# Trail Camera - Moultrie I-40



## The Water Stalker (Apr 17, 2009)

I recently purchased a Moultrie I-40 trail cam. Excited to try it out I set it up in the backyard just to see what kind of range and photos I would get at night before setting it up for a month in the woods. 

So I set it up and after a few minutes went by I walked past it a few times. After several times of doing this I went inside to look at the photos. 

First of all, I started out at about 30 yards away and walked closer, moving left to right, and right to left back across the camera's view. I also tried starting at about 30 yards away and walking straight on. Either way, the camera didn't go off until I was approximately 10 feet away.

Secondly, the IR photos showed me totally white and very blurry. You could make out a tree in the background and everything else was dark as I would expect it to be. 

I read in the product manual about some system upgrades, but there is nothing I can easily locate on Moultrie's website. Can anyone shed some light for me? 

Much appreciated and thank you in advance!


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

I hope you have saved your reciept to send it back...good for 1 year...I've sent two back....and they replaced 1 that I'm not real happy with now and its been over 1 year so I'm stuck now....call costumer service....you can get the number from there web site or on your paper work with the camera


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## The Water Stalker (Apr 17, 2009)

I still have the receipt and the 1 year warranty. I just can't decide on a camera to get and after non-stop reading of reviews I settled on the Moultrie. I looked at the Stealth Cam Sniper IR. But the trigger speed was a little over 4 seconds.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I have an I-40 that has been working very well for the last two seasons. Good flash range, decent detection, 3-6 weeks battery life in below 50 temps with 200-300 pics a week.

I also have 3 of the m-40's that I purchased this year. One works great, the flash quit on one, and the other is very slow to wake up.

I will be sending two back to Moultrie at seasons end.

I belive that you get what you pay for. The I-40 costs a little more and does perform better. However I purchased 2 m-40's for the price of 1 I-40 and they perform as I would expect when the work properly.

If money wasn't a concern I probably would not be purchasing Moultrie cameras, there are much better cameras available, but can cost as much as 4-5, or more, Moultrie 
M-40's

If you have a week of free time and want to really research game cameras try this site. There is a ton of good information but it will take a while to get through it all.
http://www.chasingame.com/


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

The Water Stalker said:


> I looked at the Stealth Cam Sniper IR. But the trigger speed was a little over 4 seconds.


Unless you're looking to spend a LOT more money, most cameras do have a realistic trigger speed of 4-8 seconds, despite what they claim. Once the batteries are cold they slow down as well.


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## Bnichs (May 24, 2004)

I am on my second M-40 of the season.

The first one worked great until the flash stopped working. I went through the 5 week process of getting it replaced through Moultie (I mean without a flash it was pretty much worthless to me).

The second one does not like to wake up. I can set it and it will take pictures of me while I am checking the feeder and stuff but it seems like if it goes to sleep for a while it does not wake back up. All the corn can be eaten and I will have not a single picture. So it looks like this one will have to go back as well.

Seems like there are still a lot of bugs in trail cameras. Or I just have really bad luck, I have had three and have not had one last for more than 3 months yet.

:!
B


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

You can get a good camera that will likely never have issues. But, you can buy 3-4 of the mid-range cameras for the price of one top quality camera.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

M.Magis said:


> You can get a good camera that will likely never have issues. But, you can buy 3-4 of the mid-range cameras for the price of one top quality camera.



That was exactly what i did. I elected to purchase 3 cameras, M-40's, this year for less than I could purchase one really good one.

One of them is working absolutely flawlessly and really works well. the other two have issues. One is unusable due to flash failure, the other is slow to wake up but still takes 200+ pictures a week.

If when I send back the two I can get replacements that work like the other one I will be really happy.

I knew I was buying potential problems when I bought them. It was a decision I made to have 4 cameras out versus 2 this year.

If I could pump $500+ into each camera and then still had issues I would be pissed. When I pay $89 for one I pretty much know what I am getting


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## The Water Stalker (Apr 17, 2009)

Lundy - That is a great website. I stumbled upon it this past weekend when "googling" trail camera reviews. In between family activities I reviewed the site, for what I estimate about 4-5 hours in total, including reading every review for every camera they had tested in 2009. 

