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Thread: Some lessons learned

  1. #1
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    Default Some lessons learned

    This is the second season that I’ve used a SPYPOINT link micro camera. I used it for about a month last fall and have had it out for about 2 weeks now this spring.

    Its a neat little camera but has a few quirks that has resulted in me having to make some changes to the settings. Maybe others have had similar issues as well,

    First off, i noticed that it is very sensitive and I had a couple of days last week where it would take a picture every minute or two for no apparent reason. The settings can be adjusted remotely through the app so I reduced the sensitivity from high to medium. This has made a difference as I’m no longer getting 150 images/day of nothing. I’m now getting 5-6 images per day which were likely triggered by birds or small mammals.

    The other quirky thing that happened was that, due to the volume of images taken, it wouldn’t upload them all at the scheduled times. There was a backlog that took a couple of days to clear up. The signal strength is only 3 bars, which may be contributing to the backlog.

    I started keeping a detailed log of the uploads and photo count to help understand what was going on.

    The battery level has been all over the place. I use lithium batteries and the level has fluctuated up and down —> 70% - 100% and points in between. It read 84% this morning. I wish it was more accurate but I guess I’ll know when the batteries die once I stop getting pictures!

    Despite the growing pains, I like the camera especially how it uploads images to the app at no cost. I would buy more cameras but cell coverage is iffy where I hunt.

    just thought that I would share my experiences so far.
    Last edited by Sam Menard; May 11th, 2020 at 08:56 AM.

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  3. #2
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    aside from the cost of the camera what other costs are associated with running the camera? Do you have to pay a monthly fee on your phone bill?

  4. #3
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    Good question! Integral to the camera is the free app that allows you to view your images and adjust settings including the frequency when photos are uploaded. SPYPOINT offers different plans to upload and store photos on a cloud server. The plans for uploading are separate from the storage plans. For free, you can upload and view 100 images in a month. You can pay by the month, or for the entire year. For example, uploading unlimited photos for one month is $15/month or $10/month on a 12-month basis.
    To be clear, there are no fees added to your cellphone.

    IMO, these storage services are redundant as you can save thumbnail images on your phone/computer or send them to others very easily. Also, the camera has a micro SD card that records all the photos so, one way or another, you can get a permanent image. For $5, you can get HD versions of 50 photos through the app.

    There is another plan that sorts images e.g. bucks automatically.

    To get up and running, I suggest signing up for an enhanced photo upload plan e.g. 250, 1000, or unlimited as you can easily burn through the free 100 pretty quickly. It’s been less than 2 weeks and I’m up to about 500 images.

    Check out the website, the plans are plainly laid out. IMO, the fees are very affordable and that you can pay as you go is a real plus. Feel free to ask me more questions.
    Last edited by Sam Menard; May 11th, 2020 at 10:26 AM.

  5. #4
    Apprentice

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    I love these cameras. Of course they have a few quirks but once you learn about the battery fluctuations usually due to cold weather and ya the sensitivity levels then you have yourself the best scouting tool in my opinion. I have 7 of them. When you’re cameras are in the bush you need a medium sensitivity open fields then high is fine. Because I use them all year round I didn’t mind spending 45 bucks or what’s really it was for 1000 pics a month. I did that with a couple cams I know are in bush and will probably get triggered a bit more then normal. I have my pics uploaded after every pic. I don’t get hundreds of pics of game so I like knowing specifically when they come in.

  6. #5
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    The amazing part of this camera is that you can make any adjustments - settings, delays, ect....on your phone and on the fly. We set out sensitivity to med and have the images of the day sent at once overnight. It definitely helps the battery life of the unit.

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