# Game cam question



## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I purchased one of the Moultrie 1.3 cams.

I put it up for the first time last Thursday. I had some good oics and a lot fo fun with it.

I came down to Athens today for a two day trip to do some more scouting and the battery in the camera is DEAD. It only took one picture from the time I left on sunday. The battery appears to have lasted only 4 days!!!

What battery life is everyone else getting??

I see that Moultrie offer an option of a solar charger for their high end digital camera. Do they have one for this low end cam??

I'm calling them in the morning but thought I would see what you have experienced with yours.

Thanks,
Kim

By the way two eight's even with the ears 120 class bucks were standing in the middle of a field rolling back their lips and sniffing the wind at a group of 4 very nervous does another 40 yds away. They paid no attention to me at all.


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## DaleM (Apr 5, 2004)

That's it rub it in  Good luck fixing the problem. Could that solar charger be adapted to your camera Kim? I was hoping to get down this weekend but won't make it. I will be there early next Friday though!


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## Skunkedagain (Apr 10, 2004)

Have been using mine for two weeks and have taken probably 200 pics and the battery still showed 41% today. Camera is usually off from 10am to 3 pm so that probably helps some.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

I don't have any first hand experience, but your not the first person I've heard have problems with battery life on the Moultrie cameras. With those and the Stealth cameras, it seems to be a common problem.


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Kim, 

What kind of batteries did you use?
What size of batteries were they?


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

sorry.... con't

It is runs off AA's... Try RAYOVAC ALKALINE PLUS (Walmart is the cheapest) They outlasted Duracell & Engerizer. If you really want to add to the life get the Energizer Digital plus or whatever they are called then again they are $10 for like 4 AA batteries. Rechargables are ncie, however we were UNIMPRESSED w/ them as it seemed again like the RAYOVAC ALKALINE PLUS lasted longer.


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## TheKing (Apr 15, 2004)

I got some second hand info last week on the Moultrie battery life from a link at the ohiosportsman.com website. His claim is 2 months on regular batteries at a rate of one click per day. That kind of metric doesn't tell me much about battery life in the field. But it does sort of indicate that something is fishy with dead batteries after one click in 4 days. Somthing just isn't right about that.

He also claims that the solar cell set-up is available for that Moultrie for another $100 bucks.

I am still left without really knowing how to compare the battery life for various brands, models, and price ranges.


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Digital cameras can eat up batteries...especially if there's a flash involved.

I use the rechargeable NiMH batteries. Went through one set(two batteries) in two years, with a TON of recharges. Just bought a 4 pack with charger for 18 bucks.
Kodak's rechargeables are rated has having good battery life. And they are compatible with any camera or device that runs on AA's.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

Mine were dead after 2 days($1.97 rayovac from wal-mart).I went and picked up to rechargable 6v for $10.Im still on the first one from last week.My problem is getting the darn thing to pickup movement.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

For those of you that don't know this camera worls off of a 6 volt. I bought the best 6 volt I could find but still not good enough life.

Ostabucks98,

Give Moultrie a call. This camera detects BODY HEAT not movement.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I talked to Moultrie yesterday.

I'm going to go to 6 volt rechargeable batteries and a solar panel charger.

The solar panel charger will not completely recharge the battery or keep it from losing it's charge but is supposed to greatly increase battery life depending on the number of pics, temp, etc.

I'll let you know how it works.


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## TheKing (Apr 15, 2004)

Lundy,
I am interested to know what you find out. Thanks.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Well, my $100 camera has now become a $232 camera.

I like the moultrie camera but I need battery life that is a lot better than what I am getting. I live 1-1/2 hrs from where I hunt and I need to get at least 2 -3 weeks of battery life. The first battery lasted less than 4 days for some reason and it only took about 24 pics in that time, more than 1/2 at night with a flash.

After talking with Moultrie I ordered 2 rechargeable batteries ($12.00 ea) and a solar panel charger ($22.00), a 110v charger (14.95), shipping ($16.00 for 2 orders). Add 2 128 mg SD memory cards ($40.00) and a card reader ($15.00)

I should have a system that performs the way I need it to. Come on UPS get here.

I put a new battery in Friday morning and I'll be back down in the morning to check it. I'll see how long this battery lasts.

Just letting you know what I'm finding with this camera.


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Lundy, 

Have you seen the Bass Pro ad? Moultrie Dig Cams (1.3) $79 on 11/25/05! 
Have you looked @ the Cuddleback cams? Thisyear they put 3.0 meg systems in them. I wa reading the back of the box, they claim they have a system that allows for 2-3x battery life than other cams. Sounds great, now if I just had $350-400.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

For a game camera I don't know why you would ever need more than 1.3 mega pixel unless you wanted to enlarge some prints.

As far as battery life when we get the cold weather here I would have to see the extended battery life to believe it. Maybe I just got a camera with something wrong with it that causes excessive amp draw or maybe the first battery I put in was bad. I'll know in the morning for sure when I check the camera again.

I am using a 5 minute delay between pictures and could still easily take 100 pictures a day with the deer density in the area and the frequency and time spent on this one bait pile.

If this solar panel charger solves the battery problem I'll buy a couple more of these cameras


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