The I-40 cost me a little over $200 (including tax and the 1 yr warranty) and I don't mind if any or all of the pictures are in black and white. I am not printing pictures to frame and display, and if so, I tend to like B&W. I am simply attempting to see what is frequenting the area and gain more information at an attempt to pattern the deer somewhat. My issue upon testing the camera was that the color photos were coming out perfect and the B&W at night, though not complete whiteouts, were really blurry images of me. Trees in the background were very legible, but the images in the foreground triggering the cam were blurry. I am debating on putting this in the woods or returning to Dicks and looking at possibly a Cuddeback or WGI. I would likely spend up to $300, but nothing more at this time. Color photos are nice, but not required, nor is video, as I don't anticipate using that feature either. 

Thanks for your responses. I appreciate any and all information you have given.


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## billonthehill (Feb 6, 2009)

Water Stalker, when testing your cameras, you must paw at the ground and rub your head on a tree.
The camera will detect this and everything should be fine, and i do mean should!
keep me posted on results.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Water Stalker,

My I-40 is working well and has been for the past 2 seasons. I would put it somewhere in the middle or camera quality. I purchased it for $179 and I can't say it was a bad investment. The battery life has been very good with the I-40, at least compared to the M-40's

Some samples with the M-40, both day and night


















And the I-40 both day and night


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## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

Man Lundy...that wide 8 would look good on my wall


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Fishstix said:


> Man Lundy...that wide 8 would look good on my wall


He's a youngster, we think. he may get a pass this year. It is up to Josh


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## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

Well in that case...he would look really good on my wall next year


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

IN my opinion moultrie is junk.I have had flash issues with several.I still have two one works one just takes daytime pics.I have been using a couple wildview gamecams from buckeye outdoors and so far not a single problem.,


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## The Water Stalker (Apr 17, 2009)

There have been good and bad reviews with any and every camera out there. I guess it will be trial and error, almost like throwing a dart at a dart board. 

Those are some nice pics. Lundy. I do like the colored photos, but B&W will get the job done. Any issues with the LCD screen going out?


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

No issues with the LCD screen on any of them


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## flwboy2010 (Apr 7, 2009)

how long did it take for good results with feeder


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I have two feeders up right now.

One the deer took to immediately, the other was till scaring the crap out of them one week after it was put up. These are different deer on different parts of the property

The one in the pics feeds at 8 am and 4 pm and has a metal spinner plate, it makes a heck of a racket when it goes off. This is the one they took to right away.

The other has a plastic spinner and is pretty quiet, for some reason the deer did not take to this one quickly. I changed the settings to feed mid day to try and reduce the chance of deer being there when it goes off. During the two day gun season I was able to watch their reaction to the feeder both just sitting there and going off with deer under it. My little yearling friend that was getting way too tame had the feeder go off with her under it and she may not have stopped running yet.

I am going back down to check them and pull the cards in the cameras this weekend. I'll see if they have settled down with the new feeder or not.

If it is like the new hunting blinds I put in locations they will become used to them in just a few weeks at most. You can always tell when you have non resident deer come through they really check out the blinds. The local deer that have seen it many times pay little to no attention to them


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## Cool Hunter (Dec 8, 2004)

Lundy, the wide 8 looks like a youngster to me too. I'm betting 3.5. Will be a brute next year


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## Cool Hunter (Dec 8, 2004)

I use 3 I-40 cameras and have had good luck over the last two years. Last year we purchased the third and had to return two to get the one we have now. Had issues with the LCD screen going out. The fuzzy pics at night might be due to rapid movement. I have noticed that some in the pics but its usually when the deer are moving their head. Otherwise the pics have been great and the battery life is good too. It will take more pics in black and white due to sensitivity setting but thats okay with me.


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## flwboy2010 (Apr 7, 2009)

Lundy said:


> I have two feeders up right now.
> 
> One the deer took to immediately, the other was till scaring the crap out of them one week after it was put up. These are different deer on different parts of the property
> 
> ...


Ya man let know what u find out,i have alot of deer in area when i hunt but they dont eat much i am now using ears of corn they eat them better,i am going to invest in a camera this wk.When they do eat it seems like it is in the dark more often than not.I am working on a 1 acre food plot right now cutting and moving wood not sure what to plant?Alot of private property around me so im trying to keep them on mine.I see the most in bow season sometimes 3 buck a day and 10 doe but the later in the yr it slows down.


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