. The Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera distinguishes itself by featuring a class leading video resolution as indicated in its model name, plus a relatively speedy 0.15 second trigger response, which provides a further draw alongside its day and night optimized twin sensors.

We should take care, however, when making our purchase selection, as there’s a near identically named Bushnell trail camera retailing at slightly less, but offering a lower 30MP and just the one sensor, as opposed to this one’s 32MP resolution and twin sensors. We think the extra is worth paying for.

Alternative manufacturers’ options worth looking at if you don’t want to spend a premium outlay include the Spypoint Force 20. This one offers a slightly lower specification, including 70ft detection range, 1080x720 pixels video clips and a SD storage capacity of a ‘mere’ 32GB. Also look at the GardePro E6 No Glow trail camera, which comes with its own phone app for remote operation and is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled. On the flip side it ‘only’ offers a 24MP stills resolution and 1080P video at 30fs, rather than the 4K boasted by the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow.

Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow: Handling

The size of a house brick, although weighing less, even with the 6xAAs required for power inserted, we’ll need to make sure the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera is securely and tightly fastened wherever we choose to place it for our remote observation and recording. The Chinese-made device feels obviously plastic-y when gripped in the palm, yet with little if any flex to the body. With a weatherproof exterior, we’d wager the build is robust enough to withstand the odd knock and accidental dislodge from whichever perch we’ve placed it on. We wouldn’t, however, want to try standing on it.

As users, we’re invited to exert control over the camera via a control panel that will be familiar to anyone who has operated a compact digital camera before. This comes complete with a tiny 1.5-inch LCD screen barely bigger than an actual memory card, via which we can affect and check our selections. 

Once set up is complete, the operational buttons, screen and SD card slot are secreted from view and protected via an outer cover with a clamp mechanism to keep it securely shut. This ensures that any animal clambering over the camera once it’s been left in place won’t disturb our settings.

It’s worth adding that, while some competitors allow the entire inner camera module to be retrieved from the trail camera’s outer casing, here that element is fixed in place. For us that’s not an issue though, as the SD memory card required for storage can be retrieved and inserted into a card reader or laptop slot for playback, while the six AA batteries required for power slide into a tray compartment at the base of the unit. This tray is ejected, allowing batteries to be replaced, via a button on the backplate. Ambitiously, Bushnell suggests that a full set of batteries will last up to a year, max. Unsurprisingly the batteries required are an extra expense.

Performance

With camera operation being automatic and remote, once media card and batteries have been inserted and settings chosen, there is a brief 10-second delay period in which we can quickly retreat from wherever we’ve set the camera up, and thereby avoid accidentally triggering its operation ourselves.

Advance set up is reasonably straightforward. A choice of presets includes Feeder, Trail, Food Plot or ‘Advanced’, the latter allowing us to opt for either photo or video capture modes, or to select a combination of both capture methods. We can also select image size, to have some control over just how much we can fit on the inserted card, plus adjust the unit’s sensitivity to detect either low level, fast moving or long-range subjects.

Basic attendant functionality includes being able to format the card in use, plus manually input latitude and longitude coordinates, if desired, which had us thinking automatic on-board GPS functionality would have come in useful. Time and date can also be set, but it favors the US convention only of month first, day second and year third. 

Video resolution is also selectable. We get the expected options of standard definition 1280x720 pixels, Full HD 1920x1080 pixels or up to a 4K resolution 3840x2160 pixels. Duration of capture can be tweaked upwards or downwards, though the default duration is a 10 second clip.

As the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera is designed to be set up and left to its own devices, we’re never quite sure what we’ll get – if anything – out of it, and so usage inevitably is a somewhat trial and error process. Still, as anyone who has watched a nature documentary that also utilizes remote filming will be aware, a large part of the appeal of trail cameras is the potential to be surprised. 

Speaking from a photographic perspective, the images we got from the camera most closely resembled video grabs rather than slick or sharply defined images we might want to stick on our walls. While we weren’t expecting an equivalent SLR performance, it’s worth bearing in mind that what this one offers – remote, covert viewing – is something than an SLR can’t. So it’s very much a case of horses for courses.

Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow: Verdict

With a two-year limited warranty providing some additional peace of mind, the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow trail camera may command a slight price premium over other models in its manufacturer’s range, but overall we feel any extra is fair. To achieve satisfying results, practice, perseverance and willingness to go through a period of trial and error is ultimately what is required.

