Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate trail camera review

This well-specified latest generation trail camera looks to be one of the heavy hitters on paper – how does it handle in practice?

Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate
(Image: © Future/Gavin Stoker)

Digital Camera World Verdict

While it’s deliberately not the most stylish looking of devices, up to 32 megapixel stills combine with up to 4K video at 30fps to suggest the Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate as a capable contender for covert observation. A hard plastic shell with a rubberized inner protects the camera element, with the operation being as straightforward or customized as the user desires. Operational day or night and capable of being left in sub-zero temperatures while still functioning, widescreen output typically resembles video grabs.

Pros

  • +

    High-resolution stills and video

  • +

    Rugged hard plastic construction

  • +

    Simple to set up

  • +

    Comprehensive feature set

Cons

  • -

    Requires 12x AA batteries for power – an essential extra expense

  • -

    Maximum 120GB SD card

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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.

Separate it from its packaging and, 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.

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Gavin Stoker

Gavin has over 30 years’ experience of writing about photography and television. He is currently the editor of British Photographic Industry News, and previously served as editor of Which Digital Camera and deputy editor of Total Digital Photography

He has also written for a wide range of publications including T3, BBC Focus, Empire, NME, Radio Times, MacWorld, Computer Active, What Digital Camera and the Rough Guide books.

With his wealth of knowledge, Gavin is well placed to recognize great camera deals and recommend the best products in Digital Camera World’s buying guides. He also writes on a number of specialist subjects including binoculars and monoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, trail cameras, action cameras, body cameras, filters and cameras straps.