wgi trail cam problems

[gp4ever]

Hey guys, I know that the wild games innovations trail cams are entry level cams. Question is. I got 2 for christmas last year and picked up 2 at dicks in michigan in the summer, each set has 1 that is taking blurry pics. Now when I say blurry it is not just a bird flying by, the whole pic is blurry and fuzzy. I cant really make out what it is. Brand new batteries. Head office said with out a receipt screw off..lol basically. Their tech dept. Sucks as@. Anyone else have problems with these thing. All I know is that they are almost ready to be hung on a tree and shot at.

[outback]

I have a coupla WGI trail cams that are at least 5yrs old and worked great. Now the digital display does not light up so I can't see what the settings are. Can't tell if it's on or off. Had one problem a few years ago when I was putting batteries in I pushed to hard and broke the battery contact off. Called them, sent it in and was sent a new in the package camera. No receipt or sales slip. Always got great pictures and if I could read the display this camera would be still on a tree.

Using only Moultrie cameras now. Have 7 in service at this time and very pleased with the cameras. Had one issue a year ago and sent camera to them again past warranty. Received a new camera in just over a week from time I sent it back till I got the new one.

outback

[scarkner]

I have three and they are working flawlessly, even still on the same batteries.

Most of them are put together quite simply. If the pictures are blurry then you don't have much to lose taking it apart. Game cameras a fixed focus, so you are likely to find one of two things when you take it apart:

1) Lens is fogged/dirty. This would indicate a poor seal somewhere. Clean the lens cover inside and out, then gently using a Q-tip clean the camera lens itself with just a little glass cleaner. Be careful not to rotate the lens (see #2). Checkout the seals on the case, it is usually easy to see where the leak is, just use regular window caulking to seal the case (use it only on the seal area of the case, don't let it get near the electronics as some components are damaged by the fumes from curing silicon sealants).

2) Camera element out of adjustment - These little guys are sensitive to vibration. You should find that the camera element itself is quite small and the glass bead of the lens will have a collar around it with two grooves in it. These grooves will take a slotted screw driver (either a large screw driver will span the two grooves, or you can even us a dime). Gently turn the whole lens assembly, this adjusts it in and out for focus. Try plugging the USB port (if yours has it, all of mine do) into a computer, if you are very lucky Windows will recognize it as a camera and you can then get a continuous image feed which will help you get the focus set just right. Once set, put a small dab of nail polish on one part of the threads (don't cover the threads since you may need to adjust it again some day). If you cant get a continuous feed, then instead set the camera for fast time-lapse mode and move the lens in and out perhaps a quarter turn every interval, then you can look at the time lapse and figure out how many quarter-turns you need.

Good Luck!

[LowbanksArcher]

Wow, great advise scarkner! You know your cameras. My advise is to never ever spend another dime on any WGI product. The owners of that company are an embarrassment to hunting, and have made a fortune selling junk products to hunters. -rant over-
Good luck with your cams.

[gp4ever]

Wow ya great reply. Im going to pull it apart today and will let you know the results. Thanks guys