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A family home in West Edmonton, Canada, captured unique surveillance footage of a coyote stealing their trail camera. The neighborhood charmingly named Wolf Willow along the river valley sees numerous regular visits from wildlife such as deer and porcupines, but never have any of them committed a theft of this nature. 

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The owner of the property, Kevin Hogan told CTV News that he reviews footage captured by the trail camera every so often to see if any animals had approached or took a whiff of his cameras, they tend to take off and run away if disturbed. 

Hogan thought it best to try and recover the trail camera by trundling through the ravine behind his home, "I just got lucky finding it...I guess it must have been something he [the coyote] was after". Hogan found it unusual that the coyote took such an initial interest in the white camera to begin with, "he must have been chewing on it like a toy" he suggests.

Another theory from Hogan is that the coyote was "casing the joint out" and taking care of the surveillance of the property to return for the bones in the garden that Hogan's dog, Major, buries frequently. 

Searching for "coyote steals camera" on the internet yields more results than admittedly expected. This is clearly an unusual but somewhat common problem in specific areas. Do you think taking out camera insurance includes cover for the possibility of a potential coyote theft?

Check out our buying guides on The best camera insurance for photographers and The best portable hides and camouflage gear to ensure that your expensive equipment stays as safe as possible when shooting wildlife and avoid the grasp of those conniving coyotes. 

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Above: The Instagram post that shows the unexpected photobomber

Wildlife photographer and filmmaker Jeff Wirth has got some of his best footage using trail cameras - but as is often the case with these camera traps, you don't always get pictures of what you are looking for. But earlier this month, when he retrieved the images from one of his remote cameras he got a bit of a surprise. Carefully set up on a log, he had hoped to get pictures of a bobcat that he had photographed crossing this way before. But instead it got images of man in an orange high-vis jacket parading in front of the camera!

The man, who had obviously spotted the trail camera gave a number of different poses, for Jeff to discover later. Happily, for Jeff, he left the camera undisturbed - providing him with this unusual photographic Easter egg! 

In an unexpected turn of events, the secret poser revealed his true identity to Jeff and his followers when he saw the resulting picture on Instagram.

You can see some of Jeff's successful trail cam wildlife pictures on his website – which go to prove that patience and a few disappointments can give you some stunning images of nature.

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The new Phase One XT is a portable medium format camera that combines Phase One’s ultra-high resolution IQ4 digital back system with a trio of lenses from renowned optics maker Rodenstock via a super slimline XT camera body.

Make no mistake, the Phase One is expensive, hugely expensive, even compared to the best medium format cameras you can buy right now. But it’s not designed for the mass market, or even most professionals (and even if you are one of the pros this is aimed at, you may simply just end up hiring it by the day). 

The Phase One XT Camera System is available right now from Phase One professional dealers worldwide and sells for a hefty $56,990. This price, mind you, does include an IQ4 150MP back, the camera unit and a lens of your choice – plus a 5-year warranty. We tested this 150 megapixel back as part of the chunkier and more traditionally designed Phase One XF IQ4 150MP earlier this year.

The key attraction of this outfit is its portability. This is a lens to be carried around the streets and up mountains - and not optimized for use in the studio. It is a traditional field camera, in fact, reinvented for the digital age. 

The Phase One XT Camera System is aimed at high end landscape and architectural photographers who need the maximum possible image quality but in a more portable camera than those available to date. 

We had a chance to look at and get hands-on with the XT at Berlin Photo Week, and although we did not have a chance to take images then, we managed get out in the field at a later date to try it to its fullest capabilities,  we also have updated our earlier news-focused piece on this camera with some remarks on the handling of the camera - as well as its capabilities

Phase One XT: handling

There are three main parts to the XT System – the IQ4 capture modules, the Rodenstock lenses and the camera itself which acts as a kind of physical interface between them. It's a completely different, modular, design philosophy compared to regular cameras, 

The new camera will be able to use all three of Phase One’s IQ4 Infinity Platform digital back modules, including the IQ4 150MP, IQ4 150MP Achromatic or the 100MP IQ4 Trichromatic. All three have ‘full frame’ medium format sensors equivalent to the the size of the old 645 format and larger than those in cameras like the Fujifilm GFX 100 II and Hasselblad X2D 100C). However, it is the IQ 150MP that is the one being offered in the XT Camera Sytem kit.

The camera body has less to do here than in other cameras as much of the work is done by the IQ4 modules and the lenses themselves (which have integrated leaf shutters). It’s been designed exclusively for the XT system with ‘intuitive’ ergonomics and a dual-action shutter button to support future expansion and customization.

