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January 12th, 2017, 06:55 PM
#1
Camera Comparison: Cuddeback vs Stealth Cam
Does twice the price mean twice the camera? I decided to find out.
Cuddeback Black Flash E3:
Cost: $160+tx from BassPro
I've had this camera a couple of years, but it is still a current model. The price hasn't changed. I'm not going to post the specs but you can look them up. The big difference from the other Stealthcam is that it is black flash instead of IR.
Stealth Cam RX24:
Cost: $70+tx on sale from TSC
I picked up this camera fairly recently. I specifically bought this camera to see how it performs for half the cost of my Cuddeback, which wasn't my only cam, but the only one I was leaving out year-round.
Again, I won't post all the specs. Both have reasonable resolution and get thousands of photos on a set of AA's (regular duracell or energizer). I think the SC takes 6AAs compared to the CB taking 8, but this really doesn't matter to me.
I mounted both cams on the same tree for a side-by-side comparison. The angles aren't 100% the same, but the cameras are literally one on top of the other. Both are set for 3 shot bursts, with the CB set to "fast as possible" and the SC set to "5 sec" between seets (its fastest setting). Here are the results. Time stamps are off a few minutes between the cameras, so I've reported everything in the time on the SC.
Jan 7:
12:12AM - SC shows a blur in the distance x3 pics. CB didn't trigger.
3:11AM - 3 deer pass through. SC takes 15 pics, CB takes 24. Both are reasonable quality.
9:00AM - A fox in broad daylight. SC takes 3 pics, CB doesn't trigger.
STC_0019.jpg
6:09PM - A fox. SC takes 6 pics and CB takes 3.
Jan 8:
2:52PM - A turkey in broad daylight. SC takes 3 pics, CB doesn't trigger.
4:43PM - A turkey in broad daylight. SC takes 3 pics, CB doesn't trigger.
Jan 9:
6:36PM - SC triggers with nothing in the frame, CB doesn't trigger.
Jan 11:
9:24AM - Flock of turkeys. SC takes 6 pics, CB takes 9.
STC_0060.jpg
I_00024a.jpg
10:24AM - Flock of Turkeys. Both cams get 15 pics.
6:38PM - Fox. SC takes 3 pics, CB doesn't trigger.
Jan 12:
5:00PM - I go to retreive the cards. The SC triggers on the dog a hair before the CB. It is pretty bright out, and the SC has good colour photos. The CB takes B&W photos in black flash mode (a chronic issue with this camera).
STC_0085.jpgI_00032a.jpg
Long story short: The cheaper camera is better by a good margin. Yes, being black flash hampers the CB for distance at night, but all of the night pics it missed were within 5 feet of the camera. Part of the reason for doing this was consistently finding deer tracks in front of the CB with no pictures to show for it.
I hope this is helpful. I had some bad luck with cheap cameras back in the past (back in the D-cell camera days) so I was a bit nervous to pick up such a cheap camera.
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January 12th, 2017 06:55 PM
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January 12th, 2017, 08:06 PM
#2
I did something similar years back with a Stealth Cam and a Moultire...at that time they were about the same price $100-$120 range.
The Moultrie outperformed the Stealth Cam so I stuck with them.
What has happened lately however, my last buy, a new Moultrie 880, isn't near as good as the older Moultrie M100 (the best camera I have ever owned for daytime pics). Seems that there is a difference in models within the same manufacture.
There are some web sites that do extensive reviews and they pretty much confirms price will dictate performance for the most part.
Thanks for taking the time to do the tests and posting the results. Interesting findings.
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January 13th, 2017, 09:22 AM
#3
Thanks MikePal. I always liked chasingame.com for camera reviews, but lately it seems like there are so many products on the market nowadays that there are just too many for them to keep up with. I couldn't find either of these two products on their site so both were a bit of a roll of the dice.
Cuddeback has been on the scene many years and comes with a solid reputation for performance, which is why I took the gamble when the E3 came out. I definitely feel like this confidence was misplaced. As for the Stealth Cam, it has its issues, but I won't hesitate to drop $70 on another one. One issue it has is that the LCD display will often display nonsense until you turn it off and on again. The big advantage it has, though, is that there's only half the sting when it disappears.
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January 13th, 2017, 10:25 AM
#4
Great post. I've heard of too many failures with SC to consider one. Dumb question, but i assume you had the sensitivity maxed on both units?
A trophy is in the eye of the bow holder
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January 13th, 2017, 10:41 AM
#5
Thanks for the post BenJ. I had the same Cuddeback stolen last fall. Based on your review I don't feel so bad. I did suspect it was missing some pics! I have a really old Stealth Cam that takes C cells and it does take great pics. It's just too hard on batteries and much too large to be discreet.
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January 13th, 2017, 10:43 AM
#6
Thanks for setting that up benjhind.
I did a lot of reviews years ago, and went with the stealthcam P12. Mainly because of its price point, but also because overall, they make a pretty decent game cam.
On that note, low price point also takes the sting out should it be stolen, or get damaged.
"Camo" is perfectly acceptable as a favorite colour.
Proud member - Delta Waterfowl, CSSA, and OFAH
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January 13th, 2017, 12:27 PM
#7
Originally Posted by
LowbanksArcher
Great post. I've heard of too many failures with SC to consider one. Dumb question, but i assume you had the sensitivity maxed on both units?
Great question. Neither cam features a sensitivity adjustment. The CB has a "Zone Control" slider over the motion detector that can manually narrow the detection field, which was set to wide.
Originally Posted by
DanO
Thanks for the post BenJ. I had the same Cuddeback stolen last fall. Based on your review I don't feel so bad. I did suspect it was missing some pics! I have a really old Stealth Cam that takes C cells and it does take great pics. It's just too hard on batteries and much too large to be discreet.
I should change the CB price to "$160 at BassPro, or free under DanO's tree stand"!! Neither cam rates high in the "lockability" field.
The SC has loops for a cable lock, but they go through the latch for the SD card door, meaning you need to unlock it to get at the card. To date I haven't been locking it for this reason (and because it was cheap!), but I should just cut the tabs on the door so that it can be locked without interfering with getting to the card. I'd much rather have a trespasser steal an SD card than smash the camera because they can't get at the SD card.
The CB has no loops for a cable lock so I lock it with aircraft cable through the mount at the back. Easily bypassed with a screwdriver, but better than nothing.
I have given away or sold all of my C cell and D cell cams. The cells themselves hold more power than AA's, but the older technology was so much harder on batteries that I find it is cheaper to replace the cam with a modern version than it is to keep putting batteries through the old cams. I use my cams all year, sometimes over corn, sometimes on a trail, sometimes on a den, sometimes on a gut pile, and typically only change the batteries twice a year. I'm currently just running these two cams.
Originally Posted by
Bluebulldog
Thanks for setting that up benjhind.
I did a lot of reviews years ago, and went with the stealthcam P12. Mainly because of its price point, but also because overall, they make a pretty decent game cam.
On that note, low price point also takes the sting out should it be stolen, or get damaged.
My point exactly!
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January 13th, 2017, 01:18 PM
#8
great post thx for sharing