The XT system carries through another key field camera feature – a built-in lens shift mechanism. This can be used to correct converging vertical and horizontal perspective distortion with a shift adjustment of up to 24mm in both axes. 

The Rodenstock lenses have large image circles to allow for this shift movement. On regular cameras, this can only be achieved using dedicated perspective control lenses, but here it’s a standard feature built into the system.

The amount of shift is automatically recorded in the metadata of the shot (as well as being displayed on top-plate display) - ensuring that in post production any darkening at the edges can be compensated for. One architectural photographer we spoke to who has been using the XT, says that the system means his time editing his images has been cut by more than half.

There is no tilt movement available, however... so despite superficial similarities with more technical cameras... this only gives you a certain amount of manipulation over the geometry of your images (and zero extra control over depth of field).

• This is what photos on the $57,000 Phase One XT look like

The camera comes with an Arca Swiss mount, which allows simple and fast connection to the tripod, and has a collar that allows you to switch from landscape to portrait format by simply rotating the set-up without having to take it off the support. 

But the camera is just at home in the hand - surprisingly so - whether to take images, or to hunt out a better camera angle. The tripod foot can even be removed if you want to go tripod-free. Handheld shooting is not quite as absurd as it might sound, as the leaf shutters in the lenses do mean that you don't get the vibration you get with some other medium format cameras.

This is, however, a camera that demands you take your time, if you are going to get the most out if it. With the investment you make in buying (or renting) this camera you do need to take your time to get the image. Perhaps Phase One are reminding of this when you turn the back on... it takes rather longer to fire up ready to take a shot than you will find on almost any other camera.

Conversely, the camera has been designed to write the 150 megapixels of data at a decent speed - with the option of an XQD memory card, in addition to a secondary SD slot.

Sample images

Phase One XT: verdict

This is a unique camera in the digital era, that offers a field camera that can offer 150 megapixels of resolution in a kit that you can use for landscape photography missions, or for single-handed architectural assignments. 

The modular design means you can opt for less luxurious backs if the client's budget is tricky, originally launched with three lenses all of which have shift movements for adjusting converging verticals, and the additional benefit of integral leaf shutters, there are now 6 high-end lenses available to use which consist of XT 23mm f/5.6, XT 32mm f/40. Tilt, XT 40mm Tilt, XT 50mm f/4.0 Tilt, XT 70mm f/5.6, and the XT 70mm f/5.6 Tilt.

These offer everything from an ultrawide and telephoto, despite the huge price, and the possible limitations, there are enough people who want and need this camera, that it is almost inevitably going to remain on backorder for a long time.

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Bushnell has announced it’ll be taking the wraps off a seriously impressive-looking quartet of new trail cameras.

The Bushnell Core Trail Cameras are certainly likely to join the best trail cameras for wildlife photography. The range has been designed to be rugged and powerful, able to keep shooting for longer, in all sorts of conditions, to allow a fascinating glimpse into the private world of wildlife. 

There are four models in the new range, so let’s take a closer look at each one.

First up we have the Core Low Glow Trail Camera, which boasts a 100ft night range, a 24MP sensor and a 0.3 second trigger speed. It’s also able to shoot Full HD 1080p video, with audio, and its low-glow LEDs means the light it emits is barely visible to the human eye. Its RRP will be £209.95.

Next there’s the Core No Glow Trail Camera. As the name implies, this camera emits absolutely no light when capturing images, meaning it’s especially good for photographing wild animals without disturbing them. It has an 80ft night range, a 24MP sensor and a 0.3 second trigger speed. It’ll be going for £219.95.

Both of these cameras also boast a battery life of up to one year, providing an unparalleled opportunity to capture the changing seasons and its effect on wildlife.

For a little more shooting power, Bushnell has also announced the Core DS Trail Camera range, with “DS” standing for “Dual Sensor”. These cameras, as you might expect, have two sensors – one for capturing daytime shots, the other optimised for shooting at night.

The Core DS Low Glow Trail Camera has a 100ft night range, and acording to Bushnell it will “capture high contrast, night time images with no washout.” It has a 30MP sensor and a 0.2 second trigger speed, with dim LEDs that are barely visible to the human eye. It shoots 1080p Full HD video at 60fps, with audio too. Not too shabby! Its RRP will be £299.95.

There’s also the Core DS No Glow Trail Camera, which has very similar specs but emits absolutely no light at all and has an 80ft night range. This one will go for £329.95.

All these cameras will first be on display at BirdFair, running from the 16th to the 18th of August, 2019.

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